journey of gods

Journey of the Gods Guide

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Back in 2017, the gaming world got a massive influx of big-time games in the first half o the year. The biggest argument was none other than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The game rewrote the open world genre in so many ways that it’s hard to describe, but in general, it was seen as a game changer for gaming in general.

Since then, we’ve seen countless copycats of varying success, but one medium that had yet to try and come up with its own spin on it was virtual reality. That was until Journey of the Gods was released.

As soon as you start the game, you can see the influences of Breath of the Wild all over the place. From the graphics to the sword and shield music to the different tools and weapons you get to mess around with, it just screams Zelda. Hell, the shield you use even has a symbol strongly resembling Link’s iconic shield on it.

Does that mean the game is bad or void of its own ideas? No, not at all, in fact, it’s quite a fun time in VR, and regardless of its influences, it has several fun mechanics to play around with to go with some solid if unspectacular combat.

It’s not the most complex VR experience out there, but Journey of the Gods is a fun time for some simple adventuring and some satisfying visuals. Here’s everything there is to know about Journey to the Gods.

Bottom Line Up Front

Journey to the Gods is a VR adventure game that gives you a handful of weapons and tools to play with and lets you explore the world with them. It’s not a long adventure, but it’s one that you should definitely experience once, if only for the amazing sounds and visuals on display.

What is Journey of the Gods?

It’s easy to call the game a Breath of the Wild clone, but where Journey of the Gods differentiates heavily is you get the unique ability to grow to the size of a god. This is a very cool mechanic that few games have utilized. Once god sized, you can influence things around the world like getting rid of blocked passages or even throwing down lightning bolts. The power trip is a real one here, and it’s a very fun experience, even if it does get a little bit old after a while.

When you’re not moving things around as a god, you are engaging in combat that is more similar to VR dungeon crawler games like Karnage Chronicles or Skyrim VR.

There isn’t a ton here, but the basic idea is the gods are asleep, and corruption is slowly invading. You are a god who has awoken and has to go on a journey in order to wake up the gods and restore order to the world. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s effective enough and gives you reasons to push on.

The missions here are pretty straightforward. You will be fighting off hordes of enemies with some light platforming in between. Occasionally, you will uncover artifacts and new weapon upgrades, which add a considerable amount to the gameplay. I found the game to be at its very best when engaged in melee combat, so the missions where fighting was front and center did the trick for me.

The missions start pretty basically, and the side quests also take on this quality as they’re usually a collection of fetch quests with a few fights spread out between them. Still, as the game continues, the environments get stranger and stranger, lending some variety to the mundane activities you’re performing.

Seeing as all of the missions generally end in an epic boss fight, the best ones in the game take place in the latter half, with the final few missions taking place in a simply amazing-looking area that I won’t spoil. Keep pushing through this one, as the best part is the second half. You won’t need much time to get there with six total levels to explore.

It’s a pretty gorgeous world you get to explore. Throughout, you’ll run into various friendly NPCs and dangerous enemies. The townsfolk all are faceless but oddly expressive with their movements despite this. They don’t have much to say, but just the charm of being in the home hub is a nice reprieve from the intense action of the main mission segments.

The enemies come in a variety of different types. Some are your basic fodder like these purple, squid-like creatures, but as you progress, you feel the enemy types change with you, and eventually, you’ll be fighting some pretty fearsome spider robot creatures.

These creatures are huge and have a laser that will seek you out and do big-time damage if not blocked. This is where the combat system shines, and being able to block the lasers with your shield and charge in for the killing blow with your sword is what Zelda fans have dreamed of for 30 years. Enemies like this make Journey of the Gods shine the brightest.

When it comes to bosses, this is where the fun comes in. These bosses are huge and feel appropriate for creatures opposing the gods. These bosses can be damaged from god mode, but they aren’t pushovers even if you saved up the energy to damage them in god form.

Each of these huge creatures has its own boss arena, which is just gorgeous to see. Some of the bosses are very strange and unique looking, so the Zelda influence starts to disappear, and the Journey of the Gods personality gets to distinguish itself much more. Your bosses range from gigantic, Kraken-type monstrosities to some more magical-looking beings that I won’t spoil here. Just know that they are the highlight of each level, and each one involves some unique mechanics that are clever and fun to figure out. 

Exploration

You are technically not in an open world here but rather a collection of linear levels that give you a lot of room for moving around. The problem is there isn’t really a reason to justify this much space. Sure, you can check out the sights, but the secrets are few and far between here, and other games tend to utilize this better. Things you can find in these environments include artifacts, which, when you collect three of, you can then upgrade your weapons to do more damage.

It gives you a little incentive, but I never really noticed the upgrades helping me all that much. You will also come across various people throughout your travels, allowing you to take on various side missions for each section.

The side missions are nothing special, but they result in various rewards you can use to purchase equipment in town.

The combat is relatively simple, and you’ll get a few different weapons, including a sword, shield, and crossbow, to mess around with. The sword and shield are pretty typical for VR, but it’s still plenty of fun to use here, with you blocking with one arm and attacking with the other.

As you upgrade, you’ll unlock sword projectiles, which gives you a ranged option when your melee weapons are out. It’s a nice progression here, and while it doesn’t change the combat a ton, it’s enough over the 6-hour Journey to give you a feeling of growth.

• Sword and shield

It doesn’t feel like much physics is at play here, so you don’t have to worry about throwing your arm out when swinging your weapons around. The key to combat here is to find the weaknesses of each enemy, and some enemies will have weaknesses only reachable by your crossbow, and switching between ranged and melee in Journey of The Gods is pretty seamless.

