“Embodiment is one of VR’s biggest strengths, allowing for unrivalled expressive roleplay as you step inside a virtual body and experience the world through it,” wrote studio head Glenn Brace in the post. “One of our core goals with Reach was to push embodiment further than ever before through a responsive full-body avatar that gives you a true sense of presence in the world in a way that’s only possible in VR. Whether you’re reaching for a ledge, dangling above a perilous drop, or dodging an enemy attack, your actions feel natural and fully grounded in the world.”

In the post, Brace also emphasises how important traversal is as a core gameplay pillar of Reach. Rather than simply being a way for players to get from one point to another, traversal is an important part of gameplay that takes advantage of Reach’s full-body awareness of the player. This allows for players to pull realistic-looking parkour moves as they explore the game’s underground world.

When it comes to some of the other aspects of gameplay, Brace noted that player agency is “right at the heart of the game.” This comes from giving players plenty of freedom in how they take on the various combat encounters of the game. Each tool and weapon, for instance, has multiple functions that can adapt to the player’s situation, from combat, to traversal, and even puzzle solving.

As for the PS VR2 version of Reach, Brace has noted that the Sense controllers part of Sony’s VR headset allow for haptic feedback and adaptive triggers to offer more immersive gameplay. This, according to Brace, will let the player “feel the weight, and resistance of objects and surfaces” throughout their time with the game. The game will also make use of the PlayStation VR2’s 4K capabilities to offer high-resolution textures and smooth gameplay.

Reach is coming to PC VR (via Steam), Meta Quest 3 and PlayStation VR2 on October 16. Announcing this, nDreams Elevation had released a trailer back in August that also showcased the game’s pre-order bonuses, which include a Traditional Ferran Outfit, an Ornate Bow, a Ferran Guard Shield, Traditional Gauntlets, and an Ornate Drone.

The studio had also released another trailer during PC Gaming Show – Tokyo Direct last week where it showcased the world of the game. The trailer gave us a look at the underground vistas offered up by Reach’s setting of the city of Ferra, as well as some of the enemies that players will get to face. The story in the title will revolve around the protagonist falling into the depths while looking for an important Power Core.

A lot of the storyline in Reach will revolve around the underground city of Ferra. The city was created by artificial beings that were created by humans at some point in the past, and as the narrator notes, these beings inherited the brilliance as well as the flaws of humanity. “Vanity gave way to envy,” notes the narrator. “Envy to war. And our once great city turned to ruin.”

Along with showcasing the various underground vistas throughout the city of Ferra, the trailer also shows off some of the different enemies that players will have to face throughout their adventure. These enemies can range from typical melee soldiers all the way up to larger beings capable of using heavy weaponry. The trailer then caps things off by showcasing some of the parkour and action-based gameplay of Reach.

Reach is coming to PC VR (via Steam), Meta Quest 3 and PlayStation VR2 on October 16. The release date was announced with a trailer from last month, which also gave us a look at some gameplay, as well as the story setup for the game that results in the protagonist getting stuck in the underground city of Ferra.

The overarching plot of Reach will have the protagonist – a reluctant adventurer that is trying to get her hands on a “Power Core” that humanity depends on – falling deep into the ruins of Ferra where she will have to face off against long-dormant artificial beings in her bid to survive.

There is a big emphasis on traversal in Reach, with nDreams Elevation noting that the VR game will make use of full-body awareness to make sure that players feel immersed. Gameplay will involve fast-paced parkour, as well as other styles of traversal like rock climbing, using ziplines, and even a grappling hook. There are also other tools at the player’s disposal, like arrows that, when shot into a wall, can act as footholds to then allow the scaling of said wall.

When it comes to combat, the primary weapon at the player’s disposal is a bow that can fire a range of different kinds of arrows. Aside from elemental effects, these arrows also often have other uses, like being able to deal incredible damage when hitting weak spots, or even just setting fire to things. Aside from the bow itself, the player will also be able to make use of guns and a shield.

Guns can also seemingly be stolen off enemy soldiers, and can then be used as a quick distraction when you throw them away after finishing up their ammo. The shield is also set to be a powerful tool, allowing the player to block quite a bit of damage from a given direction.

Along with this, nDream has also revealed that those who pre-order Reach will get bonus goodies – a Traditional Ferran Outfit, an Ornate Bow, a Ferran Guard Shield, Traditional Gauntlets, and an Ornate Drone.

The trailer also gives us more glimpses at the gameplay of Reach, while also revealing the story reason for the protagonist having access to the tools that she does, including gauntlets that power up her attacks, as well as a shield that can be used to block attacks, as a thrown weapon, and even as a tool to help with platforming by creating new makeshift platforms.

