I no longer need to wonder what it feels like to be a bird of prey in flight. For I have experienced it firsthand.

Or at least as firsthand as virtual reality can currently allow.

Ubisoft has a hangout spot at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, where attendees can try out their upcoming virtual reality game: “Eagle Flight.” Having tried it out for myself, I must say I am impressed.

While the game will work with any of the upcoming VR headsets, the one they used had adjustable settings, so it took a bit of fiddling to get it just right. Even then, the visuals were a little blurry at times, but that’s to be expected with new tech; nothing is perfect on its first go.

Once I had the headset on, though, I was looking through an eagle’s eyes. Glancing down without moving my head, I could see a sharp beak pointing where my nose would normally be. And when the game launched, I took flight.

The game is set in the abandoned city of Paris, years after humans mysteriously vanished from the planet. The goal of the eagle is not any epic quest or battle, but to eat, protect its territory, and find the highest spot in the city to nest.

I started with a few demo games. The introductory tutorial taught my to lean my head to turn, use the controller’s shoulder buttons to accelerate or decelerate, and fire a screech attack with the X button. Once I had the controls down, it was time to explore the skies.

The first game was a test of maneuverability, flying through a few hoops in the air. When I collided with a post, the game went dark with a “thud,” and after confirming that I had indeed crashed, reset from the beginning.

The second one taught me about aerial combat, flying to hunt down predators in my turf and defeat them with the screech attack. Each exploded in a small red “splat” when struck.

After the single player demos, it was time for a multiplayer match. We were divided into teams of two, and had to compete over prey; whoever could catch the meat and bring it back to their team’s nest two out of three times would win.

At that point, I was so caught up in the game I forgot to tilt my head to turn, and tried turning my body to navigate. The person running the demonstration had to turn me back before I got tangled in the cable on at least one occasion.

But when I was in flight, the movement felt easy. It responded to the way my head was turned and pointing with little difficulty, and the sound effects that came through the headphones made the experience feel all the more natural. Though my feet were still aching from the rather long wait in line it took to reach it, they felt as though they scarcely touching the ground once I took off.

The game is still in its early stages, so it will be a while before the finished product is released. But as an experiment in the heights to which VR can soar, I’d say it’s off to a good takeoff.

Photo by SiliconANGLE