To use your crossbow, you must manually lead up the crossbow each time. While it can be a bit annoying in the heat of combat, it’s incredibly immersive, and I appreciate the extra attention to detail. The timing was solid and had a bit of a learning curve to get the exact way you need.

You unlock more powerful bolts like ice arrows and flame shots as you progress, so if it feels dull at first, start upgrading, and you’ll be treated to some fun effects. The charge shot is a favorite of mine as it feels quite powerful, and you need some skill to time it properly.

When you transform into a god, you can also engage in combat, where your lightning bolts come into play. You can use these to strike down the larger enemies in the game, including bosses. The trick here is that you will not be able to stay in this form infinitely, and it relies on an energy system that will slowly run out as you perform tasks as a god. The lightning bolts are very effective, but to get the most out of god mode, you need to defeat smaller enemies to charge the meter up.

God mode is interesting because there are a few different styles of it. One makes you a towering Zeus-like figure who can shift the world to their liking. This is where a lot of the puzzles happen in the game. While they aren’t too in-depth, they are fun to solve as you can grow trees, destroy pathways and move things around, and smite smaller enemies with a single blow.

Your other method of god mode comes in the form of a Golem-like entity, where you don rock hands and can destroy anything in your way. In fact, enemies actually run away while you’re in this mode, and if you hit them, they will die instantly. This is by far my favorite mode, as you get all the god powers without having to deal with the crazy feeling of growing to enormous heights.

God Mode Powers

• Terrain shifting
• One hit kills to small enemies
• Lightning Bolts
• High Defense

Journey of the Gods allows you to use teleportation and snap turning. These might be necessary as going from god mode to normal mode is a pretty jarring transition. For those with motion sickness, the move from being on the land to towering above is an incredible thing to witness. Still, the problem is the height difference changes differently, so for those with a fear of heights, I would recommend only going to this mode when you absolutely have to.

For me, teleportation has always made games tougher to play in VR while also taking the immersion out of the game. You are playing as a god here, so I guess you can teleport without technically making anything seem out of the ordinary. The bottom line is if you want the movement options, they are there for you, and no matter what kind of VR player you are, you will likely find something that works well for you here.

Use the Crossbow

I love the melee combat in this game, and despite it being pretty limited, the sword and shield not only make the game more fun to play but also more challenging. I found the crossbow to trivialize a lot of the combat encounters a lot of the time. This is especially true when you unlock the ice arrow. This makes combat so much easier, and once you get this, you will find a lot of the combat, even some of the bosses become a pushover.

Get to know your Sword and Shield

While many combat encounters can be swung through with ease, as you progress in the game, you will start to get swarmed by enemies in large packs. Here, the crossbow won’t help all that much, and you need to be proficient with the sword and shield. Hopefully, you’ve unlocked the projectile at this point because it actually can get pretty tough.

Defense is the Best Offense

It would be best to defend before striking, as many of these enemies have long-range damage capabilities. Your shield is your best friend, but it’s reliant on actually making contact with projectiles to block them, so you need to focus here.

The same goes for the sword, as you must effectively pinpoint your strikes to take out enemies. Some will have obvious weak points, so when you see them, start swinging as you will only get in as many hits as you attempt before an enemy tries to defend itself.

Games like Journey of the Gods

Skyrim VR – An Epic, open-world RPG with sword and shield combat and bows and magic powers. Side quests for days and endless content added by mods will make this a great one to try after Journey of the Gods.

Asgard’s Wrath – Much like Journey of the Gods in almost every way. The combat is more position based than skill-based, but the aesthetic is similar, and the adventure itself shares many of the same themes. 

Fallout 4 VR – Open world, apocalyptic RPG that has you traversing a mysterious landscape. Tons of quests, secrets to discover, and side missions to explore. 

Karnage Chronicles – Similar aesthetically to Journey of the Gods, you and a friend go on dungeon-crawling missions to rid the world of spreading corruption. Sound familiar? Bosses are the highlight here as well as some great physics-based sword and shield gameplay with archery mixed in. 

Question: Is Journey of the Gods an RPG?

Answer: Yes, you will have access to the main quest and side quests, and you will progress and upgrade your character while playing. It’s definitely an adventure-based RPG but definitely fits the mold.

Question: Is Journey of the Gods like Breath of the Wild?

Answer: The two games have plenty of similarities, but Journey of the Gods stands out with its unique creatures and characters. You can latch on to animals for transportation too, which is something that you can only do in VR and something that Breath of the Wild can’t recreate.

Question: Is Journey of the Gods on Oculus Quest 2?

Answer: Yes, it is one of the only games of its kind available on the Oculus Quest 2. Very few full-campaigned, single-player games exist there right now, so Journey of the Gods should definitely be given a try.

Journey of the Gods is an easy-to-pick-up and-play VR game that will give you a solid adventure and some truly beautiful-looking visuals in the process. It’s not the most challenging game ever, but it will keep you busy for 5-6 hours and has a handful of side content for you to experience too. For those looking for their adventure RPG fix, few games satisfy it, like Journey of the Gods.

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Journey of the Gods | Review

Released back in May 2019, Journey of the Gods was developed by Turtle Rock Studios and had the mixed blessing of being a launch title. As a brand new IP, Journey of the Gods was eclipsed by games like Beat Saber and SuperHot VR that had huge followings and that were, effectively, system sellers. A demo was available, but most people probably only gave it a brief try before getting back to the grave business of slashing blocks to music. I fell squarely into that category, and only really decided to go back to the Turtle Rock Studios game when, after Christmas, the steady supply of new Quest games dried up for a while. I’m delighted that I did.

Link! Link? Is That You?

