BELLEVUE, Washington—Virtual reality has been a thing for years, yet for some reason, it has had a lack of real-time strategy (RTS) games. To this, I can’t help but say, what gives? Managing a giant army à la StarCraft seems like a nice fit for VR’s mix of hand-tracked controllers and first-person twists—while also minding VR’s limits. Stand above a battlefield (or, if your room is cramped, sit without losing the effect). Use your hands to become a war puppeteer. Enjoy a refreshing control and perspective alternative to ancient, mouse-driven menus.

It’s a VR no-brainer… that nobody has truly attempted until this week.

Unlike other RTS-ish games in VR, this week’s Brass Tactics is the first full-blown take on the genre to see a retail release. It’s not perfect—indeed, it has a couple of glaring issues ahead of its Thursday launch—but Brass Tactics is clearly a few steps above “just good enough.” It functions as a pure, solid RTS, while it also comes packed with nice VR touches. Best of all, thanks to a free, unlimited, works-online demo version, every single VR owner out there (even outside the Oculus ecosystem) can try it for themselves—and try it they should.

Clear RTS skies