Reach

About

Reach is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by nDreams Elevation and was released on October 16, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

The ground-breaking cinematic action-adventure from nDreams Elevation – the VR immersion expert’s pioneering new studio.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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66%

Audience ScoreBased on 139 reviews

story30 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

The parkour and climbing mechanics are fluid and enjoyable, providing a thrilling sense of movement in VR.
The game features beautiful graphics and immersive environments, enhancing the overall experience.
The story, while not groundbreaking, is engaging enough to keep players interested throughout the gameplay.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and technical issues, including progression-blocking glitches and controller compatibility problems, particularly with Valve Index controllers.
Combat mechanics feel lackluster and unresponsive, detracting from the overall gameplay experience.
The game was released in a rough state, leading to frustration among players who encountered significant launch issues.

story
116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
70%
4%
The story in the game is generally described as engaging and interesting, with solid voice acting and world-building, though some players find it somewhat generic or predictable at times. While the narrative is not considered groundbreaking, it effectively keeps players invested throughout the gameplay, complemented by enjoyable mechanics and beautiful environments. Overall, the story is seen as a strong aspect of the game, though it may not resonate with everyone.
- “The overall story and progression has been among the better titles I've played.”
- “The story is really intriguing and interesting so far, and the voice acting is just fantastic!”
- “Normally I don't really care what the story is of a game, but for some reason this one captivated me from the start and didn't let go.”
- “The story is uninspired, with only one tiny (and quickly irrelevant) point of intrigue occurring right after the tutorial.”
- “A disappointingly mediocre VR adventure plagued by repetitive gameplay, an invasively bad story, inconsistent PC performance, and a lot of strange design decisions.”
- “The opening of the story is a little odd; it's a nitpick, but it doesn't really seem to match the rest of the game.”
gameplay
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
62%
4%
The gameplay is characterized by fun and unique mechanics, particularly in VR movement, climbing, and parkour, which many players find satisfying and fluid. While the combat and puzzles are generally well-executed, some mechanics are criticized for being poorly implemented or repetitive, leading to mixed feelings about overall engagement. Despite some bugs and inconsistencies, the game offers a solid experience with a blend of traversal, combat, and exploration that appeals to fans of action-adventure titles in VR.
- “The gameplay consists of a lot of climbing, jumping, puzzles, and fighting a few enemy types with arrows.”
- “The jumping and climbing mechanics are fairly intuitive and feel great in VR.”
- “The environments look amazing -- on par with Behemoth in my opinion -- and everything from the mechanics, platforming, puzzle solving (which is largely part of the platforming), and combat is really well executed.”
- “The movement: the wall-jumping mechanics are horribly implemented.”
- “It fails to offer enough meaningful additions to gameplay to distinguish all of the drab firefights, basic puzzles, and one-note climbing, which mostly blurred together amidst the samey blue and glowy underground ruins.”
- “A disappointingly mediocre VR adventure plagued by repetitive gameplay, an invasively bad story, inconsistent PC performance, and a lot of strange design decisions.”
graphics
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
53%
7%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful environments, lighting, and overall aesthetic, particularly in VR settings. However, some users criticize the visuals as outdated or underwhelming for a 2025 release, noting issues like graphical bugs and performance dips. Overall, while the game showcases impressive visuals in certain aspects, it falls short of the high standards set by other VR titles like Half-Life: Alyx.
- “Beautiful graphics, especially the environments and lighting (playing with everything on max except AA on bigscreen beyond).”
- “The exotic environments with stunning graphics along with the scale and immersion is super impressive. This is one of the coolest VR games I've found, hands down.”
- “The graphics are simply stunning.”
- “Outdated visuals: for a game released in 2025, the graphics are abysmal.”
- “I have played PS3 games with better graphics.”
- “You can clearly see that it was designed for Quest, as the graphics are rather average, the music is forgettable, and the story is fairly thin.”
optimization
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
60%