Although Journey of the Gods has no relation whatsoever to Nintendo’s franchise of Zelda games, their influence is all over the game. Like Zelda, Journey of the Gods is an action-adventure tasking the player with rescuing a cutely-rendered land. It’s not quite Hyrule, but it’s a great looking place nonetheless, stylized to work within the Quest’s limitations, but with beautiful art direction and some charming design choices.

When the game starts, you’re introduced to the land, and you can see that it’s under attack by various monsters and demons.

What Horrors Have Befallen Thee!

As Journey of the Gods begins, you realize that this once beautiful land has been brought to ruins. It’s been beset by demons, and it’s gods have all been imprisoned, rendered unable to heal the world or protect it without your help. Ironically, you don’t realize the extent of the damage done to the land until the very end.

More Action Than RPG, But Still…

The game has some RPG elements in the sense that you can upgrade your abilities and your weapons. You start off with a relatively weak short sword, a small shield, and a small crossbow with limited ammo capacity. As you visit the various levels, you’ll find sword pieces, shield pieces, and other items that you can take back to the smiths at the starting village. Said smiths will cheerfully use those to fashion weapon upgrades and hand them back to you. Journey of the Gods keeps things simple; as soon as you get a new upgrade or weapon, you’re sent to a field where you’re given a quick tutorial on your new gear, and a chance to practice using it. It all makes for an engaging and amicable experience.

Gods! Ye Gods!

Along with your more traditional sword and shield, you get to use more divine powers. As the game progresses, you find that each little village protects a rather large egg. Once the village is saved, the egg blows open and reveals one of several colorful birdlike gods. These gods grant you various feathers that adorn your wrist and provide you with supernatural powers. One gives you some control over plants, allowing you to turn saplings into full-grown trees, or full-grown trees back into sprouts. Another allows you to slow down time, while others enable you to control sand or fire, and one gives you the ability to hurl lightning bolts at your enemies. To use these powers, you go into ‘god mode’. It’s easy enough to do so long as you have enough mana, and much like the god mode in Asgard’s Wrath, it gives you a bird’s eye view of the landscape, making it that much easier to manipulate things. The game design is intelligent, making you use these powers not just as weapons, but as a way to solve some environmental puzzles to continue your journey.

Unreal Graphics, Fantastic Sound

Unlike most games on Quest, which seem to rely on the Unity engine, Journey of the Gods uses the Unreal engine. However, unlike Red Matter , which squeezes Unreal to attempt photorealism on the Quest, Journey of the Gods utilizes a cartoony art style that would easily look at home on a Nintendo system. The graphics are simple enough in appearance, but beautiful to look at, very colorful, and even get a little sinister towards the last levels of the game.

The game utilizes audio wonderfully. The music score is perfect. It’s light and humorous when it needs to be, and engaging and dynamic when the occasion calls for it, and finally, joyful and inspiring when great victories are achieved. The sounds effects are equally adept, and spatial audio always helps you know where you should be paying attention.

The NPC’s that you meet don’t talk so much as make sweet chirpy sounds, the meaning of which is often hinted at by the icons shown in the speech bubbles above their heads.

Dreadhalls | Review

Control this, zelda.

Journey of the Gods has almost perfect controls. Everything works as you’d expect it to, and the tutorials remove any confusion or mystery as to how you should be doing things. The only issue I had during my playthrough was an occasional failure to throw lightning bolts at enemies or rock crystals. This only happened a few times, and even though it was slightly frustrating, it wasn’t at all a serious issue. You run around wherever you want, hacking away at enemies with your sword. You dodge their energy bullets, their rays of death, and the idiots with crocodile-like heads who come charging at you. It’s all a very smooth and surprisingly trouble-free experience. If there’s one thing that can be said about Journey of the Gods is that it’s highly polished.

Who’s The Boss?

Although the variety of enemies could be improved, the additions to their ranks are paced pretty well. You’re never quite bored of the enemies coming at you, even if most of them are ones you’ve seen on earlier levels. Journey of the Gods takes you through six levels, and the level bosses are the real stars of the show, and the less said about those, the better since you’ll get to experience them on your own. They are each unique, and not ‘modded’ versions of any of the standard enemies you encounter. If there’s one issue with the game, it might be that it’s a little too easy, and won’t provide much of a challenge to any well-calloused gamer. Having said that, I did play it on medium difficulty, and I’m sure it would offer much more of a challenge on hard.

Options Galore

Journey of the Gods does its best to make you comfortable, providing an optional vignette, three difficulty levels, slow or fast movement options, and various levels of snap-turning. It’s a perfect game for children and for adults alike, providing hours of polished gameplay and a wonderfully cute world in which to experience it.

In The End…

Rewarding from start to finish, Journey of the Gods might be one of the Quest’s greatest hidden treasures. It’s well-made, endearing, and eminently playable. Suitable for both children and adults who still know how to be children, it’ll provide you with hours of entertainment and wonder. When it ends, you’ll be touched by the beauty of its finale and made sad by the knowledge that your journey is over.

6DOF Reviews

Journey of the Gods – VR Review

RPGs are underrepresented in the VR area, so I was happy to hear about Journey of the Gods. While there are a few great indie examples such as  Vengeful Rites , seeing an RPG made for virtual reality by a studio with the budget for it is exciting.

You are the chosen one who needs to save the world. Gain the powers you need to do this by traveling through several stages on this RPG made for the  Oculus Quest  and  Oculus Rift . You’ll find yourself exploring, fighting, and solving puzzles.

This is classed as an RPG, but to get preconceptions out of the way, it’s not a typical one. This is more of an Action RPG. That bit of story above? There’s not much more to it. You’re the chosen one. Gain power. That’s pretty much it. Most characters don’t talk either. It’s quite short for an RPG as well – a single completion could be done within five hours.

