This is the launch trailer - and as written with a small white font in the video, this is not from the low-end Quest2/3-version (or PSVR2) being shown, but from the highest-end PCVR version - this is what you'll only get from Steam (but might arrive later in the Rift Store, who knows):
Get the game here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2456960/The_7th_Guest_VR/
The game seems just as great as I was hoping for. I'm using an RTX 3090, i9 10900K (10 cores/20 threads, 3.7-5.3Ghz), 32GB, Win10. You have access to these advanced settings in the PCVR version:
The lower end Quest and PSVR2 versions have none of these advanced settings
The game is a 24GB download (25GB installed), twice the size of the Quest version. The PCVR version is greatly enhanced with high-res textures, great lighting, highly detailed dynamic shadows and polygon levels are fine (the latter probably same as Quest). It's a dead world like Red Matter 2, and npcs are shown like movie characters - this works great, and also does not require tons of rendered polygons.
As seen in the above 3 screenshots, the game uses 2D movie characters to tell the story, but this works great
The game starts here though:
In the start of the game, you arrive by boat
Great performance even with some trees - as you walk toward the mansion
I have a feeling that something is not right - could I be ... dead?! 🤔
Inside the mansion - there are puzzle in most rooms
Performance is great, but might also reveal the Quest origin. Using an insane Index res 400% (36 mill pixels combining both eyes) I get 80 fps in 80 Hz with maxed in-game settings - for 90 fps I need res 350%. That's inside the mansion using 4xMSAA - but you can just use 2xMSAA instead, looks the same with that res. In short - most should be able to play this game in high res. Devs say you need a RTX 2070 for the game, I would be surprised if this does not work with a GTX 1060 6GB (or at least 1070 8GB).
Here are examples of dynamic shadows in the game:
- and here are examples of the ultra-high-res textures in the game:
Some objects look really great:
To solve puzzles, you may need items and to use a special flash light:
Solved a small puzzle and got key to open the gate - quite a giant key 😉
Shining the ghost-ish light on the floor reveals how it once looked
Stauf has set up a few puzzles for you 😉
Polygon levels look nice though - the game does not look much like a usual low-poly Quest game:
Plates look round = have a sufficient level of polygons
Here are some examples of lighting:
Moonlight radiating through the windows and curtains
Light setting a nice atmosphere
There's animated fog around this lamp - but cannot truly be show in a 2D image
You can teleport, slide or both. Smooth and snap turning are available - controls are great.
I played the original 7th Guest a lot of years ago. This feels so much better. I've solved a few rooms, still have much to do. The game feels like an 8/10 rating for the PCVR version right now. It's a high-quality game.
Note that the game is almost too bright with the Index, consider reducing brightness to 70% for better blacks.
Btw, there are great water effects in the game too:
Droplets running down the glass
Just wondering what you think of the puzzles? Some might think they are too easy, but to me it's kinda perfect being able to solve a room in maybe 15 - 30 minutes or so. Some puzzles will be easy - and some harder, depending on if you get the logic and rules right away.
So I'm very happy for the level of difficulty - Room VR got be burning too many cortical neurons, lol - and I still need to complete the last part of that game. When puzzles become too frustrating, the fun goes much away for me.
I really miss the old 7th Guest music though - back then we had a real song with lyrics:
Let’s take the time to find out what’s inside
Away from all this wind and rain
The six arrive, the fire lights their eyes
Invited here to learn to play
The Game
We travel blind and feel along the walls
And barely know from where we came
The paths divide the players from the rules
But we’re the ones who chose to play
The Game
Let’s take the time to find ourselves again
Away from daily stress and pain
Though we may find we’ll not come back the same
That happens sometimes when we play
The Game
Note the extremely detailed dynamic shadow cast by the fence
Awesome floor textures
Small holes in the curtains create small beams of light - this does look astonishing
Great rooms - you can visit them later just to relax in a great house/mansion 🙂
Ok, not all rooms are equally nice 😉
If I forgot to mention the lighting, here's a nice image 🤗
There's romance and there will be blood...
Your hand has nice ultra-high-res textures
Found the spider making all the cobwebs! 🙂
Note that I'm using Index res 400% for the screenshots (36 million pixels per frame combining both eyes) - but that's what I use in the game and get 80 fps (in 80 Hz, motion smoothing deactivated) with maxed in-game graphics. You can enjoy the game just fine even with a GTX 1060 and a Quest 2 (OpenXR secures you optimal performance), but you'll see more jaggies using lower res - and of course you can lower graphics settings too - for example there are 3 settings for textures, shadows, effect, antialiasing and for post-processing (low-med-high):
(To avoid weird multiplication effects, normally I control pixel density using the SteamVR res and leave games at 100%)
For all the screenshots I've posted, you're seeing the PCVR version as good as it gets. But I guess most modern gaming laptops (GTX 1650 or better) would be able to run the game just fine too.
I'm close to finishing the game, but will try to limit spoilers - this is close to my favorite game of the year. Also I'm starting to understand how much the PCVR version is improved compared to the Quest version. In most rooms more objects are added to the PCVR version - granted, the assets are still made for the Quest, and a ball is not round, but you got many more of the assets thereby often greatly increasing the poly count.
One dude also wrote on Steam comparing Quest and PCVR:
"after playing both version, that on PC the passage from one room to another is seamless ( while on quest there's a fade to black. )
And a few of the "video" scenes that involve multiple characters will have them appear all together, while the quest version has them appear and disappear depending on who's talking."
So there may be much more to the PCVR version than I notice, lol.
A few more shots - I zoomed in on Stauf, explaining the lower res:
Some more rooms:
- and nice to see the mansion entrance hall in all its glory:
- and note the ultramersion textures on the box:
