Everest VR is a digital trek into extremely high heights that could give you a case of vertigo it’s so realistic. But unlike Crytek’s The Climb, this mountain climbing adventure is focused on realism more than it is being a game.
Everest VR recreates the journey up the tallest mountain on Earth through a series of challenges and when we tried it for ourselves, we came away thinking that it was quite breathtaking, although brief. The developers, Sólfar Studios, recruited the creative visual effects and animation studio RVX and coupled them with the Granite SDK to produce one of the most visually intense VR games to date. So intense, in fact, another journalist bailed out of a demo due to its realism.
Now, Sólfar Studios is sharing a new mixed reality video of gameplay shown at the top of this article. Players take the journey in front of a green screen, so viewers can see what they’ll reacting to all in one recorded video. You’ll see players engage in a bit of climbing action as well as interacting with birds and non-playable fellow climbers and crossing ladders over chasms. At the end, you get to eventually see what it’s like to summit the mountain and plant an Everest VR flag at its windy peak during a beautiful sunset. We also have a breakdown of the five big scenes from the experience including a “God Mode” that allows you to see the mountain from the skies.
Today, Sólfar Studios also announced via a press announcement that not only is the price decreasing from $24.99 to $19.99, but the app is also receiving a major “God Mode” update. “Users will now be able to zoom in and out to fully explore points of interest, offering a fantastic and varied perspective on one of Earth’s most iconic peaks. The expansion will also allow users to teleport along the historic climbing routes used by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in their 1953 expedition and the first Chinese expedition to climb the North Face and reach Everest summit in 1960.”
Sólfar Studios, founded in Iceland in 2014, was formed with the goal to create thrilling VR experiences that define the medium and establish themselves as leaders in the industry. Everest VR released August 2nd, 2016 and is available for HTC Vice at $19.99 on Steam. There’s no information as of yet on their next project, though they have revealed they’re developing multiple projects across the PS VR, HTC Vice, and Oculus Rift platforms.
