Kayak VR: Mirage

Experience Kayaking in some beautiful locations from the safety of your home.

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Kayak VR: Mirage is a virtual reality game that offers realistic kayaking experiences in four stunning locations: Antarctica, Norway, Costa Rica, and Australia. Players can expect a high level of immersion, with detailed graphics and realistic kayak physics. Whether you're a kayaking enthusiast or just looking for a unique way to explore beautiful landscapes, this game is sure to deliver an unforgettable experience.

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Reviews

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 615 reviews

graphics154 positive mentions

story5 negative mentions

Stunning graphics and immersive environments that create a breathtaking experience.
Realistic physics and paddle mechanics that enhance the kayaking experience.
Great for relaxation and exercise, offering both free roam and competitive racing modes.

Limited content with only four maps, which may lead to repetitive gameplay.
Some players experience motion sickness due to the kayak's movement and water physics.
Performance issues reported on lower-end hardware, affecting the overall experience.

graphics
261 mentions
59 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
1 % negative mentions
The graphics in this game are widely praised as some of the best seen in VR, with many users highlighting the stunning visuals, realistic water physics, and immersive environments that create a sense of presence. However, some players experienced issues with optimization and graphical settings, noting that achieving the highest quality visuals can be demanding on hardware and may require significant tweaking. Overall, while the graphics are a standout feature, opinions vary on their consistency and the game's overall engagement.
- “Graphics are simply stunning, one can almost sense the feeling of touching the water and holding the paddle.”
- “The graphics are incredible.”
- “The visuals in this game are absolutely breathtaking as well as the environments which all feel alive and immersive.”
- “Even with settings turned to the max, I could get it with a 4060, it still looked really compressed even if the basic graphic settings were all on 'cinematic'.”
- “The whole game is silly lazy physics design with graphics that look strangely 2D for a 3D world.”
- “I spend more time trying to fix the graphics than playing it.”
optimization
51 mentions
45 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
22 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its performance and graphical fidelity, particularly on high-end systems, while others report significant stuttering issues, especially during kayak turns, which can lead to motion sickness. Many users appreciate the variety of settings available to enhance performance, including support for DLSS and FidelityFX, but some still experience performance drops even on powerful hardware. Overall, while the game is considered well-optimized by some, others find it lacking, particularly on mid-range graphics cards.
- “Beautiful and well optimized.”
- “The game feels nice, has the best performance out there to be honest, I had everything on cinematic and didn't notice a single bit of lag or stutter.”
- “Pretty well optimized too – kudos to the dev for adding DLSS, Fidelity FX, resolution scaling, sharpening sliders, and lots of other genuinely useful graphics settings.”
- “Performance on the new DLC map is noticeably worse and very inconsistent (low FPS near water drops).”
- “The game is not optimized at all.”
- “There is a smoothing option in the game and it reduces the stuttering, but there is still too much stuttering even when this setting is maxed out.”
gameplay
48 mentions
40 % positive mentions
54 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mixed bag, with many praising the realistic kayaking mechanics and immersive graphics, while others find it lacking in depth and variety. While the paddling mechanics are generally well-received and provide a fun, albeit physically taxing experience, some players feel that the game leans more towards an immersive experience rather than a traditional game, leading to a sense of boredom after initial excitement. Overall, the game offers a visually stunning environment with solid mechanics, but may not satisfy those seeking extensive gameplay variety.
- “The mechanics feel good to me and personally I found controlling the kayak rather intuitive and fun.”
- “The gameplay is simple, relaxing, and satisfying.”
- “This isn't just a gimmick VR experience; the gameplay from the races is super competitive and actually lends to a gameplay loop that you want to repeat, to shave off a couple seconds on the leaderboards or just get some more 'sea miles' for new kayak colors and stuff.”
- “My experience is that the game mechanics are screwed up.”
- “There is no gameplay except the paddling, which is interesting and fun for about 1 or 2 hours.”
- “To be honest, I just experienced awe the first 5 minutes because of the graphics, but I found the gameplay very boring unfortunately.”
story
45 mentions
9 % positive mentions
