I talked about this back when Eagle Flight (a VR game from Ubisoft) got announced but I'm really excited to see so many big publishers jump on the VR bandwagon before any of the systems have even been released. It gives me hope that this new technology won't simply be a gimmick.

While on the topic of big developers creating VR games we now have The Climb, a visually beautiful game from Crytek that is all about putting you in to the eyes (and hands) of a rock climber who is overly lax with personal safety. I'll embed the trailer below so you can see for yourself.

I'll be the first to say that this doesn't look like something I'd spend hundreds of hours on but if the price is right I would absolutely love to experience the joy of rock climbing, without you know, any of the actual work, exercise or danger involved. Still, these experimental games are vital for the future of VR tech because through them developers will be able to realize what works and what doesn't and then implement that in to "actual" games.

While we don't know any of the actual gameplay mechanics as of yet, I did spot something interesting in one of Crytek's press releases: 

"The Climb uses elements of the real life sport in gameplay to give players the sensation of rock climbing. For example, gameplay revolves around exploring rock faces to find a path to the top, and you must find different grips or holds, each with their own challenge, to lift yourself as you chart your own route. Rock climbing in real life is physically demanding. As athletes climb they sweat and chalk is used by climbers to return grip to sweaty hands. This is reflected in the game, as the more active you are, the more you’ll need to use chalk on your in-game hands so you can stay on the rock!"

Note the bolded part. So what I'm getting from this is that you'll most likely have a limited amount of chalk and depending on difficulty you'll have to either take riskier paths or just hurry up in order to not run out and slide down to your doom. That's obviously my speculation but it does make sense, especially when you consider they're advertising this as a game for beginners are hardcore gamers alike.

But other than that I'm afraid there isn't a whole lot else they've revealed as far as the actual gameplay is concerned so I guess we'll just have to wait until it gets closer to release for further details.

While the release date is as of yet unknown I am happy to tell you it won't have microtransactions, so hoorah for that! That said, if any more info shows up I'll make sure to keep you posted.