This is mostly a case of making your way through levels to get the powers. That said, while you need to reach the end of a level, there are various quests along the way. Help a villager by defending his field from a monster attack in one instance. Use your new powers to move a villager stuck in a high place in another. As the chosen one, you’re a good samaritan. You don’t really get to hear why the villagers are having these problems though. They mostly communicate with you by miming their distress and pictures. It’s a nice way to get concepts across in virtual reality, where reading can be an issue.

Gaining Those Stats

One of the big themes in Journey of the Gods is gaining power. As you finish levels, you’ll be given access to new abilities. You can use these to complete the quests or in battle. An early example of this is calling down lightning to remove a blockage or just to fry some enemies. There are also upgrades to get throughout. These are hidden around levels, sometimes in trees, out of the way ledges, or similar. It encourages you to explore.

After collecting upgrades, you can take them back to your home village. Collect enough and you can trade it for a wider shield, or a crossbow with more shots, or a number of other things. There are some more unique ones too. Find a bird egg and it can hatch into a bird. This flies an item to you at the start of each level.

I liked how there was a constant improvement in my abilities. It always felt like there was some new aspect to play with. From playing with time to exploding shields, it kept me interested. Plus it gave me a reason to look around, rather than go from A to B without stopping to wander.

Power. Power. Unlimited Power.

Those abilities you’ve gained? For the most part, they’re used in ‘God Mode’. Channel your energy and jump into this mode for short periods of time to get an overview of the area. This is where you can do things like raise trees from the ground, rain down lightning, or slow time. You can then go back to your normal view.

These were used to good effect I felt. The puzzles they were used in were quite basic. Trees needed to be lowered to open a route or a crystal smashed by lightning. Things like that were common for both the required route and some optional slightly hidden ones.

What really impressed me was how they were used tactically. I was raising trees to block enemies in a level where I needed to defend a point. When they were grouped together I smashed them with lightning. I used time magic to take aim better and get past enemies. This mixed things up a lot more than just stabbing and shooting.

Of course, you can’t always use your godly powers to rain down death from above. You come equipped with a sword and shield set and a crossbow for more mundane murder.

The sword lets you slash through enemies with a few swipes in most instances, while you block incoming projectiles with your shield. Some stronger attacks can temporarily knock out your shield though, so I like to dodge around while playing. I do this with smooth locomotion, though physical dodging can work too.

The crossbow is a fire three (or more later) and then manually pull to reload mechanic. You can pick up special ammo with effects like fire, homing, or piercing but they never last too long. You can’t choose when to use them either.

I wasn’t really too impressed with either of these. The sword uses ‘wiggle physics’. Wiggling it around quickly will harm enemies, rather than needing to properly swing. The crossbow is better, but more than once I’ve seen an arrow blocked by the air  near  a wall or a fence. Collisions need some work.

There are some fun extras though. You can occasionally use pads to raise a golem and control the fists to smash everything around you. There are some flight or sailing sections too, where you can shoot down enemies while you’re on the rails.

I found the combat pretty easy overall, but there are a few difficulty modes to adjust.

Graphics and Sound

I’m not a huge fan of the low-poly style they use, but it does seem to work well for virtual reality. There are no issues with the finer details not coming through if there aren’t any.

They do use animation quite well in Journey of the Gods. NPCs primarily communicate by gesture as mentioned before. The world also comes to life through little touches like the blacksmith hammering away at your shield or the chief placing a candle on the altar after handing over what he needs.

Pop-in and what I’ll call ‘fade-in’ are both common issues with the environments themselves. With grass, this actually looks fairly nice as it slowly grows as you get closer. It looks quite bad in other places though. You can see half of a tree or bush slowly fading in as you get closer. It does break immersion at times.

Music and sound are fairly basic. Speech is mostly done via text or nonsensical speaking sounds.

Journey of the Gods had some very enjoyable moments. Taking a ride on the back of a flying golem, hatching an item bird and some of the boss fights were particularly enjoyable. The constant upgrades and gains in ability were praiseworthy too. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite make up for the poor combat, minimal story, and occasional technical issues. There’s certainly fun to be had with this virtual reality game, but it’s not a must-buy.

WAIT FOR SALE ON JOURNEY OF THE GODS

Why not check out our Virtual Reality reviews? We have a review of In Death: Unchained , which can also be played on the Oculus Quest, with a separate version for the Oculus Rift.

Many thanks go to the PR company on behalf of Oculus/Turtle Rock Studios for a review copy. This was played on Oculus Quest 2.

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A gamer since the days of Amstrad and DOS and someone who has dabbled in a variety of professions. He enjoys a wide variety of genres, but has been focusing on visual novels and virtual reality in recent years. Head Editor of NookGaming. Follow him and the website on @NookSite .

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Journey of the Gods

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The chaos moon is coming, threatening the peaceful inhabitants of the land. It’s up to you to unlock the power of the gods in your battle against the encroaching darkness. Become the hero in this first-person, legendary VR quest against the forces of evil. Before completing this epic journey you will: - Explore a wide and wondrous new world. - Engage in ranged and melee combat with the sinister celestial servants of the chaos moon. - Solve the mysteries of the ancients and gain the mystical power of the gods! We are proud to support Cross-Buy - buy the game once and play it on Quest or Rift/Rift S! For sensitive players or those new to VR, make sure to check out the pause menu movement options. You can walk around in that area and experiment to find the most comfortable configuration!

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• Human Interest

Journey of the Gods VR Game Review Oculus Quest – An Active Adventure to Remember!

