Take Your Platforming to New Heights in the Gravity Defying ‘Sky Climb,’ Out Now on Meta Quest

Prepare to embark on an epic, colorful adventure through the clouds in Sky Climb, an all-new made-for-VR platformer out now on Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro.

Sky Climb made its debut on App Lab and just graduated to the official Meta Quest Store. The latest adventure from VRMonkey, creators of Galaxy Kart, features 65 single-player levels, a competitive, action-packed multiplayer mode, a mixed reality-supported level editor, expressive character customization, and hours of wacky, high-flying fun.

We spoke with VRMonkey Game Director Rafael Camargo about the game’s release, the team’s experience on App Lab, and what players can expect from this made-for-VR game.

Rafael Camargo: Sky Climb emerged from a serendipitous discovery during the early stages of development. I played many VR games, praising mechanics that are deeply immersive and can’t be experienced in other media. I stumbled upon a captivating experience when trying to prototype a climbing game (I am not a dev) and inadvertently setting the game’s gravity to a lower level. The sensation of leisurely navigating jumps in this altered gravity was remarkably immersive and distinct. I challenged myself to see if I could make a game out of this mechanic.

Drawing inspiration from beloved classics of the ’90s gaming era like Mario, Donkey Kong, Sonic, and Mega Man, Sky Climb embodies a nostalgic yet innovative approach to platforming. Incorporating elements like diorama-style worlds, challenging bosses, wind pipes, pistols, and even a friendly dolphin companion, the game pays homage to its retro roots while offering a fresh and exhilarating experience.

After three months of prototyping, 10 levels, and a boss fight, I decided that it was mature enough to present to my partners at VRMonkey and see what they thought about its potential. They enjoyed it so much that they played until the Quest battery was flat. That was the moment we decided to initiate pre-production and make it a game.

RC: It’s a challenge to describe novel in-game mechanics, especially immersive ones, but I will try my best.

In Sky Climb, players navigate through a balloon universe using an intuitive movement system based on grabbing and releasing cubes with their hands to propel themselves through the air, soaring from platform to platform in low gravity. The game’s mechanics let players use their arms as wings for mid-air control, enabling gestures for gliding, flapping, and diving to maneuver through each level’s challenges with finesse and flair.

It’s a physical game that requires less effort than a Gorilla Tag mechanic but also demands real experience to master, so players can enjoy their personal growth in skills through the campaign. Its pace is slower than The Climb and TOSS!🍌, making the air control an important element of each jump.

RC: Sky Climb draws inspiration from VR titles like The Climb 2, particularly in its core movement mechanics. However, what sets Sky Climb apart is its innovative use of air controls utilizing players’ arms, offering a truly unique and immersive experience.

The game’s aesthetic, reminiscent of Fall Guys combined with thematic nods to classic games like Mario 3 and Tetris, creates a vibrant and engaging world for players to explore. It also follows an old-school platformer design, dividing the campaign into worlds of 10 levels, including a boss fight at the end of each world.

Additionally, Sky Climb’s multiplayer mode injects a dose of chaotic fun into the experience, reminiscent of the excitement found in Fall Guys. With players competing in races and hoop collection challenges, the multiplayer mode offers frenetic action and strategic gameplay. Each match unfolds as a tournament, rewarding players with customization options for their avatars based on their performance.

RC: The level editor in Sky Climb empowers players to unleash their creativity, allowing them to design and share their own challenging levels with the community. Almost all game assets are accessible in the editor, providing ample opportunities for customization within a standardized performance framework of a budget. Players can share their creations publicly, with levels ranked by popularity and player ratings.

In the future, we hope to also enable the creation of multiplayer levels.

RC: Using MR, you can create the levels as a tabletop game in your house. You’re in “god mode” with miniatures of the game assets that can be displayed over a virtual table to design the level. We believe that having this feature makes the creation more relaxing, as you can spend more time on it while you’re also connected to your surroundings and people in your home—it’s a change of pace from the gameplay.

RC: The multiplier mode is about chaos and interaction with frenemies. Although it has a similar goal to the single-player campaign, incentivizing players to reach the end line as fast as they can, the presence of five other human players and 24 bots makes each match unique as they can “slap” you, and this alters the match.

The slap is the ability of a player to touch another contender and then both bounce off in opposite directions—therefore the gameplay is not only about mastering the level but also having a strategy to delay your opponents and making them fall through a slap.

Every multiplayer game is a tournament of four matches, three racing levels, and one hoop collection level, rewarding all players with diamonds that can be used to acquire customizations for their avatars.

RC: App Lab was a great place to test the game as a final product and provided invaluable insights into player preferences and user experience, allowing us to refine the game based on community feedback. It’s probably the only way to validate the real user experience, how gamers would evaluate the content offered vs. the price, and gather unbiased reviews.

Promoting multiplayer matches required proactive community engagement and coordination, emphasizing the importance of fostering a vibrant and supportive player community.

RC: One of the most gratifying aspects of developing Sky Climb has been witnessing players’ creativity and ingenuity first-hand. From discovering unconventional shortcuts to mastering challenging jumps, players continually surprise and inspire us with their innovative approaches to gameplay. Sky Climb followed a design principle of free movement, trying not to script what a player must do to complete a level, creating simple constraints and a goal.

It’s a good feeling to make people experience things for the first time, especially seasoned players who haven’t had this kind of experience in a long time. The game is designed for everyone and it’s great when we receive feedback from a mature audience, resonating with their experience from the ’90s transported to VR.

RC: Stay tuned to the latest news and updates by following us on Twitter/X and joining our Discord community.

Your feedback and ideas are invaluable to us as we continue to evolve and expand Sky Climb, and we can’t wait to embark on this adventure together. It’s our pleasure to create an amazing game for all of you!