Assassin's Creed Nexus VR review: Meta Quest 3's 'killer' app

Assassin's Creed as a franchise feels oddly perfectly apt for a VR adaptation, and at the same time, an exact example of something naysayers would point to as a reason the format isn't made for AAA gaming.

It's got all the fun of investigating virtual recreations of historical settings, but the constraints (as far as VR is concerned) of doing it while hopping across rooftops at speed.

Thankfully, Assassin's Creed Nexus takes on the challenge of translating the core pillars of Ubisoft's sometimes-stealthy adventure series with aplomb, and ends up being one of the new Meta Quest 3's most impressive releases yet.

Greatest Hits

Click to enlarge

Assassin's Creed Nexus VR puts players in the virtual presence of a hacker, recruited by Abstergo but secretly working for the Brotherhood, flanked by series stalwarts Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, and working under the watchful gaze of Deadpool and Firefly star Morena Baccarin.

As far as first impressions go, Nexus VR wisely gives you just enough setup to lay the table, but unpacks morsels as it progresses through its trio of campaigns.

Click to enlarge

Wisely starting with Ezio, your quest to find a MacGuffin from history will run through Conor and Cassandra's memories, too, letting you experience Renaissance Italy, Colonial America, and Ancient Greece across the 15-hour campaign.

This whistlestop tour kept me invested because I never had time to feel bored of any one location, but if you've skipped any of the franchise's entries that share these protagonists, you may have some catching up to do.

Each of these worlds is impressively sculpted, too - from the initial opening in a bedroom in Venice, to the streets of Ancient Greece, it's possible to hide among crowds, pick up items to distract guards, and generally be a bit of a nuisance in all the best ways VR offers.

Much of the time there's little reward to opening boxes and digging through, but every now and again you'll find a collectable - it wouldn't be an Assassin's Creed game without them.

VR-kour

Click to enlarge

It also wouldn't be an Assassin's Creed title without parkour, and I'm impressed by how well Assassin's Creed Nexus VR does when it comes to pathfinding through often complex areas. Mainline Assassin's Creed games still tend to get a little lost between which way you want to go, but by sprinting and holding a button here, you'll glide across platforms.

Climbing is a little more involved, as you'll need to physically reach upward with the Quest controllers, 'grabbing' ledges and pulling yourself up. What at first felt like busywork soon became second nature; within half an hour, I went from waiting to spot the climbing prompt on each hand before letting go, to scaling sheer vertical surfaces with ease.

Click to enlarge

As I mentioned in my intro, all of this sounds like a nightmare in VR, and it'd be fair to say those adjusting will need to spend time accessing assists. There are options for those with a fear of heights, as well as a wide range of comfort options including being able to play while seated.

It's still not the kind of game I could comfortably play for hours at a time, but for 90 minutes at a time I truly did feel like I'd walked into an Assassin's Creed game - particularly when it comes to the actual assassination part.

Assassin's Creed Nexus VR lets you flick out your wrist while holding a trigger to draw your hidden blade, and it's just as cool as it sounds. The stabbing motion that follows never feels quite as precise as the Brotherhood would like, but that's likely down to my own flailing arms more than anything else.

To get in position for such an attack you'll need to sneak, and while I've seen stealth handled in VR in different ways, I really appreciated the simplicity here; look at enemies to tag them, throw items to distract them. It's all very basic, and the stuff Ubisoft has been doing for years across its increasingly homogenised franchises, but it feels nicely stripped back here.

Crashing the Animus

Click to enlarge

When stealth goes awry, our heroes are able to engage in more straightforward combat, but I found myself reminded of the series' earliest entries - for better and for worse.

Ezio, Connor, and Cassandra can attack with their weapons (and drawing a sword in VR will always feel cool), but they'll need to block enemies to get a chance to strike. This leads to some slick ripostes as you dance around opponents' heavily telegraphed attacks, but it starts to run into the same early Assassin's Creed problem of waiting for enemies to take their turn. That's particularly noteworthy in Cassandra's more combat-focused chapter.

Outside of combat, there's plenty to make you feel like the embodiment of the Brotherhood's teachings. Crouching to hide from guards, peering around corners or slipping into crowds and leaping into haystacks.

Aside from collectables, I also adored the time trials - making use of the parkour systems, and the climbing mechanics, to scurry across obstacle courses was one of my favourite ways to see each location.

I'd also be remiss not to mention loading times. Some of them are occasionally pretty long, and even when they aren't, they pop up regularly enough to break immersion regularly.

The Verdict

Assassin's Creed Nexus VR feels like the best showcase for what the new Meta Quest 3 headset can do. It's packed full of comfort features to let you tailor the experience so that however you play, you'll feel like one of the Brotherhood.

Whether you're a fan of the series or not, this is a great example of what consumer VR tech can do.

4/5

Review code provided by the publisher. Reviewed on Meta Quest 3. For more on Assassin's Creed Nexus, check out our developer interview.