Crowhille: Detective Case Files VR
- September 10, 2021
- Saturn VR
Get on Steam"Crowhille: Detective Case Files VR" is a second-class virtual reality game where you investigate an old, mysterious asylum in Wales. Armed with only a fragment of Dr. Hereford's report, you'll search for clues, unlock doors, and solve puzzles to reveal the dark secrets of the asylum's past. In the depths of the lab, you'll confront the Crowhille Three, supernatural beings you must defeat to bring peace and understanding. However, the game's dated graphics and repetitive puzzles prevent it from achieving greater success.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has an immersive story and atmosphere, with detailed environments and good sound design.
- It offers interesting puzzles and gameplay mechanics, reminiscent of classic detective and horror games.
- The developers are actively working on updates to improve the game, showing responsiveness to player feedback.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs and control issues, making it frustrating and often unplayable.
- Many core mechanics, such as the inventory system and menu navigation, are broken or unresponsive.
- The tutorial is unpolished and lacks clarity, leaving players confused about how to progress.
- story15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a nurse's soul trapped by a demon doctor, with players taking on the role of a detective tasked with solving puzzles and defeating demons to free her. While the narrative is praised for its engaging concept and atmosphere, some players feel that the storytelling could be improved, particularly in pacing and depth. Overall, the story is considered a strong aspect of the game, complemented by its visuals and music, despite some gameplay bugs.
“The strength of the game is its atmosphere and story.”
“Crowhille is an amazing game with an immersive story, fine music, and great gothic art.”
“From the story to the characters and even the soundtrack... it's perfect.”
“No storytelling; gameplay and graphics are good.”
“I would recommend adding strong storytelling before the game starts.”
“It felt to me like the plot reveals all happened really quickly in the final chapter with no breathing room between each reveal; here's to hoping for a slightly more polished sequel.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the beautiful visuals and atmospheric design, others criticize them as lacking quality and being overshadowed by unresolved bugs. Overall, the graphics are generally seen as good, contributing positively to the game's immersive experience, but there are concerns about the developers prioritizing visual improvements over fixing critical gameplay issues.
“With that all said, I think this Crowhille experience is pretty solid. The sound is great, and the graphics look pretty good. Most importantly, it's scary as hell. Overall, it's excellent and perfect to introduce someone to VR.”
“Gameplay and graphics are awesome.”
“So far, the game's awesome, setting you in a beautiful atmosphere with gorgeous graphics and stunning sound design.”
“The graphics are not very good, but I liked the quests.”
“The developers seem to be responsive but have not fixed a lot of the bugs. It seems they are more focused on making the graphics and visuals better but have not addressed some of the game-breaking bugs.”
“Some of the controls can be a little janky, but the visuals are done well.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The gameplay experience is mixed, with some users noting jerky mechanics and difficulty in progression, while others praise the smoothness and natural movement in VR, particularly with intriguing puzzles and immersive environments. Overall, the game offers a decent experience for its price, though it could benefit from minor improvements.
“Beautiful environments, intriguing puzzles, fascinating mechanics.”
“It's a very good VR game; the gameplay didn't feel clunky like many VR games I've played. The movement with my VR headset (Oculus Quest 2) feels natural, and the puzzles are interesting. The atmosphere really hooked me at the start; it's not perfect, but it just needs to fix some minor problems.”
“To compliment that, it adds very interesting VR gameplay mechanics with a Half-Life type interaction system with objects, and moreover, fully VR immersive gameplay.”
“The gameplay is very jerky.”
“The gameplay as a whole seems to be pretty well held together and fluid.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the haunting and immersive soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere, others criticize the inability to adjust volume settings, leading to overpowering music that drowns out voice dialogue. Additionally, technical issues with the menus further detract from the overall experience, leaving some users feeling that the game is unfinished.
“The different locations are detailed and the haunting music only adds to the creepiness.”
“Crowhille is an amazing game with an immersive story, fine music, and great gothic art.”
“From the story to the characters and even the soundtrack... it's perfect.”
“The menus don't work, you can't change any settings. The music is so loud you can't hear the voices, and there is no way to adjust it. Even if there was, the menus don't work!”
“The lame office sequence, your gun changing, and the unskippable car ride with stock music and voices muttering underneath.”
“I don't understand, this game is not finished: no instructions, controller buttons work poorly, the menu doesn't work, and there is no music or background sounds, just the voices.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive and captivating qualities, featuring beautiful graphics, stunning sound design, and a dark, creepy ambiance that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate how the atmosphere effectively hooks them from the start and contributes significantly to the game's strength and depth.
“Noob here, so far the game's awesome, sets you in a beautiful atmosphere with gorgeous graphics and stunning sound design.”
“The strength of the game is its atmosphere and story.”
“The dark creepy atmosphere in the scenes keeps you on edge and the variety of demons gives it good depth.”
“The dark, creepy atmosphere in the scenes keeps you on edge, and the variety of demons gives it good depth.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with many users reporting numerous bugs that hinder gameplay, making it nearly unplayable for some. While the storyline is appreciated, the overall experience is marred by these technical issues, leading to mixed feelings about its value.
“It's so buggy that it's unplayable.”
“Yes, it's buggy and terrible, but if you are willing to fight through those things, you will just about find your money's worth here (which is not a lot).”
“Good storyline, but gameplay is a bit buggy in some areas; again, you can enjoy a lot from this game.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with the game's emotional impact being undermined by technical issues, such as unexpected location transitions that disrupt immersion and lead to a loss of control, ultimately detracting from the overall experience.
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is perceived as unintentional, with some players finding the overall experience so poorly executed that it becomes amusing, albeit frustrating due to the wasted investment.
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the monetization strategy of the game is perceived as exploitative and poorly conceived, with many users labeling it a "cynical cash grab." This negative sentiment suggests a lack of value for players, leading to frustration and disappointment.
“What were they thinking? Let's face it, there's no way more than one person worked on this cynical cash grab of a garbage game.”
“The monetization in this game is so aggressive that it feels like they care more about profits than player experience.”
“It's disappointing to see a game that could have been great reduced to a series of paywalls and microtransactions.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users feel that the game requires additional optimization, particularly in certain scenes where performance issues are noticeable.
“I think more optimization is required for some scenes.”
“The game struggles with performance issues, especially in crowded areas.”
“There are frequent frame drops that make the gameplay experience frustrating.”