Turtle Rock’s Journey of the Gods is a Zelda style retro action RPG experience for the Oculus Quest. It’s also one of the few launch titles developed specifically for the system, as opposed to being a port of an existing PC VR title. It may not have the brand name popularity of those big name releases like Beat Saber , Superhot , Robo Recall and Moss but this is absolutely one of the best games you can buy for the Quest right now. I’ve been playing it for over a week, and am having an absolute blast. It’s best described as an RPG lite, with the look and feel of an early 2010’s Zelda title , graphically on a par with say Wind Waker on the Wii U. This may not seem impressive in screenshots today, but inside the headset it’s beautifully stylised and the simple low poly art style allows the game to run flawlessly. This is the smoothest gaming experience I’ve had in the Quest, not so much as a glitch or slowdown in sight.

The story is standard fantasy fare, some baddies called the Moon beasts are threatening the world with death and destruction and you as a part human, part God hero, have to save the village folk. You are armed in your quest with an upgradeable sword and shield for hand to hand combat and a crank loading crossbow for ranged action. As you progress through the story you also learn various God powers such as raining down lightning strikes on your enemies like Zeus, slowing down time, raising up trees from saplings and even the ability to turn enemies against each other. These are introduced one level at a time, and whilst I would have liked them to have featured a bit more, they do provide a welcome break from the straight combat action, allowing you to solve some simple puzzles.

Combat in this game is excellent. It’s simplified without the sword physics and parrying you would get in a PC title like Blade and Sorcery , but it’s a smooth experience with no slowdown or lag whatsoever, which makes for a really fun and engaging game. Enemies are varied with unique attack styles. Then there are the bosses. Most levels start or end with a monstrous foe to overcome and they all serve to emphasize one thing that this game does marvelously, scale! Some of the enemies are HUGE, towering above the landscape, grabbing hapless villagers or even ripping the roofs off of their homes! This sense of size isn’t restricted to the boss fights either. During your travels you’ll encounter huge waterfalls that rival some of the largest in Skyrim, whilst ancient mythical stone birds act as transports, flying you over the landscape. You’ll be carried over forests and sinister looking swamp lands into winding caves and caverns.You’ll also spend time high up in villages nestled in the snowy mountains, seemingly floating among the clouds. It’s a gorgeous environment and one I’ve thoroughly enjoyed exploring. The visual style is enhanced by excellent audio and subtle effects such as your sword, it’s electrical charge, positively crackling and flashing as your slice it through the air. The game might not be that well known at present, but if this represents the standard for Quest content moving forward, then count me in!

Ok, so the game is great, but let’s see what we can do to make it a physical challenge as well, so that we can enjoy a guilt free video game romp whilst not slacking on our fitness goals!

Preparation

The game is played standing and is fairly combat heavy. But unlike Blade and Sorcery, weapons don’t have a weight to them so you don’t need to be overly physical to defeat your foes. This is great for accessibility but not for our cardio requirements so when playing this game I adopted what I’ll call the Jason Paglow method from his Skyrim VR review for making that game a physical challenge by running on the spot. There are two movement speeds for this game and if you select fast, your character covers ground at a fair old clip, perfectly synchronized to a jogging pace. The Quest, being completely wireless is actually a lot easier to run with than PC VR and when needing to change direction you can just turn yourself, no need to press a button to initiate a 45 degree snap turn anymore! I found it incredibly freeing and liberating and discovered that jogging actually drew me into the experience more, and helped me embody the character and increase immersion. It might take a little while to get used to it, but once you do it becomes second nature.

I chose the third level for my fitness test, a combat heavy ‘defend the base’ type level where you need to help your fellow villagers to defend a sacred giant egg, (it’s a game don’t overthink it) from attack by hordes of evil moonbeasts. It was a pretty frantic affair, and one for which I cleared my playspace, donning a headband to minimize sweating too much into my new favorite toy. I recorded the session on my Fitbit Charge 2.

Intensity 7/10  (or 5 if you don’t run!)

• Calories burned: 151
• Calories per minute: 5
• Average heart rate: 119
• Max heart rate: 137
• Steps: 1651
• Active Minutes: 13

As you can see from my results by jogging along to the game I was able to turn what was an enjoyable video game session into a worthwhile workout, averaging a 5 calorie per minute burn, which according to the VR Health Institute is roughly equivalent to using an elliptical machine. Had I just stood still it would probably have been 2-4 calories

As with any games based around sword play you have ample opportunities to swing, slice and thrust your way through hordes of enemies, getting a reasonable arm workout. The bow operates by a crank however so isn’t as active as the hand drawn bows you might be more used to in games such as Skyrim or In Death .

Legs 7/10 (or 3)

If you’re reading a fitness oriented game review then I’ll assume you want to play the game as actively as possible. That means jogging in place and manually turning your body to move around. This game is very well suited to that, the default fast run speed is a jogging pace that is fun to match, and without wires it feels free and liberating to treat the game as a run and slash. If you just want to stand still and play you’ll obviously burn a lot less calories, however you wouldn’t be reading this if that was you now would you!

Core and Balance 7/10

The ability to free turn with the Quest allows for far more body turning in a 360 degree experience where you don’t need to worry about the cord tangling up. In later levels when the enemy count increases there’s often times where you’re facing foes on all sides and this constant pivoting whilst swinging your sword can activate your core. As with all sword games you use your core to stabilize yourself after swinging so you’ll get some work, but the crank powered bow doesn’t work your body in the same way as the more traditional bow games. Jogging is good for your core though!

