“Star Wars: Beyond Victory” test – The perfect tech demo for Meta Quest 3
Anyone who has always wanted to play with a lifelike stormtrooper figure, control a wobbly podracer, or set X-Wings and TIE fighters loose on each other in their living room will have sat in front of the trailer with gasps when “Star Wars: Beyond Victory” was announced. The new mixed-reality game from Industrial Light and Magic for Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S really pushes the nostalgia pedal and is particularly appealing to fans of Episode I who are blessed with a childlike fascination for Star Wars action figures.
Switching between realities
“Star Wars: Beyond Victory” takes an unusual approach and combines fully immersive virtual reality with mixed reality, in which digital elements are superimposed onto the physical environment. At these moments, a digital game board is built up in front of the player, which can be placed and scaled as desired in the room. The main character is controlled as in a normal video game with a top view, while the game world builds up in all directions within the boundaries of the table as if on a conveyor belt. VR mode, on the other hand, remains in the first-person perspective.
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Im “Adventure”-Modus wechselt “Star Wars: Beyond Victory” zwischen VR- und Mixed-Reality-Szenen. (Bild:
Disney Electronic Content, Inc.
)
During the main story in “Adventure” mode, the game jumps back and forth between VR and MR. One moment we’re working on our podracer in a workshop, and the next we’re back in our four walls in front of the game board. This takes some getting used to and often leads to a break in immersion—especially when a large panel appears in the field of vision, warning of the sudden appearance of virtual reality. As a result, the transitions rarely feel organic. Some cuts in the mixed reality cutscenes also change perspective too abruptly. Viewed separately, however, both modes impress with their attention to detail and sometimes excellent graphics quality, although some low-resolution textures in the background and flickering edges cannot be overlooked.
VR game the length of a feature film
“Beyond Victory” tells the story of Volo Bolus, a young pod racer whose ambition is greater than his pod. At his side is Sebulba, who fans will remember from Episode I. Here, however, the Dug from the planet Malastare acts not as an adversary but as a mentor who surprisingly takes Volo under his not always legal wing.
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Thanks to coherent animations, lively dialogs with professional voice actors, and a successful soundtrack that mixes familiar melodies with new compositions, the typical cozy Star Wars atmosphere is also created here. For brief moments, the VR sequences in particular convey the feeling of being in the middle of a Star Wars movie. However, this is also reflected in the length, as the adventure lasts less than two hours. It’s a shame, because the story is coherent, original, officially part of the canon, and deserves much more space. We can only hope that “Beyond Victory” will not be the only appearance of Volo Bolus and his cronies.
Pod racers from the assembly line
After the story, players can continue to let off steam in the free arcade races, which are also a central part of the story mode. However, these do not take place in the VR cockpit but exclusively from the top view on the mixed reality game board. Although this works well technically, it does have its pitfalls. As the fast-paced races only take place on the limited game board and the world outside is stationary, susceptible players may quickly feel queasy when looking at the conveyor belt racetrack. If you have problems with motion sickness, you should make the game board as small as possible for the pod races.
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You never really feel like you’re in the middle of the action. Instead, it feels like you’re chasing the little gliders across a digital board game. Although we can get close to the vehicle thanks to the free scaling of the game board, VR racing fans should not expect too much immersion here. The controls for the pods are also not always precise, and the severely limited range of vision on the diorama game board causes moments of frustration. Especially at higher speeds, maneuvering often becomes a guessing game, as the inputs are not always implemented exactly or an obstacle suddenly appears out of nowhere in front of the glider. After four familiar tracks from the adventure mode and a handful of unlocked pod racers, there is not much left to do in this mode either. That leaves the digital action figures.
Mixed reality nursery
Aside from the campaign and racing, Beyond Victory also offers a playset mode. Here, players can place digital action figures of C-3PO, R2-D2, Darth Vader, and other popular characters in their living room, recreate small scenes, and assemble their dioramas. Explosion, voice, and sound effects are also included.
Fans of classic Star Wars collectible figures will be delighted with this mode, especially as all the figures can be scaled as desired and firmly anchored in reality. The models resemble the originals down to the smallest detail, have movable limbs, and make sounds at the touch of a button. The only point of criticism: there is no hand-tracking support. This would certainly have made moving and placing the figures feel even more realistic.
Conclusion: Not much more than a tech demo
“Beyond Victory” shows what is technically possible on the Meta Quest 3—but not much more than that. The main story feels a little bumpy due to the abrupt changes in perspective and scenes, but still takes fans through an exciting little story with interesting characters away from the big Skywalker stage. While the playset mode with its many detailed characters brings back childhood memories, the arcade races fail to fulfill their ambitions and are more frustrating than fun to play.
“Star Wars: Beyond Victory” is clearly aimed at fans who want to immerse themselves in familiar sounds and characters for a few hours. The presentation is convincing: the music, characters, and story are staged to a high standard. However, anyone hoping for fast-paced races from the cockpit perspective or gameplay depth will be disappointed. The replay value also remains low. After about four hours, you’ve seen everything.
“Star Wars: Beyond Victory” was released exclusively for Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S on 7 October 2025 and costs 20 Euro. The game is released for ages 12 and up.
(joe)
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This article was originally published in
It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
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