The number of levels are the same as the first-15 in both-but there’s a greater diversification of areas to climb around in the new game. I tended to look around first for obvious pathways, so I never really ended up using either. You can rewind to your last checkpoint once per climb if you need to backtrack, and you can magically reveal available pathways if you’re lost. Like in the original, you also have two supernatural gifts too (outside of incredible arm strength) that I never really used. It’s easy to throw caution to the wind though since the periodic checkpoint system allows for automatic restarts. Things like unsafe ladders and loose monkey bars are everywhere, so you have to choose wisely.
You can choose to venture through even more annoying handholds, like the ones you have to dust off first, or the ones with spikes that sap your virtual stamina. Far jumps with crumbling handholds make for great shortcuts, but also pretty obvious deathtraps. Harder and easier routes present themselves along the way, so you can climb however you feel most comfortable. Level design shines in The Climb 2, giving you a host of options to amble up each of the game’s separate mountain formations. That’s not to say I wish it didn’t go conceptually farther in some areas, but it’s a worthy successor just the same. On the outside, The Climb 2 may feel very similar, however it actually offers a more diverse collection of climbing possibilities that go beyond the original.
And The Climb 2 follows very much the same recipe as the first, although there are a few notable differences between the two that make the sequel a more enjoyable experience overall.
Of course, I’ve since played The Climb the way it was meant to be experienced, namely with full motion controls so you can physically stretch and grab your way through the winding handholds through each level, and wirelessly so you can really go wild. It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come with standalone VR headsets in the meantime, and as a result The Climb 2 feels miles away from my first experience with its predecessor.
That was before Oculus released Touch to consumers, and they were still bundling original Rifts with an Xbox One controller. Here’s some ancient history: I first played The Climb after it launched on Oculus Rift in 2016 it was a technically impressive game but suffered from the lack of motion controls, which really hampered the whole experience. It serves up more interesting and challenging climbs across more exotic locales, and it does it with a few new flourishes over the original that will have you revisiting levels and leaving little to dislike about Crytek’s acrophobia-inducing sequel. The Climb 2 has continued to refine what made the first game in the franchise so much fun.