The VR Earthbending Game You’ve Been Hearing About - RUMBLE VR
You might have heard that there is a Virtual Reality game which lets you fight other players (and even a robot, but more on that later) with Earthbending!
Well, if you’re wondering, the VR earth bending game is called RUMBLE VR and it is absolutely fantastic. As far as earth bending VR experiences go it is not only the best, but is extremely in depth and as detailed as learning earthbending in the world of Avatar: The Last Earthbender or Avatar: The Legend Of Korra would be.
You might have heard that there is a Virtual Reality game which lets you fight other players (and even a robot, but more on that later) with Earthbending!
Well, if you’re wondering, the VR earth bending game is called RUMBLE VR and it is absolutely fantastic. As far as earth bending VR experiences go it is not only the best, but is extremely in depth and as detailed as learning earthbending in the world of Avatar: The Last Earthbender or Avatar: The Legend Of Korra would be.
VR Earthbending in RUMBLE VR is kind of like learning a whole new martial art. So, if you want to be a Virtual Reality earthbender then let me tell you how.
Motion Tracking To VR Earth Bending
In most fighting games you press a button, or a few buttons in order, and then your character on the flat screen does a move.
Not in RUMBLE VR. With the magic of VR touch controls and hand tracking earthbending in Virtual Reality is done completely by moving your arms and hands in specific motions. For instance, want to summon a disk of rock and launch it forward?
Well, this classic earth bending move can be done by first putting your hands at at your sides, palms facing upwards. Then in one movement you bring your left hand about a foot in front of your stomach with the palm facing towards you, and your other hand fully extended forwards at head height with the palm facing to your left. Done correctly, or at least correctly enough for the game, and a disk of rock will appear out of the ground at your feet and fly forwards.
There’s really no other Virtual Reality game or flatscreen game that’s quite like the VR earthbending experience that you get in RUMBLE VR.
It feels like magic when you do it, and successfully pulling off a move, especially in the heat of combat, is an absolutely fantastic feeling.
From Virtual Reality Earthbending Student To Master
Summoning the Disc is just the very beginning of the amazing Virtual Reality earth bending powers that you can do with your real life arms in RUMBLE VR.
There are a massive list of earthbending moves to choose from, and as you battle more opponents and get better at the game you will gain access to more and more earth bending abilities to become more and more of a VR earth bender.
Of course, learning and retaining the muscle memory to pull off each of these moves is going to take practice. Luckily, the game gives you an easy way to learn and practice earth bending moves by giving you a selection board that shows all of them, and lets you select any of them to learn or practice at any time. Then some ghost hands will show you how the move is done.
Of course just earthbending rocks and sending them flying towards the scenery isn’t much fun after you get the hang of your moves, and if you don’t feel ready for a new opponent yet there is also a robot named Howard that you can practice against. He won’t just sit around and let you beat on him though, Howard fights back. He’s great for practicing new moves or a warm up.
Once you’re done with Howard you can play against other people, and that’s where push really comes to shove.
Earthbending against other players is a blast. To win you’ve got to either take their health down to zero by hitting them as much as possible, with the largest rocks possible, or push them off of the arena. It’s a ton of fun, and while at first you’ll only know a few moves, you will quickly get more as you get a few wins and go up in rank. Each rank comes with new moves.
Next thing you know you’ll be learning how to summon larger and larger rock formations and manipulate them in different ways by kicking the or stomping them into the ground. Eventually you even get moves you can do with your arms that enhance your ability to move around in the arena. High ranking VR earthbender matches are so intense it’s like watching two anime characters fight.
Part of the genius of RUMBLE VR’s Virtual Reality earth bending system is that you get new moves gradually over time, and you’ll have many chances to practice those you’ve already learned before you get others with a new rank. This way you won’t be overwhelmed with new moves all at once.
Over time you’ll also get naturally better at striking the poses the earthbending moves require to active, and the next thing you know you will be an absolute earthbending monster in the arena.
So if you’ve ever wanted the experience of being a VR earth bender there is nothing that will replicate it better than RUMBLE VR. It is a one of a kind VR Earth Bending game.
If you want to see some high level VR earthbending in action then check out this YouTube video for just how crazy this earth bending VR game can get.
The Metro Awakening Story Explained
If you want to know more about the story in Metro Awakening: VR then here I’ll give you a quick spoiler free intro here at the start, and then delve into the full explanation of the Metro Awakening story afterwards.
If you want to know more about the story in Metro Awakening: VR then here I’ll give you a quick spoiler free intro here at the start, and then delve into the full explanation of the Metro Awakening story afterwards.
The Metro Awakening Story - The Setup
If you’re a Metro series fan then you might be surprised to learn that Artyom, the protagonist and your character in every single Metro game so far, is actually not your player character in Metro Awakening.
In fact Artyom isn’t in Metro Awakening at all! He never makes an appearance in the whole game, and the entire story of Metro VR is completely self contained and not directly related to the story of the flatscreen Metro titles.
