Crossfire: Sierra Squad is an VR FPS that offers a variety of modes and challenges to let players gun down enemies either alone or in co-op multiplayer. Developed by Smilegate Entertainment, Sierra Squad is the latest in the Crossfire series, which encomes several other FPS titles as well as a couple of real-time strategy spinoffs. Screen Rant attended a hands-on Crossfire: Sierra Squad demo event using PlayStation VR2 hardware and spoke to of the development team about the title.

The preview experience for Crossfire: Sierra Squad showcased several modes available in the game, starting with the practice range and moving to missions from both the single-player campaign and the co-op selection. Gun handling in VR tends to be intuitive, and it's easy to get started with the many weapons available in Sierra Squad. A player's off hand is put to frequent use reloading magazines, but the simple maneuver mimics traditional controls by automating complexities like chambering a round. Director of Global Business Jason Kang describes a balance between "absolute realism" and "arcade leeway", but there's also an emphasis on options to let players skew in either direction.

A playthrough of "Mysterious Container," the fifth campaign mission, gave a good example of why the Sierra Squad developers don't want players getting too hung up on minutiae. Although some combat segments offer secure cover to shelter behind, other parts of the level thrust enemies at the player in a way that can swiftly punish poor positioning or slow reaction time. Troops drop from helicopters, snipers perch on rooftops or hide behind cover, and rockets and grenades can come from all directions. Soldiers with shotguns respond aggressively to overexposure, running in for attempts at close-range kills.

Jason Kang: The enemy AI are reactive to what you do. If you try to aim for them and shoot at them, when they see that you're aiming at them, they will try to duck or move out of the way. If you're just trying to hide and not come out and just heal, they will try to either flank you or approach you.

The squad mission "Base Race" showed how this experience translates to co-op play, intensifying the onslaught of enemies with two players in the mix. A progression into an abandoned rail yard sets up an all-out assault that culminates in a boss fight and emphasizes the importance of good teamwork. Picking up a downed companion uses the same slowly recharging stim syringe that players use to heal themselves, limiting resources and heightening the risk-reward element of healing. The wealth of squad missions — fifty in total — can also be tackled solo, while the Horde mode offers an alternative co-op experience that welcomes up to four players.

Capture from a Squad Mission in Crossfire: Sierra Squad showing two players and an exploding drone.

The final part of the gameplay preview returned to the main campaign with the added twist of a Realism mode, which nearly eliminates UI and slims down time-to-kill for enemies and players alike. The merit of its inclusion is immediately obvious, taking full advantage of the potential for immersion in VR and making every enemy a truly lethal threat. Realism mode's challenge also rewards players who have attuned themselves to subtler cues in Sierra Squad, whether that comes from knowledge of the enemy types or attention to the spatial audio.

Capture from Crossfire: Sierra Squad's realism mode showing a player firing at oncoming enemies with no visible UI.

Sierra Squad also offers some incentivization on the side for playing through missions in the form of customization. Players can purchase upgrades and adjust loadouts with currency earned through completion, not paid for by in-game monetization. Various add-ons like sights and grips provide trade-offs in stat advantages, making it possible to fine-tune a build for any particular playstyle. Primary and secondary weapons can be selected from among a number of different firearm types, with secondaries holstered on the back and retrieved by reaching behind the head.

Jason Kang: It comes with five different difficulty levels, so you can play with the style that you choose to. You can also take the time to grind, and you can upgrade your weapons and customize your weapons. There's also the horde mode that's up to four-player co-op. We're trying to offer the players as much of a different content arsenal as we can at different difficulty levels and realism versus arcade mode.

This sense of delivering a complete package that appears to ultimately define Crossfire: Sierra Squad's goals. It's not uncommon for VR games to feature less content than similar titles on traditional hardware, but Smilegate seems intent on creating a robust FPS game for VR newcomers and veterans alike to find hours of entertainment in. The gameplay preview showcased several sides of this experience in single-player, co-op, and the challenge of the Realism mode, all of which players will be able to experience first-hand when Crossfire: Sierra Squad releases in August.

Source: Crossfire: Sierra Squad/YouTube

Crossfire: Sierra Squad releases August 29, 2023 for PlayStation VR2 and PC. Screen Rant attended a special hands-on event for the purpose of this preview.