Reach builds on predecessors with impressive VR design

I’ve played Reach a few times now and I’ve been impressed with every opportunity.

Given that Reach has appeared since Rever was revealed, it is clear that the altitude of NDREAMS has a considerable faith in upcoming games. Founded more than three years ago with the intention of creating an AAA VR game, Elevation’s debut title promises a VR adventure in the film you play as the passive hero Rosa, while unearthing the secrets of underground civilizations. So far, it’s a strong start.

I played Reach twice last month alone. It didn’t handle the preview for the Summer Game Fest, but that same demo came later on Gamescom 2025. Two weeks ago, I practiced different PC VR demos at three out-of-order levels at my first “VR Games Showcase Live” in London.

What’s immediately clear is that NDREAMS elevation aims to tackle VR design challenges head-on over the past decade. You can see the evolution of Fracked and Phantom: Covert Ops. REACH is a side-free, high-intensity action game that mainly avoids flat screen adjustable designs to realize a powerful player embodied. Beyond the 2D options menu when pausing the game, it also becomes an exploreable environment, with inventory and other options using a completely immersive approach.

Essential tools such as the bow and your health injector are grabbed through the inventory system on the body. I especially like the shielding feature. Holding the trigger button will form a circle with your fingers, and when you lower your hand in this position, you will freely summon the shield, almost immediately becoming a second nature. Throwing this in the set location to climb also turns this into a versatile tool.

This is carefully blended with environmental art, and skillfully reaching the signs on what to do. It is well designed using a method that protrudes slightly without making the bricks too obvious. Climbable objects are usually quite prominent, but perhaps a little too subtle. I accidentally missed two climbing spots on my first trip, but soon realized my error.

Guns are available from time to time, but these last two demonstrations focus primarily on the bow. Reach’s fast-paced gameplay can benefit from a more action-focused approach rather than a simulation. That means you don’t manually knock on the bow. Pulling back the string will create an arrow, but can be set by pressing the trigger for limited but special ammunition for stunning enemies, freezing them, or explosive ammunition. A simple approach that keeps actions running smoothly without being too much trouble.

The combat also appears to be promising, offering decent variety between these encounters so far. In one section you will have a drone-like enemy that can protect your alliance if you warn your presence, and crouch carefully until you begin to look for another way, hiding behind the cover. My first attempt with the explosive arrows was overlooked, making the next fight more challenging.

Following the event, NDREAMS later provided preview build access at home. Naturally, on high-end desktops, performance runs smoothly even in more action-rich sequences, and Reach’s presentations shine in PC VR with impressive visuals. It looks refined, but once you get the gauntlet, the digital arm will show up through the device with the clips.

I haven’t played on PlayStation VR2 yet, but am encouraged by what I’ve seen elsewhere. The Native Quest 3 version competes very well with the Steam Edition with the expected visual trade-offs, but the pop-in is pretty noticeable. My only major complaint is the performance issue in the “White Rabbit” section. This is something we also experienced by our regular contributor Pete Austin, but neither of us had any issues elsewhere in Quest 3. Otherwise, this is a pretty good comparison.

I’ve stepped away from these two previews, which are strongly encouraged by strong gameplay designs. If Reach can maintain this momentum through a full campaign, NDREAMS elevation will hold the candidates for that year, along with Arken Age and Ghost Town. I’ve been impressed so far and will jump into the full game as soon as possible.

REACH will arrive on PS VR2, SteamVR and Quest 3 on October 16th.