The Steam Next Fest demo for action-roguelite The Rifted Skies ticks all the right boxes while leaving a few questions only the full game can answer.

Developer DreamVR, whose previous VR projects were in location-based entertainment (LBE) venues, had one goal with The Rifted Skies, its first consumer VR offering: get people moving their arms again. While playing the demo in my barely five-meter-by-five-meter space, I immediately felt the desire for more space or a VR treadmill. It felt both like a throwback to older, more roomscale-friendly VR titles and a rarity for a platform that has increasingly been turning to more stationary controller-focused experiences.

I am not knocking games that lean in that direction, but nowadays when a game dares to demand more physicality out of you, it stands out. The physical, rhythmic combat in Batman: Arkham Shadow was arguably its best feature. Arm-based locomotion popularized by games like Gorilla Tag has become a VR subgenre unto itself and games that adapted that system for more narrative-centered projects like No More Rainbows and Outta Hand stood out in a very crowded field of single-player VR adventures. Games you can comfortably play while only needing to move your arms to point at an object.

The Rifted Skies demo introduces you to Derwish, a young man greeted by a yellow wisp who speaks of his nebulous lineage and the need to outpace the titular rift swallowing his world whole. It's the fastest bit of world building I've ever seen done in a fantasy game before you're off and running.

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