Respawn Entertainment nails everything that makes VR so special and wraps it in a fun shooter with a narrative style that doesn’t take itself too seriously and offers simple but solid multiplayer options. Add to the mix a true gem with real historic value like the Gallery, and you can hardly ask for more.

Above and Beyond’s gunplay is tight, the VR controls and interactions are vast, varied, and engaging. Moreover, the campaign itself is an extensive gallery of both history and creativity combined into a gripping World War 2 campaign that pays reverence to both the experiences of those who lived through the war and the foundation of Medal of Honor as a whole.

With a greater focus on optimization, environmental interaction and singleplayer cohesion, Above and Beyond would surely have deserved a glittering medal of honor.

Quotation forthcoming.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond isn't the return to the series that I would have hoped. As a VR game is has a lot to offer, the gameplay is engaging, the missions varied, and both the single-player and multiplayer can be fun to play. However, the story is woefully mismanaged, with a cast of mostly unlikeable and unsympathetic characters - a tragedy when it comes with an incredibly powerful piece of work in the form of the gallery, a collection of documentaries and interviews with veterans of the war.

It's easy to appreciate the budget that went into making it look the way it does, and I hope Respawn gives it another go; but it needed so much more than a shiny veneer to survive in this current VR climate.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is a disappointing return to the classic series. While its gunplay is satisfying, the moments where it shines are all too brief, stunted by cutscenes that force you to stand in place and spectate a story that rarely includes you or your character. On the other hand, the multiplayer has potential but is in need of more players and some balance tweaks. There are some incredible World War II games that are worth playing even today, but Above and Beyond falls short in far too many ways to be considered among them.