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Horizon Call of the Mountain

Horizon Call of the Mountain

Firesprite · released Feb 22, 2023

Action AdventurePlayStation 5

A brand-new Horizon adventure currently in development at Guerrilla and Firesprite for PlayStation VR2, this unique experience has been designed to push hardware technology, innovation and gameplay. The stunning visuals and brand-new PS VR2 Sense controllers give a new meaning to being fully immersed into the world of Horizon. The story will be told through the eyes of an entirely new character, while you will also meet Aloy, other familiar faces, and new characters along the way.

73
VGC Score
·No trend datamedium confidence
79%
Press
73%
Player sentiment
72%
Backloggd
73%
PS store
12,613
Ratings

Screenshots & trailers

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)7922
All-time Steam reviews0
Metacritic user ratings74115
Backloggd ratings72207
PlayStation store ratings73750
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)0
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 0 reviews sampled · 0 total reviews in window · weighted 0 up / 0 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (66)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 70
    trust 69Feb 16, 2023

    Horizon Call of the Mountain is not without its flaws, but it’s hard to imagine a better showcase of PSVR2’s potential than this. The core climbing gameplay is impressively executed, and it evolves just enough over the course of the campaign to remain fulfilling. We’re not a huge fan of the combat, and the plot is practically impenetrable unless you’re a franchise die-hard, but these niggles don’t necessarily deter from the overall satisfaction you’ll feel as you scale rock-faces several hundred meters into the sky.

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  • 85
    trust 67Feb 20, 2023

    A VR game with gorgeous environmental view that brings out the performance of PS VR2 to the limit. While the eye-catching, fascinating scenery that represent Horizon Series is highly immersive, feeling for overall gameplay centered on climbing action can be different by one's taste.

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  • 80
    trust 67Feb 17, 2023

    After a good seven hours, you reach the end. Short for a game that will be on sale at full price, but long enough for an already exhausting VR adventure. At times, Horizon Call of the Mountain feels like a technical demo meant to show what the PS VR2 can do. But as a very first game, the result is promising, and does bode well for what the PS VR2 will bring in the coming months and years.

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  • 90
    trust 66Feb 16, 2023

    Horizon Call of the Mountain is not only a showcase of PS VR2 capabilities, but also a great adventure. Open world of this well-known brand has been transferred to virtual reality in a successful and highly imaginative way.

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  • 75
    trust 66Feb 18, 2023

    Horizon: Call of The Mountain is a showcase of the technologies of the new VR headset PSVR 2. And while technologically and audiovisually the game is captivating, the gameplay is relatively ordinary. Climbing itself will even soon become a stereotype.

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  • 70
    trust 66Feb 16, 2023

    The ongoing refrain of "familiar done well" is the defining quality of Call of the Mountain. There's nothing revolutionary in the game that moves VR gaming forward and it doesn't do anything unexpected, so it ends up being exactly what it looks like: a well-made Horizon game in VR that has good climbing and shooting, as well as pretty environments to look at. As a showcase of what can be done with the PSVR 2, it more than handily serves its purpose.

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  • 90
    trust 65Feb 16, 2023

    Horizon Call of the Mountain is an ideal showcase for what PlayStation VR 2 can do. Stunning PS5-powered vistas and a great blend of intuitive climbing and combat make this a must-play game for anyone picking up the next generation headset.

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  • 80
    trust 65Mar 15, 2023

    Horizon Call of the Mountain is a really good VR experience. It looks great, controls well, and the free-climbing concept is well executed. It’s a nice adaptation of the Horizon world into VR. It’s a shame the experience isn’t a bit meatier; it would have done well with a more fleshed-out combat system in particular. Still, the fact that I didn’t want to stop playing, even as my arms began to ache, is a sure sign that this is a fun experience. It’s maybe not a must-have system seller, but anyone who invests in a PSVR 2 would should give Horizon Call of the Mountain a playthrough.

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  • 90
    trust 65Mar 8, 2023

    Horizon Call of the Mountain isn't quite the game I expected and gameplay-wise it wouldn't be as engaging on a screen, but as a VR game it's a must-have experience and so much more than a simple tech demo. This tastes like more!

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  • 60
    trust 64Feb 16, 2023

    An effective tech demo but it struggles to be anything else, not least because for the majority of the time it’s just a fairly vanilla climbing simulator.

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  • 85
    trust 64Feb 16, 2023

    Horizon Call of the Mountain takes players on a fun adventure throughout a breathtaking world, showcasing some of the best graphics you'll find anywhere in VR. Beyond the epic vistas, the game's smaller details, like rich foliage, an array of climbing gadgets, and interactive props, make Call of the Mountain a very immersive game. It's a joy to see the sci-fi beasts of the Horizon world up close in VR, and their excellent animations and sound effects make them thoroughly believable. While combat could be a bit more fluid and climbing could have more interesting challenges, as a whole the game offers up a satisfying dose of VR native gameplay. Beyond the great environmental art, Call of the Mountain's characters are also impressively rendered, though unfortunately they're not involved or developed enough to make them memorable.

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  • 70
    trust 63Mar 10, 2023

    Even though your arms will tire of using pickaxes and rope thingies to climb up some truly imposing cliffsides and mountains, Horizon Call of the Mountain never loses its sense of scale, wonder, and sheer beauty.

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…and 54 more tracked reviews.