Wrath: Aeon of Ruin VR – Brutal Edition Review: Valiant Effort

The boomer shooter genre has established itself for years now. Wrath: Aeon of Ruin VR – Brutal Edition, however, shows how difficult it can be to translate the signature breakneck speed to VR.

Released in full in 2024, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin set itself apart from other examples in this emerging genre by building its foundation using the Quake-1 Tech. The retro look is a given, of course, while the moment-to-moment gameplay blends tradition with modernity. The VR version is a valiant effort in terms of adapting its greatness — even if some of its weakest elements are more noticeable when experienced through a headset.

If you’re here for the story, you’re not in the right place. And that’s deliberate. Like the ’90s shooters that Wrath: Aeon of Ruin so clearly reveres, the setup is quick and to the point. You play as the Outlander, who finds himself on the shores of a strange place plagued by the Guardians of the Old World, who will be your targets. There’s a total of 15 maps scattered throughout three hub worlds, meaning that you can plunge through them in any order the moment you enter a hub.

The levels themselves tick all the necessary boxes, and then some. Moody, labyrinthine graveyards, catacombs, forests, and ancient ruins are a common occurrence, but they’re also filled with secrets to find, from enemy encounters to powerful items. Foes will make use of every turn of a corner and elevators being activated to jump at you, but the moments in which I felt out of traversal options were few and far between. Levels can be a weapon used against you as much as they can be another weapon in your arsenal.

Speaking of which, the VR rendition of Wrath: Aeon of Ruin allows you to dual-wield weapons, as well as use both hands on a singular one to improve stability when aiming, as well as enabling a powerful secondary shot in most weapons. The signature blade, which is present in the protagonist’s wrist, can be used in any direction as if you were playing a game designed with sword combat in mind. It’s intuitive and extremely deadly for enemies, and this VR version also has some specific features, such as positioning both blades as a cross in front of you to protect you from projectiles, and charging an attack that can push you forward, which pairs perfectly with a well-timed jump.

There’s a vast assortment of VR-specific tweaks, which are appreciated. Reloading is done with gestures, as you’d expect from a VR shooter worth its salt, and there’s also a ground slide that you can perform when running. I found the latter to not be super effective, as it can be slower than what you’d expect, and far from the grandiose acrobatics that games like Hellsweeper have come to offer over the years.

Still, even if some of the new additions aren’t that surprising or lack some polish, the overall experience feels substantially different than playing the flat-screen version on PC or console. With this, however, comes other complications, as Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is a tough game to fully immerse yourself in VR. Boomer shooters, by definition, are quite fast-paced. Even if you’re like me and have decent VR legs, however, the issue is less about the pacing itself and more about the fact that it’s harder to keep up with everything on screen when the original experience wasn’t initially designed for VR.

Even with three difficulty settings to choose from, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin is a tough shooter. By default, saving your game consists of using an item that is found in levels sparsely, which allows you to create a save point wherever you’re standing. If you meet your demise, you’ll be sent back to that checkpoint. Since you never know what will come next, this item becomes quite precious, and it adds pressure to your strategy in how you navigate through a level.

While the level design is quite strong, it’s the shooting aspect that doesn’t quite gel together. Aiming and successfully landing a projectile on enemies that are far away from you can be a hassle, depending on your weapon of choice. The reload animations, while novel and immersive, aren’t as snappy as they could be, which can be the difference between life and death during intense encounters.

Most notable were the moments in which I found myself hiding behind corners to try and avoid enemy projectiles and slowly chipping away at their life from afar, luring them in to finish them with a shotgun blast or a quick slice from the blade. For a shooter that pays tribute to titles that excelled at keeping you moving at all times, I felt like Wrath was constantly slowing me down. When some of the cumbersome VR additions got into the mix, the overall experience began to feel detracted, not really allowing me to fully buy into the power fantasy as games like Doom and Quake always managed to achieve.

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin VR – Brutal Edition – Final Verdict

The additions of Wrath: Aeon of Ruin VR – Brutal Edition are substantial enough to set it apart from its original rendition. The adaptation of the overall experience isn’t without its faults, often showing the hardships of translating a shooter that wasn’t initially designed for VR. Yet, its robust campaign and retro feel through a modern lens are worth seeing through — just don’t expect the fast-paced rhythm that others in the boomer shooter wave are known for.

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