Far Cry VR offers an immersive location-based multiplayer VR experience for both experienced and newcomers to VR. Read on for our full hands-on.
Announced in 2020 and rolled out to Zero Latency locations last yearI only recently had the chance to try Far Cry VR: Dive Into Insanity, a 30-minute location-based multiplayer experience developed by nDreams in conjunction with Ubisoft and Zero Latency.
Compared to other location-based VR I’ve tried, the attention to detail brought to Far Cry VR by nDreams was very welcome. The whole experience is also supported by the setup improvements in Zero Latency’s new wireless multiplayer headset system.
like me wrote last monthDocklands in Melbourne is the world’s first Zero Latency location to deploy its new wireless system, using Wi-Fi 6E technology in conjunction with Vive Focus 3 headsets. Gone are the days of long user setup times and heavy PC backpacks – all you need with this new system is the pistol peripheral and standalone headset, streaming all content wirelessly to each player from on-premises PCs. Overall, the system delivers impressive performance with surprisingly minimal latency. It supports up to 8 players simultaneously – the maximum for Far Cry VR – and I was able to try it out as one big group with seven of my friends. There was a mix of VR experience in our group – some were quite well known, while others were trying VR for the very first time. Everyone was impressed and entertained.
While the new wireless system streamlines the entire onboarding process, it’s the power of nDreams as a VR studio that shines through in Far Cry VR. It’s a solid experience that uses VR in interesting ways. The premise of the game is simple: your group is held hostage on an island and you must shoot a ridiculous number of island pirates to escape. Knowledge of the Far Cry franchise is certainly not necessary, but fans should be satisfied with the frequent appearances of Vaas, the iconic villain from Far Cry 3.
It’s a cooperative experience, so no one in the group will compete directly against each other during the game. That said, there’s a running scoreboard that you can check between encounters and after you’re done and take off the headset. For those like me with a competitive spirit, my best tip is to focus on getting headshots if you want to take the top spot.
The group of eight will be split into two smaller groups of four for most of the experience, but you’ll often still be able to spot the others as you navigate the environments. There are also some entertaining combat encounters where you reunite as a full party of eight and fight off bigger waves of enemies.
Most of Far Cry VR is combat-oriented, but there’s a good amount of variety in the environments and some interesting areas to explore as you progress through the linear story.
Things start off simple – generic island environments with simple weapon gameplay to warm everyone up – before moving on to slightly more interesting areas and more complex encounters. One part is set in a moving funicular, while the other gives you a break from the fight to explore a cave riddled with psychedelic gas-expelling fungi, leading to funny hallucination effects.
There’s a trippy and engaging full-group combat sequence in the hallucinogenic cavern, with enemies popping up from all angles – the ground, sideways on walls, even upside down above you. It’s a well-thought-out sequence – not only does it work within the story, but it also shows players how VR gameplay can let you experience sequences and interactions that just aren’t possible in the real world. You’re not just playing a virtual version of laser tag here – it’s doing things that only work in VR to great effect.
This is clearly the advantage of bringing in an experienced studio like nDreams to handle the development. While Zero Latency’s other in-house developed experiences are still entertaining, they don’t feel quite as mature or considered as Far Cry VR in terms of VR design.
The grand battle finale is a mix of everything you’ve seen so far – hallucinations, pirates, Vase, and also some new enemies thrown into the mix – that you’ll fight through as a large party of eight.
However, as can happen with many location-based VR experiences, it felt over too quickly. Given the kind of experience that might attract people who are completely new to VR, Far Cry VR is a well-designed teaser. There is also much to enjoy for experienced VR players, but newcomers need to understand not only what works best in VR, but also why it works so well.
Fans of Far Cry will certainly enjoy the experience too, but it’s not a stunning franchise pairing. It doesn’t have to be, either – using existing franchises like Far Cry is a great way to give substantial background to relatively simple action gameplay, without too much narrative context or explanation.
If you want to try a substantial location-based experience with a group of friends, Far Cry VR is recommended – especially if you can play it on Zero Latency’s latest wireless system, which greatly improves the setup and comfort of the whole process from start to finish. .
When I visited last month, Zero Latency told me that the Docklands location was the only location with the new wireless system. However, there are looming plans to expand the system as soon as possible in other locations worldwide, so stay tuned.
You can view sessions and locations for Far Cry VR on the Zero Latency site.