Into the Radius VR

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Scavenge a Soviet anomaly zone in VR, where the shadows hunt and every bullet is loaded by hand.

Platforms: PC, VR, PlayStation
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (10,582 of 11,319 reviews positive); 4.7 stars from 7,800 ratings on the Meta Quest Store
Players: 1
Controls: A VR headset with two motion controllers (PC VR on Steam, Meta Quest, or PS VR2 with Sense controllers).
Made by: CM Games
Released: 2020

Get it on Steam Meta Quest Store PlayStation Store (PS VR2)

What frightens Alone in the Pechorsk zone, you creep through dead villages, swamps and factories where invisible anomalies can tear you apart and strange shadowy creatures roam day and night; in VR every magazine is loaded by hand, guns jam when neglected, and darkness makes you slow down and listen.
Content: violence, strong language.

Into the Radius is a slow, single-player VR survival shooter set in the Pechorsk Anomaly Zone, a warped stretch of Soviet forest and ruins. You head out from a small base to find artifacts and supplies, handle every gun by hand, and try to get back before the zone or the things that live in it kill you.

About Into the Radius VR

Into the Radius comes from CM Games. It entered Steam Early Access in 2019 and was released in full in July 2020, later reaching Meta Quest in 2022 and PlayStation VR2 in 2024. It is a single-player game made only for VR; a sequel, Into the Radius 2, adds co-op.

You play an explorer sent into the Radius, a zone around the town of Pechorsk where reality has broken. From a small base with a vintage desktop terminal you take missions, then walk out into miles of forest, swamp and crumbling industry with a map, a detector and whatever weapons you can afford. Guns are loaded round by round and magazine by magazine; they wear down and jam if you do not care for them, and you must remember to flick off the safety.

The fear is quiet and steady. The zone is empty of people but full of anomalies you often cannot see until your detector clicks, and of hostile creatures, Fragments, Mimics and worse, that move through it day and night. Daylight is for scouting; at night you sneak, take cover and listen. Dying costs you the gear you carried, so every trip out feels like a risk.

It suits players who like slow, tense survival more than action: think of a VR take on a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-style zone. The store promises dozens of hours of play.

How to play Into the Radius VR

Buy it for PC VR on Steam, for Meta Quest, or for PS VR2 on the PlayStation Store.
At the base, take a mission from the terminal and fill your pockets with ammo, food and a detector.
Load your magazines by hand, check the safety, and set out using your paper map.
Scout and loot in daylight, keep clear of anomalies, and sneak and take cover at night.
Bring artifacts and finds back to base to trade for better gear before the next trip.

Screenshots

Into the Radius screenshot: aiming a pistol at black, spindly shadow creatures in an abandoned village yard

Into the Radius screenshot: a rifle aimed from a rooftop over factory buildings, with a burning black ring in the sky

Into the Radius screenshot: holding a rifle with a red-dot sight inside an engine shed with a locomotive

Into the Radius screenshot: a dim abandoned office with a desk lamp, a teapot and a pistol on the floor

Into the Radius screenshot: loading shotgun shells in the base room, with rifles hung on a rug on the wall

Tips

Load spare magazines before you leave base; reloading in a fight is slow in VR.
Keep your weapons in good repair, a jam at the wrong moment can end a run.
Watch your detector and throw objects ahead when you suspect an anomaly.
Plan routes on the map and know where shelter is before night falls.

Questions

Is Into the Radius a horror game?

It is a survival shooter with a strong horror side: an empty, warped zone, unseen anomalies and creatures that hunt you, and a night spent sneaking. Steam players tag it horror and survival horror.

Is Into the Radius multiplayer?

No. The first game is single-player; the sequel, Into the Radius 2, adds two-player co-op.

What do I need to play it?

A VR headset: a PC VR headset through Steam, a Meta Quest, or PS VR2 with its Sense controllers on PS5.

How long is Into the Radius?

The store describes dozens of hours of slow-paced survival.