Into the Radius

Into the Radius is an FPS prepared for virtual reality headsets. The game, which brings to mind the STALKER series, was developed by the independent studio CM Games from Estonia. This developer has two parts of the Nitro Nation racing series in their portfolio.

Plot

The titular "Radius" is an exclusion zone around the fictional city of Pechorsk, where dangerous anomalies appear and mysterious creatures roam the environment. In Into the Radius we play the role of one of the stalkers who venture into the zone in search of valuable and rare artifacts.

Mechanics

Into the Radius allows us to watch the action from a first-person perspective (FPP). The open world of the game includes, among others, abandoned urban areas and industrial complexes, as well as forests and swamps. Easier orientation is made possible thanks to a map, which we can pull out at any time to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings and plan the route. The driving force of the game are missions, during which we explore the area and achieve our goals, looking for valuable items, eliminating adversaries and avoiding anomalies.

The game has implemented a day and night cycle. The time of day affects the presence and behavior of enemies, and also determines our priorities during stays in the zone. During the day, we can freely loot abandoned buildings and roam the wilderness, while at night we must be on guard, as the greatest threats leave their hiding spots.

We can encounter both creatures like Mimics and hostile people. We deal with enemies using a rich arsenal - pistols, machine guns or even sniper rifles can be adapted to individual preferences using a number of accessories. Additionally, we have a detector on our forearm that allows us to find anomalies and notice adversaries in advance. We are not defenseless in the game, however it is often a better idea to act silently and sneak behind the enemy backs than to rush at them with a battle cry.

The game portrays weapon handling in a realistic way. Before firing a shot we have to unlock it, and after emptying the magazine we must replace it with a new one. When the gun gets dirty it starts to jam and it is necessary to clean it. We do all this manually, making the appropriate movements with our hands. Having to use our real hands also applies to interacting with the environment, opening boxes or climbing over terrain obstacles.

Between subsequent escapades, we end up at the base camp, where we can accept new assignments and prepare for the next expeditions, clean weapons and select the appropriate equipment. The game features a backpack management system - we must pay attention not only to the amount of space the items occupy, but also to their weight.

Technical aspects

Into the Radius requires virtual reality goggles and dedicated motion controllers.