The sequel to Asgard’s Wrath moves the action from Scandinavia to the deserts of Egypt, but brings the same sense of scale along with some innovative mechanics to standalone VR
Developer Sanzaru Games brought out Asgard’s Wrath on PC VR platforms back in 2019, where the game received some acclaim, but failed to be a game-changer for the VR ecosystem. The sequel picks up where the original left off, only this time the action has moved to the standalone Meta Quest headsets.
Asgard’s Wrath II has changed the setting to the desert sands of Ancient Egypt, though many of the mechanics and some of the cast of characters remain from the previous game.
Key details
- Price: $59.99 (or included in purchases of Meta Quest 3 headsets)
- Release Date: December 15, 2023
- Developer Sanzaru Games
- Platform: Meta Quest
Playing story catch-up
For those who did not play the original Asgard’s Wrath, there is an optional prologue section that provides a brief overview of the story so far. You need to find Loki, as the Norse Trickster god has imprisoned your character at the end of the first game. Now you need to stop whatever nefarious plans he has in mind.
Though well-meaning, this prologue is of limited use for actually getting you invested in the story. Asgard’s Wrath II has a slight problem with periodic info-dumps and lengthy exposition, which comes at you with little time to process it or figure out how it fits into the wider narrative.
There’s a large cast of characters that you interact with, which include most of the well-known gods from across the Egyptian, Norse, and Greek pantheons. They are voiced by seasoned professionals with some recognizable names like Matthew Mercer and Fred Tatasciore who do a great job bringing the characters to life.
Sadly, though, the depiction of these figures of myth relies on a fairly shallow, pop-culture understanding, with little attempt to dive deeper into their motives and personalities.
Deep in the desert sands
It isn’t hard to be utterly dazzled by Asgard’s Wrath II. It looks beautiful, and the environments have clearly been carefully crafted and are genuinely interesting to wander through and explore. The recreation of the Ancient Egyptian aesthetic is much more inviting than the often dark and cold setting of its predecessor.
It’s not perfect, though. The environment tends to feel oddly empty, a feeling that is unfortunately amplified as you move through the game to different settings. Nowhere feels like a living, breathing place where people exist, unlike the towns depicted in games such as Assassin’s Creed: Mirage. Added to this is the fact that there are some graphical issues. The game has not been properly updated and optimized for Quest 3, and it shows some graphical pop-in of objects and NPCs. There’s even the occasional stretched or muddy texture which can be a blow to the immersion.
The games gods play
Many VR games tend to be short experiences or ones that are best played in very short sessions. This is happily not the case with Asgard’s Wrath II. It is an expansive world with a vast amount of stuff to explore.
The basic concept is that you play a character called the Cosmic Guardian. They’re a godlike figure who can inhabit various mortal characters. In each chapter or ‘Saga’ of the game you take control of a different character, starting off with the melee powerhouse Abraxus in the first Saga.
As you move through the game, you’ll find other characters like a river naiad who controls water magic and has an army of aquatic creatures to send against her foes.
There’s a fascinating variance in characters, but each ends up with a similar set of tools that can be used to fight enemies or solve puzzles.
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In terms of overall structure, Asgard’s Wrath II resembles a Legend of Zelda title, with expansive exploration broken up by puzzle-solving and the occasional epic fight against a powerful boss.
Sanzaru Games have done their best with the melee combat, but unfortunately, it can become a little repetitive after a while, though mixing it up a bit as you acquire different tools such as Abraxas’ whip-sword can revive interest.
The boss fights are the most engaging combat encounters, as it isn’t possible to just rely on the same combination of skills, as they are clever enough to react and counter.
The puzzles are a highlight, as they are ingenious and often fiendish in layout, and you need to use some cunning along with tools such as hooks, chains, and pulleys, to solve. One of the most innovative mechanics is when you have to use ‘God-scale’.
You essentially become a giant, towering over the environment. In this form you can pick up and move items and reconfigure the environment, this lets your smaller mortal form progress further.
You don’t always need to fight or puzzle-solve alone, however. During the story campaign, you get access to a selection of animal followers who have abilities that can help you in fights or during the puzzle sequences. They can also transform into mounts to help you access now, unexplored areas.
An expansive and immersive RPG for VR
There are a great number of things that Asgard’s Wrath II does right. It has a good mix of RPG elements such as skill trees, exploration, puzzles, combat, and crafting. The world is beautiful to behold, and fantastic to explore.
The problem might be that it almost asks too much of the players. There’s so much that it can become overwhelming, especially in the immersive environment of a VR game.
For those who want the level of depth offered by the side content, there is a vast amount of things to do. Even just following the main story campaign gives players an extensive gameplay experience, which is a step up from many VR RPGs that have come before.
The Verdict: 4/5
The core experience is solid, but there are elements such as the melee combat that don’t quite gel properly. The lack of proper optimization for the Quest 3 is also a shame, and it would be nice to see an update that better takes advantage of the Quest 3’s updated specs and features.
Asgard’s Wrath II is a remarkably solid action RPG that has a few flaws that hold it back, but it is likely to still prove to be the blueprint that other VR games will follow in the future.
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