MAGE is a magic and physics sandbox in early access on Quest 3 that not only offers up fun physics-based mayhem, but does it at an eye-blistering 120 fps.

“We feel that no game has truly taken advantage of the power of standalone VR hardware,” says Charlie Shenton, Mage’s engine programmer and other half of the two-person team. “Nothing ruins our immersion more than laggy games barely hitting 72Hz, with blurry visuals, and spongey physics.”

To solve this, Shenton and fellow dev Matthew Alexander Gregory built a game engine, dubbed ‘Micron’, and their own physics solver specifically for standalone VR, doing things you’d only really expect with the the larger power envelope of dedicated PC graphics.

Granted, Mage isn’t a massive multi-hour adventure, but as a proof of concept for Micron, it’s pretty impressive on its own, running at a “solid 120Hz even with dynamic lighting, shadows, magic vfx, >100% render res, and hundreds of high fidelity dynamic physics props,” Shenton tells Road to VR.

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In addition to pushing the envelope on what’s possible on standalone headsets, Mage also offers up a sandbox environment that promises to deliver “the ultimate magical power fantasy,” including things like destructive fireballs, time reversal, telekinesis, flying and more.

Mage is now in early access on Quest, although the studio says it also has “plenty more planned,” as they inevitably look out for cool and new ways to push Micron even further and deliver yet more impressive magical feats.

You can find Mage over on the Horizon Store for Quest 3 and 3S, priced at $20.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Yeshaya

    Moderately interested in the gameplay, extremely interested in the engine. Wonder if that's something portable, or that Meta would consider buying if it really is so much more efficient.

  • "We feel that no game has truly taken advantage of the power of standalone VR hardware."

    What the motherless beep nave I been fucking SCREAMING
    about from the fucking rooftops since Quest …??

    **In Quest hardware, we've a fine set of oilpaints.**
    These fine oils are being used to make Kindergarten hand-turkeys ….

    The guy making the above quote gets it,
    and I'm getting "MAGE" just based on that alone.

    []^ )

  • Andrew Jakobs

    Well, it's just a demo with unimpressive environments. I would like to see how their engine performs with an environment like Red Matter has with the latest enhancement patches, I have a big feeling it'll drop down to well below 90FPS.

    • Arno van Wingerde

      Exactly my feeling: 120 Hz with a few polygons seems doable. I am more impressed with RM than with this. But OK, this seems like good for Horizon worlds and other stuff that totally does not interest me …

  • MasterElwood

    "We feel that no game has truly taken advantage of the power of standalone VR hardware."

    Game optimizer: "Hold my fps…"