Into the Radius VR

About Into the Radius VR

Into the Radius comes from CM IMMERSIVE, the studio earlier credited as CM Games. It spent close to a year in Steam Early Access before its full release in July 2020, then came to Meta Quest 2 in September 2022 and to PlayStation VR2 in September 2024. It is a single-player game made only for VR.

You play an explorer sent into the Radius, the Pechorsk Anomaly Zone, where reality has broken. Soviet villages, factories and rail sheds sit beside houses and concrete slabs floating in the air; Road to VR sums up the look as "Chernobyl meets Salvador Dali". 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 paper map, a detector and whatever weapons you can afford. The map has no marker for you, so you work out where you are from what you see.

Guns are handled by hand. You load each round into each magazine, flick off the safety, and keep your AKM, SKS or pistol in repair, because worn guns jam. Bullets ricochet and pass through thin cover. Hunger, stamina, sleep and wear on your equipment all need care, and the inventory is fully manual: what you carry sits in pouches and pockets you reach for.

The fear is quiet and steady rather than built on jumpscares. Anomalies are often unseen until your detector clicks, and some burst with a screech. Fragments, slow ghostly walkers, make unsettling noises as they close in, and Mimics take the shape of soldiers and shoot back with real bullets. These creatures roam day and night, and the dark makes you slow down, lean around corners with a flashlight and listen. UploadVR found it more tense and stressful than many dedicated horror games. A mission that has taken an hour can end in a few shots, so every trip out feels like a risk.

Reviewers noted janky controls in places and missions that grow repetitive. It suits players who like slow, careful survival more than action, and fans of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Roadside Picnic will recognise the zone it draws on. HowLongToBeat puts the main missions at about 23 hours, and close to 51 for everything.

How to play Into the Radius VR

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

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.
• Look for landmarks on your paper map, since it does not show where you are.

Questions