NERF Ultimate Championship Out Now On Quest 2

Secret Location’s nostalgic team shooter is an absolute blast.

Available now on Meta Quest 2 VR headsets, NERF Ultimate Championship is a fast-paced multiplayer shooter that has teams of colorful free runners battling it out in a variety of colorful arenas using an arsenal of authentic NERF blasters.

There are multiple competitive game modes, free season passes, and a dedicated social hub complete with a practice range and free running course, offering plenty to do both on and off the battlefield. To kick things off, developer Secret Location (Blasters of the Universe, The Great C, Transpose) is hosting a four-week 10-level pre-season ahead of the first official season.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Here are a few attractive features (as provided by Secret Location):

• Free Season Passes – Unlock original NERF skins and grow your blaster collection! A snarling shark running down the side of your blaster! How about Steampunk-inspired gear?  
• Authentic NERF blasters – 10 unique NERF blasters at launch with plenty more on the way. Master their priming and reload mechanics, perfect your aim with unique dart physics, and storm the competition with slam-fire and dual-wield capabilities!  

• Locomotion – Parkour-style movement, wall-running, and double jumping!  
• 4 maps and 3 game modes – In Colosseum, teams must capture a central control point to score. On Mesa, teams battle over 3 different control points while rotating across the map to secure the win. And finally, players engage in a classic NERF battle in Blast City and the warehouse-inspired Factory map. 
• Social Hub – Form a party, customize your gear, and master your skills in the parkour course and blasting range. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Secret Location was kind enough to let us play the game ahead of time, and while I struggled to keep up with my more seasoned teammates, I can say that NERF Ultimate Championship is a refreshing departure from recent VR shooters.

Players have access to an arsenal of toy guns, each of which is based on a real NERF blaster. Much like a real-world blaster, you need to pump your weapon after each shot in order to fire. That is unless you’ve altered your reloading mechanic or picked up one of the many special blasters scattered across each map.

While not technically required in order to win a match, these blasters offer a significant tactical advantage by allowing you to fire more darts at a faster rate. As previously mentioned you can also change your reloading mechanic and “prime” your shots to fire faster. This is incredibly useful when you’re engaged in some close-quarters combat and need to unload on your enemy.

I also found the parkour elements to be a welcomed addition to the experience. Unlike a bullet, darts travel at a slower speed. As a result, you need to time each shot carefully. Closing the gap between you and the enemy can be a great way to increase your odds of hitting a target. If you run at a wall at an angle you can perform brief wall runs and traverse your environment more quickly.

You can also double-jump and scale ledges to reach hidden areas from which to ambush unsuspecting enemy combatants. If you need to practice your skills, you can compete for the best time on the parkour training course in the aforementioned social lobby. Like all great VR shooters, NERF Ultimate Championship is easy to learn but difficult to master.

“We’re super proud of how the game turned out and the value we are offering through our free season passes,” said Josh Manricks, Studio Director at Secret Location. “We can’t wait to hang out with the community on Discord – we plan to host regular events and continue beta testing for future content. We want to build a thriving community.” 

NERF Ultimate Championship is available now for $14.99 on Meta Quest 2 VR headsets. For more information on the game visit here.  

Image Credit: Secret Location