Our preview of TOSS! From Vertigo Games and developer Agera Games comes another experience that truly only makes sense in VR and can only fully realize its potential there. Addictive potential included! We've already made our way through the numerous levels, narrowly avoided a few mishaps, and had a blast like we rarely do in other games.
TOSS! This is yet another perfect example of why VR games and their experience can never truly be explained by a trailer or gameplay footage. You have to try them to be convinced; otherwise, it's no wonder you can't get much out of the game until then.
VR meets American Gladiator
What is it about? TOSS!? In short, it's a parkour game where you make your way through increasingly challenging levels (approximately 80 in number) you have to climb, while you yourself use the skills of a monkey and can jump particularly far, climb, and of course, fall particularly far. Even if the visual look of TOSS! Contrary to what one might expect, the gameplay is best compared to the American Gladiator show. It involves traversing pipes, walls, rings, and jumping platforms to reach the safety of the goal.
The first few levels are practically a breeze. Using your two hands, which, true to a monkey's nature, can be extended exceptionally far, you simply climb over pipes to press a giant button at the end. From there, it gets more challenging, as you now have to jump, land precisely on a springboard, dodge deadly obstacles, and cross seemingly insurmountable gaps. What sounds easy and pure fun at first actually has a demanding nature. Along the way, you can collect banana pieces and try to beat the high score under time pressure. That'll definitely get you sweating. As a reward for your success, you receive more and more parts from a robot, apparently to repair its broken spaceship.
Think like a monkey, jump like a monkey
The key to success in TOSS! It's not just about the time pressure or the desire to be the best or complete a level with as few attempts or holds as possible, but about truly internalizing the gameplay. This requires pushing beyond your physical limits, sometimes having to stretch quite a bit with the Sense controllers to reach the next hold, almost like practicing yoga. Jumping plays a crucial role, which is likely where the game's name comes from. You push off with your hands, covering incredible distances—or rather, launching yourself. Physical mechanics also come into play here, for example, when using momentum to create a real run.
Keeping this in mind, more and more possibilities for mastering a level faster and more elegantly will naturally arise. You don't have to follow the one seemingly predetermined path; with a powerful jump, you can also clear half the level in one go. This sense of challenge is why TOSS! It's so addictive that it's also wonderfully suited as a party game. The replay value is incredibly high, driven by the relatively short levels and, above all, the player's own ambition.
Later on, extras and mods like boost and gliding are added, making pressing the button at the end of the level incredibly satisfying. Did I mention it's huge? There's never been a bigger button, you'd think.
One more go
TOSS! It remains consistently at the level of an arcade game, which sometimes makes sense, sometimes doesn't. Sometimes physics is your friend, sometimes your enemy. This can be quite frustrating, especially under time pressure, when something that worked in the previous run suddenly doesn't work. Regardless, the "one more go" appeal makes it possible to eventually accept the minor flaws without giving up in frustration. The best approach was to consciously focus on swinging the Sense Controllers backward without twisting them and drifting completely off course.
It remains to mention what the game is also about.admonishing“ indicates, namely that TOSS! It's an extremely movement-intensive game. Far more than... Beat Saber And so on. You'll quickly find yourself trying to reach the next support with a physical jump, or leaning too far to the left and right, making a potential fall quite likely. In freefall, you also often lose your sense of the real ground beneath you and feel like you're falling backward. You can almost expect to see lots of funny videos of entertaining VR crashes.
Conclusion: TOSS!
