The long-awaited FPS heavily inspired by shooters of the 1990s launches in April. We went hands on with it at the Game Developers Conference this month. Read on for all the details and our impressions.
Wrath was one of the first projects announced by Flat2VR Studios along with Trombone Champ Unflattened, Roboquest VR, and FlatOut 4 VR back in 2024.
Now, come April, all of these anticipated titles will be in the hands of players. Flat2VR confirmed at the Spring 2026 VR Games Showcase in a new trailer that the fully titled Wrath: Aeon of Ruin Brutal Edition will release on April 9 for Meta Quest, PC VR, and PlayStation VR2.
The port is being developed by veteran modders Team Beef, who have spent years porting classic games like the Star Wars: Jedi Knight series, Quake, and Duke Nukem, among others. Grant Bagwell from Team Beef narrates the trailer, explaining that the violence and gore has been ramped up from the original game.
A new slide mechanic has also been added to aid with the sensation of speed and freedom of movement for VR.
Our Impressions
At the Game Developers Conference earlier this month, I met with the Flat2VR team and played a demo build of Wrath for about thirty minutes. The build was running natively on a Quest 3 and I played on a prebuilt save with several weapons already available for me. We were not allowed to film and at the time of this article, I have not received any B-roll, so it will just be my words and some screenshots.
The first thing quickly apparent to me was the speed. Shooters of the 1990s like Doom and Quake were known for their rapid movement and this stood out immediately. I've grown accustomed to most VR shooters moving at a slower walking pace after years of games like The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners and Metro: Awakening. Which also means I've always searched for the run button, so I don't feel like I'm trudging through quicksand. That was unnecessary here. The normal walking speed is already faster than most VR games I play. Jumping (with an air dash), sliding, and overall movement feels fast and fluid. A much welcome change of pace.
Which is a good thing because after I got acquainted with my loadout, a ludicrously oversized revolver, a shotgun, and an arm blade, I encountered my first enemies. After slashing through the first few and feeling like a Doom Slayer, I was quickly overwhelmed with enemy fire and forced to retreat to regroup, reload, and pick them off one at a time. I dispensed with trying to feel like a badass using the arm blade and blasted the monsters from afar.
Reloading is a simple flick of the wrist: backwards for the shotgun and to the side for the revolver. There was a moment where this wasn't working for me until I realized I was simply out of ammo. Left with nothing but my blade, I strategically picked up a few to get ammo back and resumed the blasting. It was exhilarating. The other people in the room with me laughed as I was casually carrying on a conversation and every few minutes, I had to stop and lock in when a new horde found me. I died on my fourth rush of enemies, out of ammo and slashing for dear life hoping to get a health or ammo drop before I went down.
Also, as a lifelong RPG player, all of the pots in the game are smashable. This is important. I am glad it was included. VR players tend to play with the environments and objects in games a lot and the developers understood this.
The visual aesthetic of Wrath is also an homage to the pixel art shooters of old, but there's a notable lack of polish in this game (in a good way) that makes it feel dirtier and grittier than other VR retro shooters like Compound. Wrath is set in a dark fantasy world besieged with monsters. It's not supposed to look clean and it doesn't. The monster designs, the weapons, the gore (and there's lots of gore) all feel ripped straight out of a last century game from Id.
If I had to point out any flaws, they are pretty minor and one is simply due to how my demo was structured. Playing on a preloaded save got me into the action faster, but I also had no idea where to go. The lack of an objective marker or a quick access map left me wandering around aimlessly going back and forth through portals for several minutes. Starting from a fresh save, I doubt this would be an issue. The second was a button press to throw switches. Being in VR, my natural instinct was to reach out, grab the switch with my virtual hand, and throw it. Seeing a prompt to press X instead was a bit depressing. I quickly got over it, but it stood out.
Overall, I walked away from my brief time in Wrath very impressed. Like Flat2VR's Roboquest VR, movement is the standout feature here. This is not a game I will be recommending to new VR users as there are no guardrails to be found. Wrath is fast, gritty, and brutal, worthy of the Brutal Edition subtitle. I can't wait to play more.
Wrath: Aeon of Ruin VR Brutal Edition releases on April 9 on Quest, Steam, and PS VR2.
