Arken Age [REVIEW] – This Meta Quest Port is Magic

Let’s be real for a second: when a visually ambitious VR game originally celebrated on high-end platforms gets announced for the Meta Quest 3, there is usually a collective holding of breath. How many ports have you seen that end up looking like a blurry, compromised shadow of their former selves? Yeah, it’s happened a lot, so when checking out the critically-acclaimed Arken Age on the platform, I was expecting more of the same muddy textures, aggressive fog to hide draw distances, and the inevitable performance stutter.

I have rarely been so happy to be completely wrong.

Check out some screenshots down below:

VitruviusVR hasn’t just ported Arken Age, but performed some kind of dark wizardry to get this thing running the way it does. From the moment you step into the Bio-Chasm, it is IMMEDIATELY clear that this isn’t a watered-down version that Quest players have to just accept… in fact, I would go as far as to say this title now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the absolute heavyweights of the platform. It is a statement piece that proves standalone VR doesn’t always have to mean sacrificing the scope or visuals of a release, and honestly, a lot of developers could learn a little something from this. It’s THAT good.

The first thing that hits you is the art direction, and in a genre that often leans into gritty, dark corridors, Arken Age is unapologetically vibrant. You are greeted by blindingly bright suns, lush alien flora, and a fusion of futuristic architecture that feels both ancient and advanced – sure, if you put it side-by-side with the PC version, you’d spot the lower-res textures, but when you are actually inside the headset, the art style ensures that you’ll barely notice the concessions. It’s incredibly luscious in design and leans into a visual style that isn’t always utilised on the platform, ensuring that the world itself looks gorgeous.

It’s a real treat to navigate too, and whilst Arken Age isn’t a true open world, its series of connected zones that feel huge. The traversal mechanics – specifically the climbing axes – are some of the most satisfying I’ve used in VR, with a real tactile physicality to flicking your wrists to extend your climbing picks and hauling yourself across the world. It feels intuitive, with the added immersion of VR ensuring that you’ll feel like you’re truly part of the world.

“Arken Age shatters the Quest port stereotype, delivering a visually stunning and mechanically deep adventure that feels NOTHING like a compromised port.”

While the exploration is great, it is in the combat where the game really digs its hooks in. It leans into a punchy, accessible arcade feel that just… well… feels great. On the surface, you have three main weapon slots: a melee weapon, a sidearm, and a heavy weapon, which is pretty standard. The magic lies in the modification system, and with over 30 mods available, you’re doing much more than just upgrading stats – you are fundamentally changing how the weapons behave. You can turn your pistol into a homing weapon, you can mod a shotgun to fire explosive bolts, or you could even unleash massive damage with your melee weapons to leave foes bouncing across the battlefield. There’s a lot to play around with, whilst the results of your weaponry are always satisfying to inflict upon foes.

The game also features a wonderfully grim economy loop: recycling your foes. You don’t just defeat enemies, but also dismember them and literally recycle their body parts to fund your next upgrade. It adds a layer of morbid satisfaction to every encounter – you aren’t just surviving, but harvesting… its satisfying in that icky kind of way. That being said, enemies aren’t just cannon fodder, and they will flank you, use cover, throw grenades, and block your attacks, forcing you to actually think on your feet. It’s not a hard game per se, but enemies won’t just let you shoot them without a fight.

Of course, there’s more to Arken Age than just the gameplay, with narrative serving its purpose well enough to keep players engaged in the world. You play as The Untethered One, tasked with finding the Grand Arborist and saving the planet from corruption. Yeah, if I’m being honest, a lot of the sci-fi fantasy stuff isn’t really for me, but the pieces of lore ensure that there’s more meat to the games’ bones to keep players invested.

Check out some screenshots down below:

If I really had to nitpick, I’d admit that Arken Age doesn’t evolve its mechanics drastically as you push into the final third of the campaign. You see most of the tricks early on, even with the modification of weapons, and some repetition can set in here and there. The load screens can feel pretty lengthy too, which can be noticeable. But honestly? It doesn’t matter. The core loop of exploring, climbing, and blasting enemies into orbit is so addictively fun that you don’t really care that you’re doing the same thing again… you’re just happy to be doing it. What more could you want?

Developer: VitruviusVR
Publisher: VitruviusVR
Platform(s): Meta Quest 3 (Reviewed), PlayStation VR 2, PC VR
Website: https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/arken-age/29923535407244981/