Don’t worry though, because in Metro Awakening you get to walk in the shoes of another infamous Metro character for the first time. Khan!
If you’re a Metro series fan then you will undoubtedly have some strong memories of Khan, and may have wondered how he became the man that you see first in Metro 2033.
Well, in essence, that is the story of Metro Awakening. It is Khan’s story. Though you don’t start the game as Khan.
Instead you begin Metro VR as Serdar, a well spoken and well educated doctor who was lucky enough to find himself inside of the Moscow Metro when the bombs struck the world above.
The story of Metro Awakening takes place entirely before Metro 2033 and Artyom’s story even begin. It is basically a prequel, and most of all it is Khan’s origin story.
The Metro VR Story - Story Explanation with Spoilers
Major spoilers for the story of Metro Awakening. Final warning.
Alright now let’s spoil the story of Metro Awakening: VR for anyone who hasn’t played through the game, or give an explanation in case you missed something going on while playing it yourself.
Here you’ll get a rundown of each notable story beat and event in Metro Awakening, and how it all slowly leads up to Khan’s awakening from a skeptical and rational doctor into the spiritualistic shaman who first greets Artyom in Metro 2033.
The game starts with Serdar (Khan) living alone in a station, but he is soon joined by two friends who convince him to have a drink with them as they discuss life.
Just after their drink the station comes under attack by large mutants known as Nosalises. Despite you and your two friends’ best efforts the station is overrun and you, as Serdar, are the only survivor.
The game cuts to ten years in the future and Serdar is clearly traumatized by the events of his past, yet does his best to ignore them.
He is on his way home to Akademecheskaya Station and right when he gets there finds that his friend and the leader of the station, Max, is very angry with Serdar’s wife, Yana. Yana, thinking that she heard her dead son Petya inside of the station’s pipes, tore down a bunch of them. Yana is convinced that her son is still alive in some way.
When Serdar finds and confronts Yana it becomes apparent that she is considered mentally ill and that she has thrown away her medication. Serdar does his best to comfort her and then talks to Max to find out how to get more medication for Yana. Max tells Serdar about the stalker (someone who scavenges the freezing surface) who he buys the pills from.
So Serdar sets out to find the stalker to get more medicine for his wife.
After a quick trip through some metro tunnels and above ground, Serdar finds his way through radiation and mutants to find the people who should hopefully have more pills for Yana. However, they’re not alive anymore and have all been ritualistically butchered.
Serdar is forced to return home without any pills, and fights his way through a bandit gang that shows up to loot the bodies.
However, Yana found out about her husband’s outing while he was gone and runs away to go and find her son, whose voice she still hears.
After talking to Max Serdar immediately resolves to find his wife and bring her back home to safety. Max is reluctant to let Serdar leave the station to find Yana, but agrees to help him with guidance over the radio.
Shortly after leaving the station Serdar comes across an infamous door known as Eugenia and opens it, but a while later finds himself back in front of the same door again. This seems to defy reality. Though puzzled, Serdar continues through the door and the mutants, slavers, and other hazards in the tunnels.
Eventually Serdar arrives at the place he thought he would find his wife, an Orthodox shrine to the accident that caused her son to die. However, Yana is not there. Instead, Serdar is knocked out and kidnapped by slavers.
While Serdar is asleep he gets a vision of a priest wearing a bone mask and chanting before sacrificing someone on an altar. The priest ends his sermon by yelling, “For you might Khan!” Serdar has these dreams periodically from here on.
Serdar wakes up in a cage next to another cage containing Yana. Yana tells Serdar he shouldn’t have followed her and Serdar gets upset and yells at her. Serdar yells that she should have just kept taking her pills and that her son is not alive like she seems to think he is. Yana tells him, in effect, that he doesn’t understand.
Yana is taken away by the slavers, and afterwards Serdar soon breaks out of his cage by breaking the lock. Serdar gets his equipment and radio back, but doesn’t find Max on the airwaves. Instead, he speaks with a woman named Oksana who is searching for her husband.
Despite not being able to piece together where Oksana is or how she is speaking to him through the radio, Serdar gets to know her as she guides him through the slaver camp. Though it seems that the slavers are also under attack by someone or something else, who they fear like ghosts.
Some of the slavers think they are being attacked by the spirits of the dead, though it turns out to be people instead, as Serdar finds when one of them shoots him with a poisoned blowpipe dart as he walks through a Metro tunnel. Still, Serdar is alive and keeps following Yana’s trail, who seems to have been captured by the strange cultists who attacked the slavers.
Eventually Serdar catches up with Yana, caged once again on a small train belonging to the cultists. She tells him not to follow her or try to stop her. She doesn’t know why or how but she feels that she needs to go with the cultists for some reason. Serdar thinks this is crazy and jumps on the train with her, but Yana pushes him off as it rolls away.
