Guildford Castle VR
- March 24, 2022
- Historic VR
Get on SteamGuildford Castle is a free roaming, narrative VR experience with light interactivity.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Guildford Castle VR offers an impressive and immersive historical experience, allowing players to explore both the modern castle and a detailed recreation of medieval Guildford.
- The graphics are highly praised for their photorealistic quality, and the narration provides engaging and informative insights into the history of the castle and its surroundings.
- The game is free to play, making it an accessible option for anyone interested in history and virtual exploration, with many users expressing a desire for more experiences like this.
- Many players experienced performance issues, including frame rate drops, freezing, and audio delays, even on high-end hardware, indicating a need for better optimization.
- Some users found the movement controls to be imprecise and disorienting, which detracted from the overall immersion of the experience.
- The lack of interactive elements and live actors in the historical recreation left some players feeling that the environment was too empty and could benefit from more life and activity.
- graphics18 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their photorealistic quality and beautiful visuals, particularly in modern settings, with many users noting impressive atmospheric details. However, performance issues such as frame rate drops, texture pop-in, and optimization concerns are common, especially at higher settings, leading some players to recommend lowering graphical options for smoother gameplay. Overall, while the graphics are a highlight, they are marred by inconsistent performance across different hardware configurations.
“The graphics are great and photorealistic in the modern world parts of the game.”
“Beautiful visuals and atmosphere with teleport, full locomotion, smooth turning and click turning, plenty of graphics and audio settings.”
“The graphics are mostly photorealistic, and there is a large area to explore, which you can literally do on foot.”
“There is a noticeable issue with performance: on RX 6800 XT, the game turned into a slideshow on maximum graphical settings.”
“I do, however, recommend lowering the graphical settings once you're in the main menu regardless of your PC's power, as it seems to be rather poorly optimized.”
“Even though there are several graphic settings, I experienced constant frame rate drops and texture pop-in no matter what I selected using an RTX 3080 and i9 processor.”
- story9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
Users appreciate the storytelling aspect of the game, particularly highlighting the engaging narrative of Guildford Castle VR, which effectively utilizes the VR medium to enhance the experience. However, technical issues such as freezing and audio delays detract from the overall enjoyment, indicating that while the story has potential, the execution may be hindered by hardware compatibility problems.
“There are some issues with the UI, but it is also the best template for anyone to build a VR story.”
“I find this to be a cool compromise for storytelling in the world of VR museums!”
“Guildford Castle VR really caught my attention by the way it told the story of the castle.”
- optimization7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some users experiencing significant performance issues on high graphical settings, particularly on powerful hardware like the RX 6800 XT. Others noted that while the game is visually impressive and offers customizable graphics options, it still requires further optimization, especially for users with older systems. Overall, lowering graphical settings is recommended to improve performance.
“Performance on my now somewhat outdated system with an old Oculus Rift S without any issues!”
“It's well optimized and offers a lot of customizable graphics settings.”
“There is a noticeable issue with performance: on RX 6800 XT, the game turned into a slideshow on maximum graphical settings.”
“High value for a free-to-play VR app, despite it needing further optimization.”
“The main reason I cannot recommend it is that the optimization is not very good.”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is praised for its attention to detail, effectively capturing the sounds and ambiance of 14th century Guildford, enhanced by a dynamic day and night cycle. Players appreciate the immersive experience created by the period-appropriate music and soundscapes, which contribute to the overall atmosphere.
“Attention to detail extends even to the variation of buildings in town, flying birds, music, and sounds - somewhat unexpected!”
“There is a day and night cycle, the ability to explore 14th century Guildford, along with typical sounds and music of the time.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users have reported significant stability issues, particularly with AMD processors, leading to game freezes that also affect Steam VR, requiring a complete restart of the system. This has raised concerns about compatibility and performance on certain hardware configurations.
“I don't know if this is a problem with AMD processors or what, because the specs do not include AMD CPUs. Even with resolution set to 1x or auto, the game freezes for me. It freezes Steam VR in a way that I have to close it on the computer because my Quest 2 becomes unresponsive.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features stunning visuals and a captivating atmosphere, enhanced by various locomotion options, including teleportation and smooth turning. Additionally, it offers a wide range of graphics and audio settings to tailor the experience to individual preferences.
“The beautiful visuals and immersive atmosphere create a captivating experience, enhanced by teleportation, full locomotion, smooth turning, and a variety of graphics and audio settings.”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally engaging and well-received, with players appreciating its mechanics and overall design. However, some users noted areas for improvement, particularly in pacing and difficulty balance. Overall, it offers a satisfying experience that keeps players invested.
