Anyone who has sunk hours into something likeSkyrimcan attest to the fun of first-person sword and spell combat, and it’s that magic thatBlade & Sorcery, a VR game, tries to capture. It’s been around since 2018 receiving steady support,including a massive updatelast June.
Blade & Sorceryis one of many games created specifically forVirtual Reality. The premise is similar to other fantasy games, with players using medieval melee weapons up close, then switching to bows or, uniquely, spells for long-range combat. The range of spells is pretty good too, so there are many options to choose from.
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While its regular gameplay is fun enough,Blade and Sorceryhas also proved to be excellent for mods, indcluding things likeBlade and Sorcery’s lightsaber mods. There are several to choose from, and as fans may guess, they allow players to use lightsabers. Some also replace characters withStar Warscharacters. In this same vein, one modder has created aHarry Pottermod forBlade and Sorcery. On top of using spells from the iconic series, the mod has other highlights as well.
The mod in question, dubbedWitchcraft and Wizardy,gives players wands that can cast spells from theHarry Potterseries, including Avada Kadavera, the killing curse. Players can also ride around on Nimbus 2000 brooms and play as characters from the series, and the wand used even matches the character. It’s not perfect, but whileaStar Wars VRgame has been confirmed, there are few official ways to play a game in theHarry Potteruniverse.
There are two levels inspired by theHarry Potterseries in the mod as well: Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Quidditch Field. More are planned for the future, including a level of Hogwarts proper. At the moment, it’s one of the betterHarry Pottercombat games, although not as expansive as, say, theMinecraftrecreation of Hogwarts. But withMinecraftending VR support for several platforms,Blade and Sorcerymay be the bestHarry PotterVR experience for a while.
VR games are still finding their footing, but games likeBlade and Sorceryprove there could be a real market for them. There’s still a long way to go before they become the norm though.Half-Life: Alyxrecently added mod supportin the same vein asBlade and Sorcery, and already fun mods are coming in for it. There’s a real possibility that the future of VR gaming may emerge from mods created today, so keep an eye on the best ones.
Blade and Sorceryis available for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index.
