Parents' Guide to The Climb

Asked in an interview why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, George Mallory famously responded, "Because it's there." But The Climb wonders about the rest of us that might have the urge to climb high, but lack the skills, the gear, or even a mountain of our own to conquer? This VR adventure solves all of that by crafting one of the most immersive virtual reality experiences available on the Oculus hardware. The game faithfully recreates the rush, the excitement, and yes, the anxiety, of dangling precariously hundreds of feet in the air with the only things between you and certain doom being a firm chalky grip and Newton's Law of Gravity.

The level of detail in The Climb is simply amazing. It's not just the sense of height that's overwhelming. It's the little things as well, like the glistening sweat on your palms, the sound of your beating heart, or even the bugs crawling in front of your face while an eagle soars past. Between the impressive graphics and the fluid motions of the Touch controllers, it's far too easy to forget that your feet are still, thankfully, planted on good ol' terra firma. While the game only features four locations (three real-world based locales and one Matrix-esque training ground), there are plenty of paths to navigate and extras to unlock, keeping virtual climbers coming back for many return trips.