Onward

My spreadsheet instincts kicked in the moment I realized Onward strips away almost every UI safety net a modern shooter offers. No HUD, no crosshair, no ammo counter on screen - just you, your loadout, a physical tablet you pull from behind your back to read the map, and a walkie-talkie on your shoulder you actually have to squeeze to talk to teammates. That is the entire philosophy of this game compressed into one design choice, and it either hooks you immediately or sends you back to something more forgiving. Onward is a VR-only mil-sim tactical shooter that has been in active development since its original Early Access launch in 2016, reaching its 2.0 full release on March 25, 2025. The 2.0 update is not a token patch - it brought in over a dozen new weapons including a long-requested revolver and pump-action shotgun, a remastered fan-favorite map, a brand new map, and an Operator system that finally lets you customize your soldier before dropping into a match. Two factions define the rosters: the MARSOC side runs M16s, AUGs, P90s, and an M249 LMG, while the Volk insurgents bring AKS74Us, Makarovs, and even an RPG launcher. Reloading any of these demands physical motion controller gestures, and you will fumble under pressure until muscle memory kicks in. That friction is the point. For solo or co-op players, the Hunt mode lets you define the AI enemy count - anywhere from a handful up to 128 opponents across maps ranging from open desert environments to tighter, close-quarters corridors. Evac missions task you with holding a position until extraction arrives. The AI has drawn persistent criticism from the community for not scaling convincingly at higher difficulties, and the playerbase has flagged team-killing and poor moderation as ongoing issues. On the competitive side, Uplink (objective hacking), Escort (VIP protection), and an Assault mode with limited respawns form the PvP core, with cross-play between PC VR and Quest headsets keeping matchmaking populated. The Social playlist includes Gun Game and One in the Chamber variants, though those rotate on a limited schedule rather than being permanently available for public matchmaking - a design decision that still frustrates dedicated players. Here is the honest tension with Onward in 2025. The Steam review score sits at Mixed, around 68 percent positive across over seven thousand reviews. A chunk of that negativity traces back to a controversial optimization pass that downgraded PC visuals to achieve Quest parity, a decision that alienated the original PCVR playerbase. The 2.0 update made a concerted effort to restore visual quality using newer VR hardware headroom, with weapon models, accessories, and utilities receiving a full visual overhaul. Whether that reconciliation lands depends on how long you have been playing and how much the graphics regression stung. The custom map workshop, supported on PC, at least gives the community a creative outlet and extends longevity beyond the official content pool. For a tactics-minded player who owns a SteamVR headset, the skill ceiling here is genuinely high and the communication layer - physically keying the walkie-talkie, reading a real overhead map from a held tablet - adds a layer of procedural immersion most VR shooters skip entirely. Newcomers should start at the shooting range, move into Mercenary Mode to learn weapon handling, and resist the temptation to jump straight into 5v5 PvP. The learning curve is steep but not punishing once you accept that every death is a data point about positioning and communication rather than a failure of the game.

Diego · Scout Team

Strategy & simulation

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