Serdar begins to reveal his inner fears and worries to Oksana as he makes his way through the metro tunnels and numerous slavers, mutants, and obstacles. Serdar, so far entirely rational, starts to question reality somewhat. He even suggests that Oksana read her tarot cards to him. Oksana finds out that she can’t touch her Tarot cards, and feels trapped as she panics over the radio. Serdar promises to come back for her later.
Over time Serdar becomes convinced he is hallucinating, and soon comes to the conclusion that he is hallucinating Oksana’s voice. After losing his temper with her and accusing her of not being real, Oksana stops talking to him through the radio.
Soon after Serdar finds a section of the Metro that seems to repeat itself, and breaks down more and more as he is convinced he is going insane. Soon he realizes that the only way to make his way through the labyrinth he found himself in is to follow the voices he now hears in the pipes lining the tunnels.
Soon after Serdar somehow finds himself back in the station that was overrun in the Prologue, and back in the company of his two friends from way back then.
Flabbergasted, Serdar speaks to them and despite his skepticism starts to accept this reality where the dead still live as spirits. He even defends the station from more mutants, aided by the ghosts of the other fighters who died there.
Soon Serdar begins to speak to ghosts and help them out, such as finding a book for an old friend to help the ghost’s spirit get back to rest. Serdar finally accepts that these voices and spirits he has been hearing are real, and in real pain. His old friends convince him to accept his spirituality and identity as Khan.
After seeing another vision of the priest, this time sacrificing his wife Yana at the altar, Serdar arrives back to his home station of Akademecheskaya. Once more Oksana talks to Serdar on the radio, and Serdar fully accepts that she is a spirit. Serdar fully accepts his spirituality and ability to commune with sprits in the metro. He becomes Khan, and is determined to find Yana’s long dead son, Petya.
However, Akademecheskaya is under attack, and it is clear that the strange cultists assaulted and wiped out the station, which is now occupied by mutants. Max did not survive the attack, and his spirit was consumed by a gigantic ball of wailing spirits, the worm deity that the cultists worship. Khan finds that the spirits consumed by this worm are demolished and robbed of their final rest.
After making his way through the station and back to the Orthodox Shrine, where the spirit of Oksana is reunited with the spirit of her husband. The two of them catch a “train” to a peaceful afterlife.
Shortly after Khan finds himself in the Labyrinth once again. This time he is guided by Petya’s voice in the pipes, and by following the child’s voice eventually finds the spirit of the child himself.
Working with Petya’s spirit, Khan follows Yana’s trail to the Hell Mouth, the source of the worm that devours spirits and the cultists that have been plaguing the metro.
Khan and Petya fight their way through a catacomb full of spirits, and are almost eaten by the worm before they finally arrive at a frozen train platform. Petya’s spirit waits on the platform as Khan goes below to face the cult.
Khan fights his way through the cultists before being knocked out and caged in their altar room. The priest from Khan’s dreams finally makes an appearance, and seems to recognize Khan distantly, as if from a dream. The priest then sacrifices Yana as Khan watches on.
Soon after Khan escapes his cage and flees the station, and on his way out blows up the entrance, sealing the evil cultists and their worm god inside.
Khan goes back up to the frozen platform where he left Petya, and Yana finally reunites with her dead son. The two happily board the train to the afterlife.
Khan walks off, content that he has given his wife the peace she always sought and laid both her and her son’s spirits to rest. That’s the end of the game, and that’s the end of this explanation of the Metro Awakening story.
All Metro Awakening Weapons | All Metro VR Weapons
There are a ton of fantastic weapons to find and use in Metro Awakening: VR, and they’re pretty unique as far as Virtual Reality shooter weapons go. Despite Metro VR having about a fifth as many weapon options as any flatscreen Metro title, there are still some very fun guns and other gadgets to use in the game.
Here I’ll show you all of the Metro Awakening weapons including the order you find them in, how they function, and what each is good at.
There are a ton of fantastic weapons to find and use in Metro Awakening: VR, and they’re pretty unique as far as Virtual Reality shooter weapons go. Despite Metro VR having about a fifth as many weapon options as any flatscreen Metro title, there are still some very fun guns and other gadgets to use in the game.
Here I’ll show you all of the Metro Awakening weapons including the order you find them in, how they function, and what each is good at.
As a side note if you’re trying to replace a weapon you currently have with a new one (for instance a different looking variant of the Kalash rifle) then just put your current weapon in off (left) hand, pick up the new one you want in your dominant (right) hand and store it in the storage slot for that weapon (i.e. over your shoulder for a Kalash or by your right hip for a Tokarev.)
The Tokarev (Pistol)
The Tokarev is the one and only pistol available to you in Metro Awakening, and it is the least powerful weapon in the game. It is also the first weapon that you receive.
The Tokarev pistol is a classic World War 2 Soviet sidearm, and Metro Awakening: VR is the first Metro game to include this weapon. Though unfortunately, this comes at the expense of Metro classics such as the Revolver.
The Tokarev doesn’t do much damage per shot, and you’ll have to hit almost all of your shots to take down even weaker enemies without having to reload. This is also because the magazine only holds eight rounds.
