''Asgard's Wrath 2'' is an

action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and Role-playing video game, role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games empha ...

developed by

Sanzaru Games Sanzaru Games, Inc. is an American video game development company that was founded in Foster City, California in 2006. Sanzaru also has a satellite studio based in Ottawa, Ontario called Kitazaru, as well as an office in Dublin, California. Th ...

and published by

Oculus Studios Reality Labs, formerly Oculus VR, is a business and research unit of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.) that produces virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software, including virtual reality headsets such as the Que ...

for the

Meta Quest The Meta Quest, initially the Oculus Quest until August 2022, is a line of virtual reality headsets with augmented reality capabilities developed by Reality Labs, a division of Meta. The first-generation Oculus Quest was developed by Oculus (the ...

series of

virtual reality headset A virtual reality headset (or VR headset) is a Head-mounted display, head-mounted device that uses 3D near-eye displays and positional tracking to provide a virtual reality environment for the user. VR headsets are widely used with Virtual reali ...

s. It is the sequel to ''

Asgard's Wrath ''Asgard's Wrath'' is a 2019 action role-playing game developed by Sanzaru Games and published by Oculus Studios for the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset. In the game, the player assumes control of a Norse god who must guide several mortal ...

'' (2019). The game was released worldwide in December 2023 and was included for free as a launch game for the

Meta Quest 3 Meta Quest 3 is a standalone virtual reality (VR) headset developed by Reality Labs, a division of Meta Platforms. It was unveiled on June 1, 2023, and released on October 10, succeeding the Quest 2 as the third generation of the Meta Quest l ...

Gameplay

Players control a

Norse god In Germanic paganism, the indigenous religion of the ancient Germanic peoples who inhabit Germanic Europe, there were a number of different gods and goddesses. Germanic deities are attested from numerous sources, including works of literature, ...

who possesses mortals who have important destinies. After being betrayed by

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

in ''

'', the protagonist is freed from bondage and sent to Egypt. There, players interact with gods from

Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian pantheon, Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part ...

and seek a way to get revenge on Loki. Players can explore the

open world In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...

; possess four characters, each of whom has their own story and

skill tree Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...

; talk to

non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...

s; play

minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than th ...

s; solve puzzles; and engage in combat with enemies and bosses. Players are assisted in combat by followers, who also have their own stories.

Development

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based studio

began development on Asgard's Wrath 2 shortly after

's release in late 2019. As a result of

Meta Meta most commonly refers to: * Meta (prefix), a common affix and word in English ( in Greek) * Meta Platforms, an American multinational technology conglomerate (formerly ''Facebook, Inc.'') Meta or META may also refer to: Businesses * Meta (ac ...

's commitment to its standalone devices and its discontinuation of the non-standalone

Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets, virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a virtual reality company founded by Palmer Luckey that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality indust ...

family of headsets, the sequel shifted platforms, no longer requiring a headset connected to a

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

computer and instead becoming exclusive to standalone Meta headsets. Following the original's success, developer Sanzaru Games was acquired by Meta's

in 2020. Asgard's Wrath 2 was announced alongside the

during the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase on June 1, 2023, as a launch game for the new headset. Oculus Studios released ''Asgard's Wrath 2'' for the

Meta Quest 2 Quest 2 is a standalone virtual reality headset developed by Reality Labs, a division of Meta Platforms. It was unveiled on September 16, 2020, and released on October 13, 2020 as the Oculus Quest 2. It was then rebranded as the Meta Quest 2 ...

Meta Quest Pro The Meta Quest Pro is a discontinued mixed reality (MR) headset developed by Reality Labs, a division of Meta Platforms. Unveiled on October 11, 2022, it is a high-end headset designed for mixed reality and virtual reality applications, target ...

, and Meta Quest 3 on December 15, 2023, to be bundled with all Meta Quest 3 purchases until January 27, 2024.

Reception

''Asgard's Wrath 2'' received "universal acclaim" on

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' gave it a perfect score and made it their editors' choice, writing that it "sets a new gold standard for VR" and competes with the best role-playing games on any platform. ''

UploadVR UVR Media, LLC (formerly UploadVR, Inc. and Upload, Inc.) is an American media company that operates ''UploadVR'', a virtual reality-focused trade publication website. The company was founded as UploadVR in 2014 by Taylor Freeman, Will Mason, ...

'' said it "offers Quest players more than ever, on an uncharted scale". In their review, they praised what they felt was epic gameplay but said the game was let down by adopting the conventions of non-VR role-playing games. ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'' reviewer said ''Asgard's Wrath 2'' had become his new favorite VR game and wrote that "the gameplay, pacing, and story are a gift from the gods". ''

Siliconera The GAMURS Group, simply known as Gamurs, is an esports media and entertainment publisher. Established in 2014, the group operates multiple brands focusing on the esports and entertainment news markets, including the websites: ''Dot Esports'', '' ...

'' called it "a genuinely cool, well-crafted endeavor" and said the only drawback was that the graphics were limited by the Meta Quest 3 compared to non-VR platforms.

Awards and accolades

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://sanzaru.com/games/asgards-wrath-2/}
Hologram Event for Meta
2023 video games Action role-playing video games Meta Quest games New York Game Award winners Open-world video games Sanzaru Games games Single-player video games Unreal Engine 4 games Video games based on Egyptian mythology Video games based on Norse mythology Video games developed in the United States Virtual reality games Oculus Studios games