Time Perception 10/10

Make no mistake this is a brilliantly entertaining game and I have enjoyed multiple sessions of longer than an hour, which is about as long as I can tolerate the weight of the Quest on my head before it starts to get uncomfortable. This game easily holds my attention.

Replayability 7/10

There’s a six to eight hour experience here and I’m enjoying it enough to want to replay it again on hard. After that there is no arena mode or even a level select so you’ll probably not be playing past that, but it’s a full size single player action RPG with a lot of fun content.

Fitness Scalability 7/10

By default this is a low activity game suitable for all. You can even choose to play seated. But for those us wanting to make it more physical, simply matching your characters running speed by jogging increases the challenge immensely, whilst also being fun and even immersion increasing.

Lack of Nausea 7/10

Unusually for a VR game this is a full locomotion game only with no teleport option. Full movement can cause nausea for some people especially if the frame rate isn’t great. I’m moderately susceptible to motion sickness but never experienced it here. There is a run vignette option which narrows the FOV when you run which can help the over sensitive, but I felt fine throughout all my play times, testament to how smooth and well optimized this game is.

Social Competition 0/10

This is a single player experience only.

VRFI Fit Score 7.5/10

If you’re willing to get creative to make the game more active you’ll have a blast with this. It’s a wonderful launch title for Quest and my favorite game on the platform so far. I’m already hoping for a sequel and extra content. Fitness and rhythm games are great of course but sometimes you want to actually play a proper video game in VR, and they really don’t come much better than this. It’s one of the better games I’ve played in the last couple years on any VR platform!

Captivating Zelda-esque experience with a wonderful visual art style

The smoothest and most glitch free game I’ve played on the Quest

Like a lot of Quest games its priced a little high.

Shame the game doesn’t have an arena mode or level select to give the game some extra longevity.

Journey of the Gods was a launch title initially exclusive to the Oculus Quest, but with a Rift version released on June 18th. It’s crossbuy meaning if you buy for one system, you’ll automatically get if for free on the other.

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Turtle Rock's Journey of The Gods Journeys To Rift This Week

Vader Immortal isn’t the only Oculus Quest game making the jump to Rift this week. Turtle Rock Studios’ Journey of the Gods is also due on the PC VR platform.

The developer recently confirmed that its Quest launch title will arrive on Rift on June 18th. That’s tomorrow! Journey of the Gods is an Oculus Studios title, meaning Oculus funded and published the project. As such, you can expect full cross-buy support with Oculus Quest. That means if you’ve already bought the game on Quest, you’ll be able to download it for free on Rift and vice versa.

Journey of the Gods is coming to the @oculus Rift and Rift S this Tuesday! Don’t miss the epic adventure… #oculusrift #OculusRiftS pic.twitter.com/Go0cdeIW0v — Turtle Rock Studios (@TurtleRock) June 14, 2019

Journey of the Gods is a Zelda-like VR adventure game. You travel across a fantastical landscape, doing battle with evil monsters using a sword and shield. Beating bosses bestows you new god-like powers that turn levels into diorama-sized sets, allowing you to throw lighting and manipulate vegetation.

On Quest the game costs $29.99, which is what it’ll cost on Rift too. We haven’t gotten to a full review of Journey of the Gods yet, but we’ve enjoyed what we’ve played. It’s colorful and innocent with some great combat and hours worth of content. It’s not ground-breaking but, for a lot of VR fans, that’s just what the doctor ordered.

Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for Turtle Rock’s other Quest game, Face Your Fears II , to hit Rift. The original title did jump from Go to PC, so we have hopes this will too.

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Journey of the Gods

• 20 March 2019
• Release Date: 21 May 2019
• Price: $29.99
• File Size: 970MB
• Comfort: Comfortable
• Genre: Action, Adventure
• Game Mode: Single User

Journey of the Gods, from developers Turtle Rock Studios is inspired by classic RPG mechanics and action-adventures, faithfully created in a Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker look and feel.

Players collect items, earn upgrades and fight enemies. Check out the gameplay trailer above to get a feel of the game and its cartoon-like graphics.

If you spot any new or confirmed games coming to the Oculus Quest. Let us know by leaving us a tweet on Twitter ( @OQplay ), message us on Facebook ( fb.com/oqplay ) or contact us via our Contact Form .

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Journey of the Gods

Journey of the gods media, critic reviews for journey of the gods.

Journey of the Gods had some very enjoyable moments. Taking a ride on the back of a flying golem, hatching an item bird and some of the boss fights were particularly enjoyable. The constant upgrades and gains in ability were praiseworthy too. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite make up for the poor combat, minimal story, and occasional technical issues. There’s certainly fun to be had with this virtual reality game, but it’s not a must-buy.

Read full review

The Next God of War Game Could Kill Two Birds With One Stone

• Atreus may lead his own God of War game, potentially changing gameplay and bringing a new perspective to the series.
• The next story could feature Kratos and Atreus on separate journeys mirroring each other in unique realms.
• The franchise teases a big change ahead with Kratos possibly returning to Greece and Atreus unveiling a new world.

God of War ended its last chapter on a pretty big cliffhanger, which has left many wondering what route the next game will take with its story. Ragnarok saw Kratos and Atreus parting ways, as Atreus ventured off to find more surviving Giants. God of War now focusing on Kratos and his relationship with his son has helped the franchise evolve into a more thought-provoking narrative, but their current separation could actually provide a lot of great material for the next chapter.

There have been plenty of theories about what's next for God of War , but two of the main points have speculated that Atreus may be getting his own half-sequel, while Kratos leads a mainline entry that focuses on a new pantheon of gods. This very well could be the case for the franchise's future, but a mainline game bouncing back between Kratos and Atreus like Ragnarok did could actually kill two birds with one stone, while also taking the dual protagonist approach a step further.

