Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond (2020)

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, if nothing else, represents a symbolic step forward for VR game platforms like the Oculus Quest 2. It’s the closest thing to a AAA title I’ve played on my headset yet. I don’t know if its nearly-50GB file size is warranted given the so-so visuals, but I did have a lot of fun with the Campaign missions. I’ll still wait a while for the multiplayer to work out its kinks, but I can see myself enjoying that eventually, too. All in all, I’m not sure if Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond would do Grandpa proud, but if you own an Oculus Quest 2, it’s a fun experience and worthy of your time.

If some spectacular passages stand out, it is difficult to be passionate about its events. A survival mode and a multiplayer mode complete the picture, but the rather stupid AI of the enemies does not make the whole thing indispensable. It's a shame, because question interaction, it was pretty well done, with a pretty cool handling of weapons.

It’s clear that Respawn still has the chops to make a quality Medal of Honor game. There’s a lot of heart here, and an attention to detail that must be admired. With that said, it’s clear the studio had troubles accomplishing its goals in VR – and the result is a curious VR experience that’s worth experiencing, but equally is nothing like a VR system seller. It stands strides behind Alyx – but then again, so do most VR games.

What should have been a staple of VR shooters to come turned out to be little more than what feels like a rehash of a 2000's shooter. While the gameplay might have you yawning at times and racked with frustration in others, The Gallery at least provides an incredible wealth of stories from real WWII veterans that brings a level of intimacy to what could otherwise feel like a soulless experience.

I was really hoping to be impressed with Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, but it unfortunately actively tried to ruin itself. It’s not poorly made, or glitchy, or unplayable, it’s just unbelievably mediocre. In fact, the best thing about the game is the real life documentary in it that interviews real vets.