Curiously, you can only carry 28 rounds in reserve for the Tokarev. So if you don’t use it regularly you might find yourself constantly not being able to pick up ammunition that you find for it once you have access to better and more powerful weapons.
Unlike these other weapons the Tokarev is the only one to be stored on the hip of your dominant hand, which is the right side by default. Simply press the grab button with the controller of your dominant hand while it is at your waist and that hand will grab the pistol, seemingly out of thin air.
If the Tokarev is empty press the magazine ejection button on the controller carrying it and the mag will slide out of the bottom. Grab another magazine and slide it in before gripping the slide on the top of the pistol and pull it back to load a round into the chamber.
There is also a silenced variant of the Tokarev that can be found later on in the game. It has no noticeable reduction in power or accuracy, but is quiet and can be used from stealth.
There are a few different cosmetic variants of the base Tokarev that appear throughout the game, though there are no enemies that use it.
As the only sidearm available in the game, the Tokarev is always quickly available if you run out of ammunition for one of the more powerful two handed weapons. That’s really what it is best used as, a backup that can be used to take down an already injured enemy, or a weapon that can be quickly drawn and used with one hand if you are surprised by an ambush.
The Kalash (AK)
The Kalash is Metro slang for an AK-74 assault rifle, commonly known as an “AK.” You will find a Kalash pretty early on in the game after you acquire the Tokarev, and it will be a reliable companion all the way until the end.
Since the invention and adoption of the AK-47 by the Soviet union, the Kalashnikov series of assault rifles have dominated the small arms market in Russia, abroad, and of course in the post apocalyptic world of the Metro games.
The AK does fairly weak damage per shot, however its strength is in its rate of fire. Being the only automatic weapon in Metro VR that you can carry with you, and having a thirty round magazine makes the Kalash powerful if you stay on target. However, it is easy to waste a lot of ammunition if you simply hold down the trigger and spray, despite the fairly low recoil the AK has even while firing fully automatic.
Rounds for the AK are common throughout the game, but one of the greatest sources of them are human enemies, which predominantly carry the AK as their only weapon through most of the game.
If you’re low on ammunition for this weapon then you can get a lot more by taking down a group of human enemies stealthily, and then taking the magazines out of their guns for yourself.
The AK, like most weapons in Metro Awakening: VR, is stored over your right shoulder. If it is empty take out the old magazine by gripping it with your off hand and pulling it away from the rifle. Then take a new magazine and insert it into the magazine well right in front of the trigger guard. Once the magazine is inserted pull back the charging handle on the side of the AK to load a round into the chamber.
There are quite a few variants of the Kalash that can be found throughout the game with slightly different parts, and even a version with no stock at all. Though they are all functionally the same and have the same sights.
The Kalash is a weapon that is reliable in any situation you find yourself in in Metro Awakening, so make sure you don’t waste all of your ammo for it by shooting up a wall. Despite being fully automatic it is much more economical to fire it in bursts at any opponent that is not directly in front of you. Still, the Kalash is capable of taking down any opponent in the game very quickly if you don’t miss.
DShK (Mounted Machinegun)
The DShK, also known as the “Dushka”, is a stationary heavy machine gun that has made an appearance in every Metro game, and sees a lot of action in Metro Awakening.
Your first chance to use the DShK is in the Prologue of the game, and it appears periodically throughout. Unlike other weapons in Metro VR you cannot put it behind your shoulder and take it with you, and most commonly you’ll find the DShK attached to rail carts.
So the DShK makes a lot of appearances in rail chase sequences, where you use it to mow down enemies as your rail cart passes through.
Unlike other Metro Awakening weapons, the Dushka doesn’t need to be reloaded and doesn’t have ammunition that you can find. Every DShK has seemingly infinite ammunition and will only stop firing when the heat dial on top of it goes all the way to the right. You can also tell how hot the gun is getting by the color of the barrel. To cool it down simply stop shooting.
The DShK has two handles, and you can fire it by holding down the trigger while grabbing either one. Though attempting to fire this machinegun with only a single hand will cause massive recoil, so make sure to hold it with both. Each round from the DShK is roughly as powerful as a Kalash round.
Since the DShK has infinite ammunition and makes appearances mostly in on the rails cart sections make sure to utilize it as much as possible to conserve ammunition for your portable weapons. Though it is better to fire bursts from the Dushka to prevent it rapidly overheating, and to make sure you stay on target.
The rapid rate of fire and infinite ammo makes the Dushka immensely powerful in Metro Awakening, and when you get the chance to use it make sure to abuse it as much as possible.
Grenade
The grenade is a crude hand made explosive device that can be found fairly early on in Metro VR after you find the Kalash. It appears to be a stick of explosive with a fuse lit by a small battery once the pin is pulled.
Despite its primitive construction, however, the grenade does fantastic damage when it explodes near an enemy. Despite a fairly long fuse time of about 4 or 5 seconds, the grenade has excellent damage potential if used well.
