The Climb 2

The Climb 2 is a freeriding climbing platformer in which the player scales cliffs, skyscrapers, and exotic locations using only their own hands – no automatic animations, every handhold requires precise reaching and grabbing of ledges using the controllers. The game emphasizes smooth movement and proper weight distribution, so even experienced players sometimes fall if they don't plan their route and account for limited arm stamina, represented here by a gradually depleting grip-strength meter that only recovers with a brief rest on a safe ledge.

On Quest, it excels thanks to wireless movement, which enhances the feeling of height and open space – from snowy peaks through urban high-rises to underground caves and industrial structures. The visual style is colorful and clean, the music rather ambient, so the main emphasis is placed on the sheer feeling of climbing and the impressive vistas, when dizzying depths open up beneath your feet and birds or drones fly past in the distance. Different routes offer varying difficulty as well as hidden shortcuts and collectibles, which encourages repeated runs through the same locations and competing for the fastest climb time against other players via each route's leaderboards.

The game builds on the successful first installment and expands the range of environments and climbing mechanics, including new tools like wingsuits for a fast and dramatic descent back down. Critics and players alike praised the smooth controls and sense of vertigo, thanks to which The Climb 2 ranks among the titles that best demonstrate VR's potential to induce a physical feeling of height without actual risk. Even today it remains a popular choice for showing VR to newcomers and is among the most technically refined platformers on the platform, since after a few minutes of getting used to it players stop being afraid of heights and fully enjoy the movement itself.

Why play: For an adrenaline-fueled sense of height without the risk, and smooth controls that make it an ideal VR demo even for complete newcomers, who quickly stop fearing heights and enjoy the climbing itself.