While our opinions over games, genres, and platform preferences can differ, if there’s a single consensus amongst TheGamer editing staff, it’s that virtual reality has hit its stride with plenty of room to grow and thrive. From the Oculus 2 to VR battle royales, virtual reality as a platform feels great, and can sometimes even be the preferred method of playing VR-capable titles.
Last year, TheGamer’s Eric Switzer previewed Until You Fall, and couldn’t have been more excited about what he experienced and the future potential that the game held. Already available for Oculus Quest, as of today, version 1.0 of Until You Fall is officially available on Steam (with a 20%-off discounted price for a limited time) along with all other platforms. Having checked out the game when it was available for free on the Oculus Quest, if you’re looking for a solid VR swordplay experience (without defaulting to Beat Saber), then look no further: Until You Fall is it.
Until You Fall is a VR hack-and-slash roguelike that takes you on a journey through a brilliantly colored crystal wasteland known as Rokar, which is now overrun with monsters and twisted spirits that only you - the last of the Rune Knights - can take down using your magical weapons and special abilities. Each run brings procedurally generated levels and enemies, as well as the loot and buffs that you are awarded after clearing each level. Rinse and repeat until you fall (get it?), and you’ll be sent back to your base of operations to improve your weapons and stats before heading back into the world of Rokar and doing it all again, each time more powerful than before.
Upon entering the menu area, heavy rock synthwave floods your auditory space, leading you to vibrant neon visuals of a dystopian wasteland. These same types of themes follow you into the game itself as you encounter demonic foes and massive monsters who tower over you. Thankfully, accompanying you on your journey are your dual-wielded weapons, along with the skills and know-how for using them effectively.
On the offensive side of things, you, quite simply, “stick them with the pointy end.” It’s admittedly a bit more complex than that, as you’re able to hack and slash your way through enemies, so long as you can get by their blocks. Defensively, it gets a bit trickier, as you’ll need to raise and adjust your weapon to parry any oncoming attacks, then being ready to counter with an advantageous attack of your own. For the bigger, stronger enemies with the bigger, stronger weapons, you’ll also need to be able to duck and dodge out of the way, lest you fall victim to being hit with the overhead swing of a massive battle hammer. Although this is a video game, rest assured that you’ll be able to “feel” the impact of such hits.
The immersive nature of Until You Fall continues into its full release, which really isn’t a surprise considering how good it was in the early builds of the game. As neon and unrealistic as Rokar is, you’re immediately pulled into the world and embraced by its colors, sounds, and physics. I am genuinely surprised by how weighted and realistic the swordplay experience feels. Blocking an attack with my sword feels like I’m pushing my sword back against an oncoming attack. Slicing the armor of an enemy with my battle axe feels like I’m doing just that. Dodging oncoming attacks… well, let’s just say you’ll need to be sure that you’re giving yourself plenty of room to do so.
Though your character can move by using your controller’s thumbsticks, you don't need to physically move in Until You Fall. That’s not to say you won’t want to though. I often find myself wanting to take a step forward, or jump back out of reach of an enemy, but doing so would likely send me flying down the staircase next to my VR play area. It’s THAT immersive. Couple that with the amount of swinging and dodging you do while in battle, and you’ll definitely work up a sweat in no time.
The in-game movement from point A to point B really doesn’t impress me much, but that is easy to overlook with the game’s melee combat mechanics. Whereas some VR titles avoid melee combat due to the high complexity of getting it right, Until You Fall unapologetically throws you into the fray with its close-quarter combat, doing so with an impressive amount of success. Until You Fall unequivocally sets the standard for what good VR melee combat should be.
An Oculus Quest copy of Until You Fall was provided to TheGamer for this review. Until You Fall is available now for Oculus, PSVR, and Steam-compatible VR headsets.
Until You Fall