Grenades are also fairly common throughout the game once you start to find them, usually found scattered throughout levels one at a time.
You can carry three grenades, and you can access them by taking out your backpack by grabbing over your left shoulder with your right hand, and then pulling the grenade off of the backpack with your left hand.
To light the fuse simply pull the pin and then throw the grenade as far away from you as possible. Getting caught by your own grenade is very deadly, and can unfortunately be common when fighting mutants if you aren’t careful. This is because the grenade will still bounce around once you throw it, and a mutant that walks into the grenade may incidentally kick it back towards you.
Grenades are more useful against human opponents, since they will keep their distance and stand in one place while trying to shoot you. Though human opponents will run once they see a lit grenade next to them, so for maximum effectiveness you can “cook” a grenade by pulling the pin and waiting a few seconds before throwing it. This means the fuse won’t burn for very long before detonating on target.
Grenades can be as much a danger to you as to your enemies in Metro Awakening, but are very effective against groups of enemies or enemies without much room to maneuver. If you don’t trust yourself to be fast enough to take one out of your backpack in combat then you can always take one or two out before the fight starts and leave them on the floor, or start off the fight by throwing a grenade and taking out a group of enemies.
The Helsing
An hour or two after you get the Kalash you’ll find yourself with the excellent Helsing, the second two handed weapon you find in Metro Awakening: VR that can be stored behind your right shoulder.
The Helsing is a Metro-made crossbow that takes inspiration from the legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing, who is famous for his use of advanced crossbows in his 2004 film.
Just like in that 2004 film the Helsing is a very impressive weapon, boasting a cylindrical magazine that can hold 6 bolts, and a fast reloading mechanism that gives it a rate of fire far greater than any historical crossbow. Though compared to other weapons in Metro Awakening the Helsing is extremely slow to reload, but very powerful for each shot. It is also completely silent, and can take down human enemies from stealth very easily, though aim for the body and head.
Bolts can be found periodically throughout the game, but are fairly rare. So make sure to hold on to what bolts you do get by pulling them out of the bodies of your defeated adversaries, or out of scenery and walls if you missed your shots. Though keep in mind that some mutants, such as spiders, are very hard to retrieve bolts from once they’ve been hit.
To load bolts into the Helsing hold it in your dominant hand and press the magazine release button, which will release the cylinder. Then put bolts inside each of the compartments in the cylinder. Once you’ve filled it to contentment either flick your wrist to snap the cylinder back into the crossbow, or push it back in with your off hand.
To load a bolt grab on to the lever on top of the Helsing and pull it all of the way back towards yourself. This will take at least a second, which can be a very long time in the middle of combat.
The Helsing is a very strong weapon if you hit your shots with it, so accuracy is key, and so is keeping your distance. Getting caught trying to reload this crossbow while taking fire or the claws of a mutant is a bad idea. The Helsing is best used from stealth, or when you can duck back into cover, or when you have the time to reload it before being hit in return.
Make sure to retrieve your bolts since ammunition for the Helsing is scarce.
The Shambler (Shotgun)
About six hours into the game you’ll get your hands on the Shambler, which is stored just like your Kalash and Helsing over your right shoulder.
The Shambler is another Metro classic. A homemade shotgun that fires buckshot shells, and has been present in each Metro game since Metro 2033.
The Shambler works like a shotgun revolver that can be loaded externally. There are five slots for shells and an extra one in the central chamber for a total of six shells that can be loaded at one time.
Once you get your hands on the Shambler ammunition for it is fairly plentiful and can be found regularly, though generally just one or two shells at a time. After you acquire the Shambler you can also find some human enemies that use it, and you can take the shells from their weapons by just pulling back the lever on top until all the shells pop out.
Like shotguns in most games the Shambler is most effective up close, and while it does extremely high damage at close ranges, the effectiveness of its shells drops off sharply at even medium range. Though despite being semi-automatic the Shambler has a very good rate of fire, meaning that it is very effective against mutants who charge towards you.
To load the Shambler place shells into the empty shell slots on the exterior of the weapon, and then pull back the handle on top to load a shell into the chamber. If there is a single shell loaded on the exterior the cylinder will spin until that shell ends up in the center and is loaded.
Since the Shambler does incredible damage at close range and is easy to aim due to the wide spread of the buckshot shells it fires it is recommended to primarily use it against large mutants where it is the most effective. Make sure to use lulls in fighting to reload shells on the exterior of the shotgun so that you don’t run out of ammo.
The Blowpipe
The Blowpipe is the final weapon that you acquire in Metro Awakening and is also stored over your right shoulder.
The Blowpipe, aka the Blowgun, is a primitive but deadly weapon that fires poisoned darts with complete silence. In Metro VR it is heavily ornamented, but in the end is basically just a tube with a wide end and a shorter end with a crude sight mounted on top of it.