A closer look at the gameplay of Reach was first showcased earlier this month with an extended trailer that gave us a look at the title’s earlier parts. This trailer showed off the intense combat of the game that will have players make use of their bow, a variety of special arrows, and a shield, as they take on multiple enemies while making full use of the verticality offered by the game’s 3D environments. Players can also grab weapons off fallen enemies to take out remaining, widening the arsenal even further.

On the traversal side of things, Reach will focus quite a bit on fast-paced parkour, complete with ziplines, narrow ledges, and wide gaps to jump over. The player will also have access to a grappling hook to help them zip through some of the wider zones of Reach, and there are also upgrades, like special gloves that can stick to metallic surfaces, or arrows that can stick to walls to give players new ways to traverse the environment.

The story of Reach has the player take on the role of a reluctant hero who finds themselves thrown into a dangerous journey in an attempt to uncover the secrets behind a long-forgotten underground civilisation, and how it turned to ruins. We got to see hints of this story play out in the earlier trailer, which started things off with the protagonist looking for a “Power Core” that humanity depends on before things go wrong and the player finds themselves thrown deeper underground.

Being a VR-only game, Reach will feature a host of features exclusive to the medium, including full-body awareness for hardware that can support it, as well as intense set pieces that involve not only epic boss fights, but also fights against military vehicles like helicopters and trucks filled with enemy combatants.

Some of the clips of gameplay shown off in the official Steam page for Reach also indicate that players will get to hop around between different worlds, both on the surface of the earth as well as underground as they dodge falling debris and enemy gunfire to make their way through.

In Reach, players will take on the role of a reluctant hero who finds themselves thrown into a dangerous journey to uncover the secrets of what exactly happened to an underground civilization. Among the title’s key features are full-body awareness and presence for gameplay, as well as tactile interactions that players can experience thanks to the title’s advanced physics engine.

As the gameplay shows off, there are quite a few ways for the player to interact with the world around them in Reach. Along with running, jumping and climbing, players can also make use of ziplines and grappling hooks. Along with this, there are also new abilities that players can unlock, such as being able to grab on to metallic surfaces to climb up, and arrows that stick to walls, giving the player a new way to climb up otherwise impassable walls.

Along with the plenty of traversal options, Reach will also feature combat, both through regular encounters as well as epic set pieces. To take these combat encounters on, players will be able to make use of a range of different kinds of weapons, from a simple bow and arrow, to automatic guns. The combat will also allow players to make full use of their traversal abilities to get into more favourable positions against enemies that might outnumber them.

While we do get to see quite a bit of gameplay, we don’t really get much in the way of story, however. Things start off simple enough, with the protagonist digging into some technologically advanced ruins to get their hands on a “Power Core” that humanity depends on. Right as this goal is reached, things start escalating, and the protagonist now has a seemingly-unstoppable monster chasing them as they fall deeper and deeper into the underground cavern amidst falling ruins.

Earlier this year, Sony had announced a price cut for the PlayStation VR2. The VR headset is now priced at $399.99. There is also a PlayStation VR2 Horizon Call of the Mountain bundle available at the same price. The base set includes the PS VR2 headset, PS VR2 Sense controllers, and a pair of stereo headphones. The Horizon bundle also includes a PlayStation Store voucher for the game.

Considering the fact that the PlayStation VR2 turned out to not be as successful as Sony was hoping for, former executive from PlayStation Shuhei Yoshida spoke about how he was wrong about the VR headset. He had believed that the PS VR2 would invite comparisons with the PS2 in terms of sales. However, Yoshida said, “I’m sorry I was wrong – PS VR2 didn’t become PS2.”

If you’re interested in more VR games to play on your PS5 using PlayStation VR2, also check out Resident Evil 4 Remake, as well as Zombie Army VR.

Out this year for PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest 3 and Steam VR, the title sees players investigating an underground civilization to unearth its secrets (and hopefully survive in the process). There’s a heavy emphasis on parkour with “advanced physics” and “gesture-driven traversal,” but you’re a “reluctant hero” of sorts, so it should be interesting to see how this plays into the narrative.

There’s also plenty of shooting to be had, though alongside guns, the player can wield a bow and arrow. You even have a shield for blocking damage and which can be tossed, Captain America-style.

Reach will receive more details and an in-depth gameplay showcase at the VR Developer Direct on June 10th. Impressions from publications like UploadVR are also in the works, so expect them to drop in the coming days and stay tuned for more details.