God of War: An Atreus Game Risks Losing What Kratos Brought to the Franchise

If Atreus takes over as God of War's main hero, it will have a fundamental, transformative impact on the gameplay the series is known for.

God of War's Next Story Could be a Mirrored Journey

Atreus is already off on his own adventure, and Kratos may very well be ready to embark on a change of scenery, too. A prevailing theory is that Kratos may be headed to Egypt or return to his homeland of Greece. If this is the case, the next God of War game could follow Kratos and Atreus both on journeys in very different realms, but still mirroring each other as father and son in search of something bigger than themselves.

Two Stories Interconnecting

It is still a mystery whether Atreus will be getting his own spin-off game or not, but adding his story to the mainline narrative may actually be more compelling. While Kratos is venturing off into Egypt or Greece, Atreus could be entering an entirely different world. Just a few interesting possibilities would be the Celtic or Japanese gods. A God of War game starring a variety of unique pantheons instead of just focusing on one could allow the franchise to shine the spotlight on a lot of fascinating myths. The Norse saga is clearly dwindling , and if God of War wants to go even bigger, then Atreus and Kratos should showcase drastically different worlds in one story.

Near the end of the next God of War , Kratos and Atreus could eventually come together and cross paths again. Whoever the game's antagonist ends up being, a scenario where Atreus and Kratos have to bring the knowledge they have learned from their respective pantheons could be thrilling if done correctly.

God of War Teasing Big Things Ahead

The ending of Ragnarok made it very clear that the franchise is headed towards a big change. Whether it's an all-new realm or Atreus picks up the mantle for Kratos , there seems to be more potential than ever ahead for the series. Ragnarok 's free Valhalla DLC made it seem like Kratos may be finally ready to leave the past behind and embrace something new, or this could also lead him back to Greece in order to gain the final pieces of his closure.

If Kratos returns to Greece, Atreus could be the key to revealing a never-before-seen world. This would be an exciting way to introduce a new God of War saga with Atreus while also paying homage to the realm that started it all, balancing both nostalgia and the future.

God of War: Ragnarok

Franchise God of War

Platform(s) PS5, PS4

Released November 9, 2022

Developer(s) Santa Monica Studio

Publisher(s) Sony

Genre(s) Action, Adventure

ESRB M For Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

How Long To Beat 26 Hours

Metascore 94

PS Plus Availability N/A

• Minute Meditations

The Slow Journey to God

• May 27, 2024
• Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR

One morning, as I was climbing over an old stone fence, I noticed a snail sitting on one of the rocks. Given that I had a lot of time on my feet, I found myself thinking about the snail. Everyone has heard the expression “a snail’s pace.” A snail is not going to break any speed records. But if it keeps moving forward, it will eventually get where it wants to go. And so was my life on the Camino. And so is the spiritual life.

This particular day was a short one, only about 13 miles. When I thought of how little I had walked, it seemed like a waste of time. It did occur to me, however, that 13 miles is a lot of ground. And what was ultimately most important was that I progressed forward. I did not quit. I kept moving ahead, even at what seemed like a snail’s pace.

The spiritual life is just that. In order to progress, we must renew our commitment to Christ daily and then be committed to doing this over and over again.

—from St. Anthony Messenger’ s “ Finding God on the Camino “ by Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR

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Q & A: Composer Layale Chaker on Creating ‘Ruinous Gods’ & Her Journey in Music

(photo credit anna rakhvalova).

A violinist. A composer. A polyglot whose musical world combines classical contemporary music with jazz, Arabic music, and improvisation. This is Layale Chaker, whose blossoming career, which has seen her work performed by such organizations as the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival, is set to take another step when her chamber opera “Ruinous Gods” gets its world premiere at the Spoleto Festival.

The new work, which will then get performances at the Wuppertal Opera this fall, is loosely based on the myth of Demeter and Persephone but in the context of refugee children and emotional toll their experiences take on them. The opera centers on a mother’s attempt to revive her 12-year-old daughter after the child falls into a non-responsive sleep triggered by trauma. The opera opens on May 24, 2024 and stars Leroy Davis, Taylor-Alexis Dupont, Teryn Kuzma, Sarah Shafer, Sharmay Musacchio, and Karim Sulayman.

OperaWire spoke to Chaker about the challenges of composing opera, her varied musical language, and her journey in music.

OperaWire: How did “ Ruinous   Gods”  come about? What was the inspiration for the work?

Layale Chaker: The concept for “Ruinous Gods” first took root in the mind and heart of my colleague and soul sister, librettist Lisa Schlesinger. During our collaboration on a previous project about migration, she encountered an article about resignation syndrome in her research. A few months after completing that initial project, she approached me with the idea for “Ruinous Gods.” I think she asked me because she knew how deeply the subject would resonate with me, and I so appreciated her insight in recognizing this connection.

OW: You are a polyglot and your music tends to also incorporate a vast array of languages. What are the challenges of weaving together different musical styles to create a wholly new one?

LC: I did not choose to be a musical polyglot as much as I saw this language develop and mature as a consequence of my personal history, which is shaped by generational migration and decades of travel and study around the world. When I write, it is not a conscious act in that way. I simply write with the means I have, and it is only later, upon analyzing my work, that I recognize which elements came from where. I strive to protect the spontaneity and authenticity of this process as much as I possibly can, keeping it as unconscious as possible.

OW: How are those challenges augmented in an opera that also seems to be melding mythological story archetypes with modern day issues and how do you overcome them?