Despite its crudeness the poison in the darts used in the Blowpipe is very deadly and each shot does very high damage. While loading the blowgun can take some getting used to with some practice you can load and fire it extremely quickly, making it a very potent but very skill based weapon. It is quite hard to aim.
The power of the Blowpipe weapon in Metro Awakening: VR is also diminished by how rare ammunition for it can be throughout most of the game. Unlike other ammunition types it isn’t usually found just lying around, but rather in the necks of victims of its use, who you will find during the story of Metro Awakening.
Luckily used Blowgun darts can be retrieved much like used Helsing bolts. So make sure to retrieve the darts when you can.
To use the blowpipe put a dart inside the wide end of it and then raise it up to your mouth before pressing the trigger to fire the dart out. The darts actually come out with a surprising amount of force and stay on target pretty well at even medium range. However the very rudimentary sight makes aiming the blowgun sort of hard, and so does the slow travelling speed of the dart when compared to other weapons in Metro Awakening.
That being said the blowgun can be fired even more rapidly than the Helsing if you are good with it, and the massive damage that it does makes it useful in any situation as long as you manage to actually fire it accurately. This can be tough against fast moving enemies, but if you hit your shots the Blowgun is amazing.
Well those are all of the Metro Awakening weapons that you will find in the game. Enjoy yourself in the Metro!
10 Tips To Make Metro Awakening Enjoyable
Hey VR gamers and Metro lovers. Here's a few ways you can increase your success and enjoyment of Metro Awakening aka Metro VR aka finally another quality Virtual Reality shooter that isn't another sandbox or procedurally generated roguelike.
Hey VR gamers and Metro lovers. Here's a few ways you can increase your success and enjoyment of Metro Awakening aka Metro VR aka finally another quality Virtual Reality shooter that isn't another sandbox or procedurally generated roguelike.
Tip #1: Get A Nice AK
Alright tip number one is probably the most vital in the entire game and that's to make sure to pick which AK you use wisely. Take the most tricked out version you can find.
There'll be plenty to pick from once you start fighting human enemies. Just put your current Kalash in your left hand, pick up the new one you want in your right hand and store it over your right shoulder.
Easy as pie. I personally recommend the stockless version for extra aiming mobility in the cramped metro tunnels. Yes, they're functionally all identical, but when you're playing the only Metro game with no weapon or equipment customization you've got to get that bit of serotonin somewhere.
Tip #2: Be Sneaky
So tip number 2 is probably going to be a little controversial but make sure you take advantage of stealth and knock enemies out when you can by just punching them on the back of the head or thwacking them with a weapon.
I could say this is to save ammo, but it's really because the ragdoll deaths of the human enemies are kind of hilarious. Especially after you just looney tunes style knocked them down with a single punch.
I guess this was just easier to make than then a knife that stabs people, but I guess Saints and Sinners already did that so why do it again.
Tip #3: Hoard Ammo
Tip number three is to make sure you take the mags out of your fallen enemies' weapons for the ammo. Resource management is like 70% of success in any Metro game and Metro Awakening is not an exception.
Though don't expect your enemies to have ammo that you can loot on their bodies like in literally any other Metro title. I guess having an amazing looting system where you're using your real hands to take supplies off of dead opponents would just be too immersive and amazing so the developers decided to just not do it.
Probably the same reason why they decided not to do weapon upgrades or throwing knives and the arsenal is like one fifth the size of that in any other Metro title.
Tip #4: Turn Your Brightness Up
For number four the tip is to turn the brightness up. It's really dark, like super dark, in the tunnels of a metro in the post-apocalypse.
You do get a headlamp that gets recharged with a little recharging device a lot like the one Artyom has, which is insanely cool, but It'll still be generally easier to see if you turn the brightness up.
Tip #5: Stay Chill
Don't worry though because in tip number five I'm addressing that this game still can be scary as all hell. You might have heard of or seen the arachnophobia warning when starting it up.
There are some jump scares that actually really land, and some sections that do a great job in classic Metro fashion of really building up the dread and anticipation. So basically don't have arachnophobia and make sure not to accidentally run into a wall or something and you'll be fine.
Tip #6: Be Patient In Chapter 1
The sixth tip is actually the most important tip of all, but I saved it for later to reward you for watching this far into the video. Play the game in seated mode during the first chapter.
The Prologue starts out seeming really promising, but the pacing just gets absolutely murdered and Chapter One is all turning wheels and listening to people talk for way too long.
So take a seat and just kind of watch your way through. When you hit chapter 2 the game gets much more interesting very quickly.
Tip #7: The Gas Mask Is A Vibe
Tip number seven is about just as essential. If you really want to make everything feel more immersive and apocalyptic then wear your gas mask even when you don't have to.
It really just multiplies the Metro vibes, and your filters don’t get used if you aren't in a radioactive zone so you can wear it for as long as you want to.
Tip #8: Center Yourself On Carts
Oh and for Tip Number eight also make sure to stand in the middle of your playspace when you start one of the metro cart sections.
