I tried the game in spring 2021 and refunded - the quality was really bad, and performance was not great too. The game has nearly 39,000 ratings on Steam, 96% are positive, and a major update was release a few days ago - so I gave the game another shot. Graphics really look amazing - this is Index res 300% (27 mill pixels per frame combining both eyes) with 4xMSAA and all other graphics settings maxed - and it really looks like that inside the game - and I get solid 90 fps:
Before the game's U10 update, the game really looked bad, few polys and low-res textures. Now the game has full physics exactly like Boneworks, and poly levels are truly high-end PCVR:
The dynamic shadows are very impressive - you can set the render distance to 30m, 50, or 100m - I had no issues with 100m with the 10900K (10cores/20threads, 5.3GHz). See the dynamic shadows up close here:
Nicely detailed dynamic shadows for opponents
And here you can see the shadows extending 100 meters - you have to look carefully. See the two tiny persons guarding the house - can you see their shadows?
Very hard to see here - but the two guards outside the house have dynamic shadows
Textures look great too:
Textures on an apples - look even more high-res inside the game
Looks like real stone to me, but of course textures could be even better, this is fine though
Volumetric lights look good too - see the light coming from the top windows, where I'm pointing:
The sunshine looks great too:
You can swim properly now:
This is my mirror image - looks good too:
More about the recent changes here:
I think the game deserves the 96% positive ratings - I just updated my negative review to a positive:
"With the lastest update the game finally shines - I'm close to blown-away.
Solid 90 fps using SteamVR res 300%, 4xMSAA and maxed out graphics settings with an oc'ed RTX 3090 - and i9 10900K. Shadows look great - same for the lighting. Polygon leves are tremendously improved - last time I tried the game was in 2021, so 2 years ago.
This game is now worth the 20 bucks - would be even worth 40 compared to the Bonelab trash.
We're getting close to Alyx quality here.
I still do not like killing beautiful women - it goes against my gentleman code, lol. I'll imagine they all are evil witches having sacrificed babies and stuff - I guess that'll work ;-)"
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970329732/recommended/629730?snr=1_5_9__402
Controls take some practice to master, especially climbing - but as said it works like in Boneworks, and Boneworks physics often were quite janky too.
The game has 43,000 PCVR ratings (39,000 on Steam and 4,000 for the Rifts), while the Quest version has 31,500 ratings - so PCVR has nearly 40% more ratings and maybe have sold better than the Quest version - also explaining why devs have spent much time getting PCVR to shine.
Btw, the U10 trailer is here, but the game is now further improved:
PS. For Index owners, finger tracking is fully supported:
Apart from UEVR, I guess Blade & Sorcery will be game of the year 2024 - and to me, no 2D game stands a chance next to VR, so I have no 2D game no matter the budget competing for GOTY 2024, lol.
Now, Blade & Sorcery is not perfect - it's not Alyx - and the sword fighting is somewhat clumsy, but for now it's still a very impressive game - and maybe the best you can get if you want to be a wizard and/or do some sword-fighting.
Here are a few non-spoiler screenshots from the game:
One of the first caves you'll visit hunting for crystals... Great lighting, nice poly count, great view distance
The water looks amazing - but you need to be in the game to see it move
Npcs are not Lone Echo 2 quality, then again, nothing really is - and npcs do look fine anyway in Blade & Sorcery
Me and my dynamic shadow 🙂
The stone/brick wall looks bumpy - like tessellated - but I guess this is just done using a high amount of polygons. Looks real enough to me 🙂
There is treasure - here I'm at the end of a level. Opponents are fairly easy using normal difficulty
Realtime lighting
It's a very violent game - I normally do not kill women, not even in VR, and it does bug me having to draw my sword and kill young women - can't see any way to avoid that if you want to play this game. Gore can be reduced - this is max gore/blood
Graphics settings - this is true PCVR. I'm getting 80 fps with these settings and using 22 million pixel super-sampling per frame combining both eyes - with an RTX 3090. The game is more or less as demanding as Kayak VR Mirage
Met the golem today - it's an impressive beast:
It killed me and revealed a rather big weakness of Blade & Sorcery - there are no checkpoints or save game files within a level. It took me 30 minutes getting down to the golem, now I have to do it all again - some day.
The game is very impressive though for the environments:
A beautiful and foreboding location
The game is a master of making you feel small 🙂
The devs also are masters of testing my fear of heights...
This looks much more awesome in VR, the statues are like 100+ feet tall
You really have to finish a level before exiting the game - so make sure you have at least 1-2 hours of time. Or you risk repeating the entire level. The game is a rouge-like adventure, so repeating a level is part of the design - but at least for me too many repetitions aren't great fun.