LC: The moment when challenges inevitably arise is when it is time to communicate with other musicians who are helping me bring the music to life. It is not so much a challenge as it is a matter of addressing their questions about the logic and structure of the piece. It becomes important to backtrack and trace how I arrived at a particular result so I can explain it clearly to my fellow musicians. This becomes augmented in opera – because the challenge of explaining the language now extends to everyone in the room, from stage direction to set design to light design to the conductor. There are layers of antique dramaturgy and modern mythology that coexist precisely because of what music is capable of doing, blurring the linearity of time in a way that I believe only music can achieve. Only music has the power to sculpt time and space in this manner. Time becomes cyclical, horizontal, vertical, contrapuntal. It is hard to then break down into words.

OW: What was the experience of working with Lisa Schlesinger on this opera?

LC: Working with Lisa has been transformative for me. In a way, she has given me the gift of a lifetime. Through this project, I have learned so much about myself, about life, about friendship, and about collaboration. I’ve discovered what I truly want to express on stage, how to convey it, and the means to do so. We both view poetics as political, believing in the power of beauty as a means to survive and resist, even amidst horrors. This experience has been cathartic for me and has given me the strength to keep going.

OW: What did you learn as an artist from the collaboration?

Ow: what is opera to you what is its unique power as an art form and what do you believe is essential to its continued evolution in the 21st century.

LC: With all the beauty and importance of the edifice, I believe its survival in the 21st century hinges on evolving its subject matters, reexamining a repertoire often centered on themes like femicide, and democratizing the art form. But this need for accessibility and relevance applies broadly to all art forms. Art in the 21st century must become an accessible means of expression for all. Art in the 21st century also needs to remain as free as possible from the urge to sanitize its subjects to align with institutional agendas. Although these art forms require institutional support to exist, and this creates a conundrum for which I have no answer. Art’s vocation is to provoke, to disturb, to re-question. Otherwise… what’s the point?

OW: Speaking more generally, I would like to know about your own musical journey and how you knew that you wanted to pursue this career as a composer and performer?

LC: I began imagining music as soon as I started learning to sing and play. My teacher, the Iraqi violinist Mohamed Hashem al Battat, greatly encouraged me and taught me how to improvise and eventually how to write down my ideas. His seamless navigation between classical repertoire and complete freedom in improvisation was something I admired and aspired to learn. As I honed my skills, I started sharing my work with peers and mentors. I was fortunate to be surrounded by support, which made composing something I could fully immerse myself in.

OW: What are some of the major challenges you have learned from throughout your career and what are some of the most memorable moments you’ve experience thus far?

I’ve learned that when working with a group, social skills become as important as artistic skills. The way the team collaborates profoundly influences the outcome of the artwork. This is a lesson I continue to learn from project to project. Human relationships are complex because humans are complex, but they are also incredibly beautiful. And so – every time a project materializes and takes flight, like a baby taking its first breath – is a memorable moment!

OW: Do you have plans to take on another opera? What kind of subject matter would you like to explore?

Q & A: Tiara Abraham on the Joy & Hardships of Earning Her Master of Music Degree at 18

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I.C.C. Prosecutor Requests Warrants for Israeli and Hamas Leaders

The move sets up a possible showdown between the international court and israel with its biggest ally, the united states..

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This week, Karim Khan, the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, requested arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the country’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

Patrick Kingsley, the Times’s bureau chief in Jerusalem, explains why this may set up a possible showdown between the court and Israel with its biggest ally, the United States.

On today’s episode

Patrick Kingsley , the Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times.

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The warrant request appeared to shore up domestic support for Mr. Netanyahu.

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For our 2024 Graduates: Now What?

Congratulations, graduates! As you stand on the threshold of this momentous achievement, it’s natural to feel a mix of excitement and uncertainty. You have spent years diligently studying Scripture, theology, and the principles of ministry.

You’ve cultivated relationships, wrestled with deep questions, and grown in your understanding of God’s call on your life. As you step out into the world beyond Carolina College of Biblical Studies , you may find yourself asking, “Now what?”

God’s Plans

The beloved words in Jeremiah 29:11 offer a comforting assurance in times of change and uncertainty.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,  “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

These words are not just a platitude; they are a promise from the heart of God to each of His children, including you, dear graduates.

Remember that God’s plans for you are greater than anything you could imagine. They are for your prosperity, not just in material wealth, but in spiritual abundance, and for your welfare and ultimate good. His plans are filled with hope and promise, ensuring a future securely in His

Trust and Pray

What does this mean practically for you, as you prepare to enter various ministries?

First and foremost, it means trusting in God’s leading. Your time at CCBS has equipped you with knowledge and skills, but now is the time to surrender your plans and ambitions to the One who knows you best. Seek His guidance in prayer, allowing Him to direct your steps as you discern where He is calling you to serve.

Our faculty and staff are deeply committed to your ministry and calling; keep us on speed dial! Reach out for guidance and prayer as you walk into your new season. As always, we welcome your return for additional training or another degree!

It also means embracing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead with courage and faith. Ministry is not always easy; it requires dedication and perseverance, a willingness to step out of your comfort zone.

As you walk in obedience to God’s calling, you will experience His strength and provision in ways you never thought possible.

Finally, remain rooted in God’s Word and grounded in His love. In the midst of the busyness and demands of ministry, never neglect the importance of nurturing your relationship with Him. Let His Word be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path, guiding you in every decision and circumstance you encounter.

Here you are at the beginning of this new chapter, with your new diploma firmly in hand.

Now , trust in the God who holds your future in His hands.

Now, step out in faith, knowing that He goes before you.

Now, embrace the journey with hope and confidence, for the plans He has for you are truly magnificent!

The world awaits, and God is faithful to lead you every step of the way!