Since these sections are clearly the least functional pieces of the game you'll be rooted to that spot, so if you start the cart section while physically standing right in front of a wall you'll be annoyed when you hit your boundary just by placing your hand son the machine gun.
So make sure to center yourself before flipping that on switch and make sure you've got plenty of room for some stationary shooting. Otherwise you'll have to deal with it until the cart stops.
Tip #9: The Pistol Is Wack
For tip number nine make sure to forget what I said about hoarding ammo when it comes to the pistol. For some reason the designers thought it would be funny to only let you hold 28 pistol rounds in reserve.
You'll find yourself often either having no ammo for the pistol after briefly remembering it exists and using it, or way more ammo than you can carry. It takes a whole mag to take down basically anything, and that's if you hit your shots, so the pistol is an easy weapon to forget after you get the Kalash.
I found myself using the AK almost all of the time anyway. The Helsing takes forever to reload if you miss and the Shambler doesn't show up until about six hours into the game, which is so late for such a cool weapon.
Tip #10: Don’t Compare Metro Awakening To Half Life: Alyx
For the tenth and final tip I'd say make sure you don't compare this game to Half Life: Alyx. Half Life: Alyx still won't come to Quest no matter how many letters I send to Valve, and Metro Awakening is not about to unseat Alyx as the number one single player shooter adventure to ever come to Virtual Reality headsets.
If you think you're better at giving tips for Metro Awakening than me then prove it in the comments by outdoing my tips and tricks with your own.
This all being said Metro Awakening is about as good of a VR Metro game as we could have asked for given the state of the Virtual Reality games industry, and I've been absolutely binging it whenever possible.
Where the gameplay sometimes fails the immersion into the Metro world and the story of Khan kept me coming back.
5 Epic VTOL VR Campaigns for the F/A-26B That You’ll Love
Did you know that VTOL VR has an absolute ton of free community made singleplayer content?
Well here are just a few of the many free enjoyable singleplayer campaigns for the F/A-26B.
Did you know that VTOL VR has an absolute ton of free community made singleplayer content? Here are just a few of the many free enjoyable singleplayer campaigns for the F/A-26B.
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Sky Wars
Let's start off with the highly rated Sky Wars. If you couldn't tell from the logo, this campaign by Fyrcat is very loosely based on the Star Wars movies, though everyone will still be using the usual VTOL VR aircraft instead of X-Wings and TIE fighters.
There's a story here, also loosely inspired by Star Wars, except instead of fighting an evil empire the enemy are the Oil Cartels. Though that's not really very important, really this is all just a vehicle for some vaguely Star Wars themed missions and opportunities for the campaign author to use a few sound bytes from the movies.
Not to spoil too much, but there is a sort of Death Star Trench scene, and you even get to be Red 5! Of course even if the Star Wars references don't sound all that appealing, this is a pretty great campaign for the F/A-26 that can be difficult without being unapproachably hard.
Though I did run into some bugs and failed triggers once or twice. Such as during an escort mission. The transport to be escorted ended up just flying in circles when a batch of enemy planes were supposed to spawn. Also, the author does have a habit of spawning enemy planes extremely close to you.
This is probably to force you to have intense close ranged dog fights instead of the usual AIM-120 missile duels. While this worked sometimes, most of the time it just ended up feeling cheap and unfair to suddenly be barraged with multiple close ranged missiles from a place that had been completely threat free moments ago.
Regardless, Sky Wars is a great campaign that is full of memorable and unique missions. I highly recommend it, and if you're a Star Wars fan then you'll get some fun references and chuckles out of it too.
Operation Tollgate
Next let's talk about a campaign that is pretty new and, highly underrated, Operation Tollgate for the F/A-26 by Liao and Zulu.
I'm shocked there aren't more subscriptions and positive ratings for this campaign, because it is an absolutely fantastically varied and creative campaign for the F/A-26. The maps are an even mix of water and land, which gives a lot of opportunities to face enemy naval and land based units, just as the missions themselves are a fantastic mix of anti air and anti ground.
You might be fairly used to the standard for VTOL VR missions, well Operation Tollgate has some missions where things get really switched up in creative ways.
Like one mission where you must hit some enemy ground targets while evading the Combat Air Patrol above, or another mission where you can't rearm, and can only refuel at a tanker, so you better use your ammunition efficiently.
The briefings are thorough, and even have a nice section that recommends a loadout to you in case you're unsure. You also start with relatively primitive munitions compared to the AIM-120Cs, AGM-65s, and AIRS-Ts that you might be used to.
Instead you'll have to make do with AIM-7s and Sidewinders for a while, but when you complete enough missions and you get access to better munitions it really feels like you earned them, and like you need them.
The missions in Operation Tollgate have a very smooth difficulty curve, getting harder as you get better tools to tackle them with, and some missions even have unexpected curveballs and priority targets thrown your way when you might expect it to already be complete.
If you want missions that feel unique and have a fair mix of air and ground combat then try out Operation Tollgate. It really deserves more attention than it has gotten.
