SickWay VR Review (PC & Meta Quest)

As if the fear of heights couldn’t possibly incubate motion sickness, SickWay VR ignores the elephant in the room; the two problematic issues fuse a rather niche concept for an incredibly niche audience. I’m glad, in ways, that neither the fear of succumbing to an immense episode of vertigo nor the repulsive urge to stay grounded for every waking hour is a factor here. But that’s just me, and while SickWay VR isn’t likely to bother me all that much, I can also see why so many others would be hesitant to ride a unicycle over a sky-high rickety bridge with a headset glued to their forehead. As the saying goes, though — you can’t win ‘em all, and I think it’s safe to say that the idea of vomiting over a virtual reality experience is far more likely to accrue losses than wins in this case.

Of course, I’m getting way ahead of myself when I say things like, for example, SickWay VR can be a short-sighted endeavor that’s built exclusively for a close-knit collective. To say that it’s incapable of attracting a global market wouldn’t be entirely accurate, though, for it has the potential to create a sturdy fan base and evolve into something even greater, and not to mention the bells and whistles to produce an exciting and primordial plateau of daring events, to boot. The question is, does it do enough to amass worldwide acclaim and prestige? Let’s talk about it.

To Dare Is to Live

SickWay VR encapsulates a “daredevil” experience within a relatively short but well-coordinated series of mini-games and custom levels, each of which features a multitude of obstacle courses that take place at sickeningly high altitudes. Think Trials Evolution, with a vertigo twist, perhaps, and you’ll have a rough idea of what it brings to the table. That, in short, is more or less what SickWay VR is: a love letter to death-defying feats and the fearless folk who pledge their lives to overcome them. And if that sounds like a simple idea, then hallelujah — it is. Well, it is simple in terms of its concept, but with thanks to its clever inclusion of challenges that range from basketball-related free throws to crossbow-based target practice, there’s actually a lot more to it than meets the eye. It’s finding the courage to take to the skies and sprout wings, that’s the problem.

In a true obstacle course-like fashion, each stage begins with a track—a wooden bridge, often with a narrow path, usually—and a timer. The rules of the game pretty much speak for themselves; typically, the track starts with a lot of twists, turns, and elevated platforms, after which the course opens up to various trials and environmental changes. In one case, you might find yourself lobbing a basketball through a hoop whilst maintaining your balance on a shoddy two-foot podium, whereas in another case, you might also find yourself bowling down objects of interest from a great distance. Either way, the goal of the game is almost always the same: tackle the course, and beat the timer for perks and bragging rights. Not a whole lot to fret about there, all things considered.

Sky’s the Limit

The base game itself doesn’t feature a huge amount of material; in fact, it’s relatively short in comparison to other trial-centric VR counterparts. However, where there is a lack of launch content to choose from right off the bat, there is also the consolation prize of being able to slog through numerous custom designs and community levels in the game’s nifty track editor. It’s here, in the inner boroughs of the game’s communal space, where I found myself having the most fun. Like countless other games that offer the opportunity to build and tamper with the structural integrity of the system, SickWay VR provides an in-depth creation suite that allows you to build your own courses, add original features and thematic twists, and then publish said courses to an online library for others to tackle.

I’ll admit, I didn’t spend a ludicrous portion of my time learning the ropes to the aforementioned suite, but that was primarily due to the fact that I was hell-bent on discovering the fresh and, let’s face it, better tracks that other avid builders had already published to the platform. And I’ll be honest, even after I had conquered and bested my original scores in the base game, I still found myself scraping the bottom of the barrel for additional tracks and modes of play to boost my time in its world. If that doesn’t scream replay value, then I don’t know what does.

Easy Does It

There is something of a learning curve to the art of balancing atop a plinth of penetrable objects, I’ll say that much. Given the fact that SickWay VR is, as the title openly states, a virtual reality experience, a sturdy pair of hands and a grounded sense of self-control certainly goes a long way toward achieving your goals here. And even if you do frequently struggle to maintain your balance, the entertainment value is still there, if not embedded in the campaign or mini-games, then in the custom levels, of which there are more than enough beginner-friendly stages to toy around with to help elevate your confidence and boost your morale for later rounds.

In addition to the plethora of custom and homemade levels that the game has to offer, SickWay VR also makes room for a full-fledged multiplayer mode, too. Granted, there isn’t a huge difference between the two primary modes, but the fact that you can voluntarily enjoy vertigo-induced anxiety with up to four other friends certainly adds to the overall appeal of the journey and its peculiar fan-made additions. Add the fact that you’ve also got yourself a clean collection of mini-games with visually appealing aspects and fluid gameplay mechanics, and you’ve got quite the VR entrée.

Verdict

SickWay VR might’ve been more appealing should it have taken the incentive to produce more courses for its main series of mini-games, but due to it falling short in that regard, it begs the question of whether or not it’s worth the price of admission. Having said that, with thanks to the communal events and custom tracks, of which there are plenty to choose from and create on your own accord—there can be a sufficient amount of extracurricular activities to participate in outside of the primary mode — and that’s a relief, given the fact that the bread-and-butter campaign doesn’t have a tremendous amount of material to sift through, to begin with.

I will stand by my word and say that SickWay VR can be an extremely sickly experience, doubly so for those who might suffer from spontaneous bouts of motion sickness and what have you. To that extent, I wouldn’t recommend it to those who are either afraid of heights or are prone to VR-induced headaches. Suffice it to say, if you’re able to brush these two things off, then I think you’ll be able to find a hearty handful of content to keep you busy for several hours or more. Could its core campaign do with a few more stages? Absolutely. But that isn’t particularly an issue, given the devoted fan base’s desire to cram more tracks into its library and continue evolving the experience into something that could quite possibly reach new heights. Simply put, if its community can afford to support it, then the sky’s the limit here.