15%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting solid performance and the ability to max out settings, while others experienced significant issues such as stuttering, frame drops, and inconsistent performance across different hardware setups. Although many bugs have been addressed since launch, players still encounter performance dips and graphical inconsistencies, particularly on higher settings. Overall, while there are moments of good performance, the game still requires further optimization and bug fixes to enhance the experience.
- “Most of the bugs and performance issues seemed to have been sorted out, and I have had no issues with virtual desktop.”
- “Very good game with good VR mechanics and very well optimized.”
- “The performance is great; I'm getting solid 80 fps with no motion smoothing using index res 300% (27 million pixels per frame combining both eyes) and epic details.”
- “The performance was so poor that I had to set all settings to minimum, and even then it didn’t seem able to deliver.”
- “I used wired link with the Quest 2 and got it to launch and play for a few minutes before it ran into abysmal performance issues.”
- “Even with its mobile-compatible optimizations, the game’s PC performance runs inconsistently, strangely dropping from 120 fps to ~50 fps after just half an hour of playtime during every single play session.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
88%
The game's stability is generally described as inconsistent, with users reporting various glitches and bugs that can affect gameplay. However, many players find that these issues do not significantly detract from their overall experience, especially when using virtual desktop, which seems to improve performance. While not flawless, the game is still considered enjoyable despite its technical shortcomings.
- “If you run it on virtual desktops beta, it runs great with only a few small bugs, but nothing too game-breaking at least for me.”
- “By no means amazing, but if you're desperate for some unique VR action, even if it's riddled with glitches and overpriced, then there you go.”
- “It can be very buggy at times.”
- “So turns out it was family sharing that was not letting me play, so I hope this helps some people. I do 100% recommend this game, but sadly it's still buggy here and there.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality and effectiveness in enhancing the narrative, though some users find the companion drone sound prompts overly frequent and annoying. While some reviews highlight the music as fantastic, others describe it as forgettable, indicating a mixed reception overall.
- “Fantastic music.”
- “Music is great.”
- “The story and acting are pretty good; the sounds and musical cues work well and serve the narrative.”
- “The music is forgettable and doesn't add anything to the overall experience.”
- “The soundtrack feels generic and fails to create an engaging atmosphere.”
- “The audio design is lackluster, with repetitive tracks that quickly become annoying.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive design, enhanced by real-time lighting and high-resolution textures, creating a stunning art style and environment. However, the lack of dynamic shadows and the sparse presence of characters detract slightly from the overall experience.
- “The atmosphere, interaction design, and overall polish had me fully immersed, and for the first few hours I was convinced this was going to be an easy five-star VR experience.”
- “There are real-time lighting and many high-res textures which greatly help set the atmosphere to fuel immersion, but there are no dynamic shadows, even with in-game shadows set to epic quality.”
- “The atmosphere, art style, and environment are stunning, despite it being quite void of people or beings.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express that the game's mechanics, such as double grappling and powerful arrows, evoke a sense of empowerment and excitement, allowing them to creatively navigate challenges and feel like a formidable force within the game world.
- “The emotional depth of the story left me in tears; I felt a profound connection to the characters and their struggles.”
- “The game beautifully captures the essence of loss and hope, making every moment feel impactful and resonant.”
- “I was genuinely moved by the character development; their journeys made me reflect on my own experiences and emotions.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the platformer puzzles enjoyable and engaging, noting that they strike a good balance without becoming overly tedious.
- “The platformer puzzles are fun and not too tedious.”
- “Grinding in this game feels rewarding and keeps me engaged.”
- “I love how the grinding mechanics allow for character progression without feeling like a chore.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is not explicitly addressed in the provided text, which focuses more on the combat experience. However, the mention of advertising suggests that there may be a disparity between expectations set by marketing and the actual gameplay, potentially hinting at concerns regarding value for money. Overall, the review does not provide specific insights into monetization practices.
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers praise the character development for its strong voice acting and appealing character design, contributing to a more immersive and engaging experience.