Geronimo, from Dark Matter Studios, arrived on Steam in Early Access with a seemingly ambitious goal: bringing authentic squad-based tactical combat to VR.
After spending time with VR’s latest shooter, it is clear that Geronimo is an Early Access title; but, despite the occasional bout of jank, it succeeds in getting the most important parts absolutely right. Beneath those rough edges lies a tactical shooter built on genuinely excellent core mechanics that already make every successful room breach feel satisfying.
Every mission begins with preparation, with players assembling a tactical loadout before deploying. Loadouts have plenty of options for customization, with cosmetics, adjustable equipment placement and specialist gear ranging from night vision goggles to breaching equipment allowing players to express themselves tactically – and otherwise.
Missions take place in a variety of environments, from buildings to tunnels and even onboard a giant tanker ship. Many of the maps feature multiple objectives so whether you’re clearing hostile forces or rescuing hostages, the changes in mission types add welcome replay value.
At the heart of almost every encounter is the process of breaching and clearing rooms.
Choosing how to make your entrance becomes just as important as what happens afterwards. You can kick open a door, blast it from its hinges or rely on specialist tools such as battering rams, breaching shotguns and sledgehammers. Every option carries risk. Make too much noise and enemies will open fire before you’ve even crossed the threshold.
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The strongest element of Geronimo is undoubtedly its gunplay.
Weapons carry convincing weight and an excellent physics system ensures collisions with the environment feel believable and fair. Geronimo forces proper positioning before entering confined spaces and encourages thoughtful weapon selection based on the mission at hand.
That authenticity extends throughout the experience. This isn’t an arcade shooter where you can just soak up incoming rounds. One or two well-placed shots are enough to end your mission. During my time with the game I couldn’t find any revive mechanic, meaning that once you’re down, you’re out, leaving you to spectate your teammates for the remainder of the operation.
Geronimo can be played solo or in co-op with up to five other players. While the fun factor is clearly higher with a group, I often found solo missions to be more tense. Without teammates covering angles or correcting my (many) mistakes, every decision carried additional weight and every doorway presented another opportunity for heroics – or disaster.
For all that the gunplay represents Geronimo at its best, the game still has plenty of ways to remind you it’s still a work in progress.
Doors are currently the biggest offender. I regularly blew doors from their hinges only to have them visually remain in place despite no longer behaving as solid objects. Elsewhere, battering rams became stuck in doorways and sledgehammers occasionally floated away into mid-air.
Enemy AI is similarly inconsistent. At their best, enemies intelligently reposition, retreat under pressure and even flank from unexpected angles. At other times I’d clear a room only to discover another enemy standing immediately behind me who simply chose not to react. The foundations are clearly there, but a little more consistency would dramatically elevate the experience.
The same applies to onboarding. While the training area introduces the basics, it is far from a complete tutorial. Players familiar with tactical VR shooters will likely find their feet quickly, but newcomers may struggle with systems the game simply expects them to understand. Thankfully, several experienced players were more than happy to explain the basics during multiplayer sessions, softening what could otherwise have been a disorienting introduction.
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While single-player provides plenty of tension, multiplayer is unquestionably where Geronimo shines.
Few VR shooters rely on communication quite as heavily as this. Geronimo actively punishes poor communication and in most of my online matches, friendly fire proved considerably more dangerous than enemy fire.
Forgetting to call out “Frag out!” is a quick way to see a teammate innocently round a corner just in time to walk face-first into the blast. Likewise, unexpectedly standing up after crouching could easily earn you a stray round to the back of the head from the teammate providing covering fire.
Far from being frustrating, these moments reinforce exactly what Geronimo is trying to achieve. Success depends on trust, communication and discipline. When a squad works together properly, clearing rooms becomes incredibly rewarding in a way few VR shooters currently manage.
Visually, Geronimo already presents itself well. Lighting and shadow work are particularly effective, helping establish the slow, methodical atmosphere while ensuring environments remain readable during tense engagements.
Performance, however, still needs attention. Despite running on a capable PC, I encountered regular stuttering and ultimately reduced the settings to Medium to maintain smooth frame rates. Given the game’s Early Access status, this feels like exactly the sort of optimization that can be expected over time, but it’s something players should be aware of today.
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Geronimo is still rough around the edges, but it’s also great fun. Sure, the onboarding could be stronger, the AI behavior needs greater consistency and technical polish remains a clear priority. Yet none of those issues undermine what Dark Matter Studios has already achieved.
The difficult part – creating tense, believable and satisfying tactical combat – is already here.
If you’re happy embracing a little Early Access jank, Geronimo already offers more than enough compelling gameplay to justify jumping in today, particularly if you enjoy co-op tactical shooters and don’t mind learning alongside other players.
Those wanting a fully polished experience may be better served keeping an eye on development. Based on the foundations already in place, Geronimo feels far less like an unfinished game and more like an excellent tactical shooter that’s just finding its final polish.