Artemis Campaign
Our third singleplayer campaign is the Artemis Campaign by Judge Dredd. The first thing that struck me about this campaign was the map. It is the most well made and detailed map I've seen for any VTOL VR campiagn, and it was actually not made by Judge Dredd, but a different person called ddDeath_666.
This map, called Greek Islands, has numerous cities, settlements, and airfields spread out on several islands. The terrain itself is wonderfully blended so that it looks natural, and the settlements have suburbs, downtown areas, and even remote buildings all connected by roads.
The campaign itself focuses mostly on a single large island, and there are some really great missions here, alongside a few lackluster ones where not much happens and you'll find yourself flying over the water for long periods of time. Still, the missions that are good in this campaign are impressive.
Though the odd thing about the Artemis Campaign is that it gets easier as you progress through the missions, rather than harder, the first three missions are actually the best and most impressive of the bunch. The later missions are still good, don't get me wrong, but don't have the same level of challenge and spectacle as the first ones.
Oh, and I do like the thought of only giving the player limited saves in this campaign, this is a great way to add some interesting challenge to missions by making the player wonder when they should use their limited pool of saves. It was a nice change of pace to get out of the habit of saving every five minutes just in case.
Liberation of Kuwait F/A-26
Our next campaign is the Liberation of Kuwait F/A-26 campaign by Judge Dredd, not to be confused with a similarly named campaign for the AH-94 (which is also excellent). These missions are very loosely based on the air war and following ground invasion of the nation of Kuwait, which was then occupied by the Iraqi military, during Operation Desert Storm.
The first mission starts off slowly with the some aerial reconnaissance using your TGP, and the rest is a tight series of four bombing and close air support missions.
That's almost entirely the focus of this campaign, close air support and strikes using smart munitions. You'll be spending a lot of time watching prospective targets or friendly forces with your TGP before getting the order on whether or not to engage. Despite not being a very difficult campaign it's a ton of fun and very tightly designed.
The map is a little barren and not the best approximation of Kuwait out there, but the missions do a great job of integrating friendly forces into your objectives.
When you support friendly forces you'll also see those friendlies fighting on the ground, and so the missions really sell that you are giving vital support to real troops below. The missions are well made, immersive, and not overly intense. Mostly you only have to make sure to stay out of MANPAD and AAA range.
If you want a little leisurely precision bombing in missions polished enough to feel like they could be DLC, then give the Liberation of Kuwait campaign a try. Though, expect to spend a lot of time looking at the ground with your TGP.
Oh, and this campaign does have some fun little touches, like this guy who you are told to stop for to arm your weapons each time you fly a combat mission. Very cool. This is a very well polished and scripted campaign that does a good job of making you feel like part of an operation involving other units.
Defenders Of Kyiv
The last singleplayer campaign here is based on the still active Russo-Ukrainian war. Defenders of Kyiv by Innocence Of Children focuses on a small group of fighter pilots just before and during the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the northern Kyiv front.
The Russian military attempted to pull off a high risk and high speed operation to quickly capture Kyiv and force the Ukrainian government to flee or capitulate. In this campaign you are part of the Ukrainian military forces that prevented this from happening.
The thing that makes the Defenders of Kyiv campaign stand out from all other custom singleplayer campaigns in VTOL VR, even more so than its setting, are the wingmen that you fly with. Both are actually characters, with dialog and personalities. In fact there's a lot of dialog in these missions.
Your two wingmen, Joker and Queen, go from corny to dramatic very quickly when the invasion starts. Their banter fills out the quiet moments and gives each mission a greater sense of context and drama.
While English is clearly not the author's first language and there are a lot of minor errors in the script, the intent of the writing is a solid story, and the character drama hits as hard as the missions do. In terms of story and drama the Defenders of Kyiv campaign has to be the best one out there.
This campaign also severely limits what equipment you will have access to, especially earlier on. While you'll never get all of the fancy ultra modern missiles and ground attack munitions that you'll have access to in normal play, limiting you to less sophisticated weapons makes the campaign more difficult throughout, and changes the usual flow of air to air fights. It also changes how you engage ground targets, and unfortunately not in the best way.
While being forced to rely on dumb bombs and missiles more than usual is interesting, it's more annoying than anything when you receive objectives to destroy fifty targets... and then even more after that.
While ostensibly you'll have your wingmen and other allied units helping you, they'll inevitably end up being shot down or run out of ammo before chewing through so many enemy ground targets. This leaves you using all your muntiions up over and over and needing to fly back to base a bunch of times to actually complete the objective. This gets kind of tedious, and I wish you didn't get such a massive amount of ground targets to take out at once.
Still, the briefings have great detail, and the battles on the ground are absolutely massive and impressive. This campaign felt really unique and fresh in a lot of ways. I highly recommend it.
If you've got a campaign for any aircraft that you think deserves playing then feel free to let me know in the comments. Have fun flying out there in VTOL VR.
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