80 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is notably lacking, with multiple reviews highlighting the absence of a narrative, campaign, or engaging objectives. Players express a desire for a more structured experience, such as co-op missions or a story mode, to enhance replayability and immersion. While the graphics and performance are praised, the overall content feels insufficient without a compelling storyline.
- “I stayed as far away from that friend for the rest of the trip, and this is the first time I've let this story out.”
- “You are the villain to my story.”
- “It wasn't much, but you could (in fact, had to) get out of your kayak to continue an exploration story.”
- “But it lacks purpose and you can only race and explore, no story or anything.”
- “The game has no campaign, no story, no NPCs, no survival element... it looks good but the content is not there.”
- “It needs a campaign, a story, a survival element.”
music
29 mentions
41 % positive mentions
48 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its soothing and ambient qualities, effectively enhancing the overall atmosphere and immersion. Many players appreciate the diverse and fitting soundtracks for each level, although some feel that certain tracks can be bland or repetitive. Overall, the combination of music and sound design contributes significantly to the game's tranquil aesthetic, with some users expressing a desire for the option to play their own music.
- “Music and ambient audio really sets the mood!”
- “The entire aesthetic of the game is super tranquil; the stunning environments and rhythmic ambient music work extremely well together.”
- “The sound design is perfect, with a solid sense of depth and brilliant music direction.”
- “It's not as much of a scam as the €2 songs sold on Beat Saber, though it still feels like a scam.”
- “The ambient sounds could also be improved, and the music seemed a bit bland - I turned it off almost immediately.”
- “I do wish I could listen to my own music.”
stability
12 mentions
25 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users experiencing significant issues such as frequent crashes, freezes, and graphical glitches, particularly on certain maps. While some players report smooth performance on higher-end systems, others have encountered severe lag and instability, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the game appears to be plagued by bugs that hinder its potential, especially in VR settings.
- “Runs great on a 2060 RTX.”
- “It runs great on my mid-level rig with a 2080 Ti and is probably one of the best looking VR experiences I have tried.”
- “Runs great on Quest 2 Air Link on a 3080 setup, even on max graphics!”
- “Basically, the game runs only in the pool and is smooth, but whatever map I pick results in a black screen and eventually crashes and freezes. I've run VR games that are way more demanding than this.”
- “In about 20 minutes of gameplay, I crashed about 4 times. I get tons of graphical glitches even when lowering the graphic settings.”
- “Mirage hangs, the view freezes in the headset, and SteamVR sometimes suggests a restart.”
atmosphere
8 mentions
38 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and relaxing qualities, with users highlighting its beautiful visuals, soothing ambiance, and attention to detail. Many find it an excellent showcase for VR, enhancing the overall experience, although some feel the price may be steep for just the atmospheric elements. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature that invites players to engage with the environment in a calming way.
- “If you're looking for a great example of immersive atmospherics to showcase VR, this is it.”
- “The free roam is very relaxing and feels really natural both in atmosphere and interaction.”
- “$20 for an atmosphere is a lot.”
- “I was excited for the atmosphere and music to go along with this experience.”
- “The atmosphere is soothing!”
emotional
5 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its stunning graphics and immersive experiences, such as kayaking alongside a giant whale and getting close to penguins, which evoke strong feelings of awe and connection to nature. However, the intense motion can also lead to discomfort, detracting from the overall enjoyment. Players express a desire for more wildlife interactions to enhance the emotional depth of the experience.
- “Speaking of immersive: kayaking right next to a giant whale is an awesome experience which actually made me feel a little bit queasy.”
- “Also, being able to get so close to penguins made me emotional. Just one thing to improve is to have more wildlife, like having seals, whales jumping around, orcas, dolphins, etc., but after all, it's a perfect experience.”
replayability
5 mentions
40 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is generally viewed as impressive, with some users noting it exceeds initial expectations, while others feel it may be limited, particularly for those who don't frequently engage with VR. Overall, it offers enough content to warrant support for the developers, but opinions vary on its long-term replay value.
- “Not a ton here to enjoy, but the replayability is great.”
- “At first I thought that it might not have a lot of replay value, but it absolutely does.”
- “Overall: quite impressive with some room for improvement, and just not for me because I don't use VR that often. When you don't, there's no real replayability (at least not for me).”
- “Overall, it's a great looking VR game and definitely worth it to support the developers, although I don't know how much replayability it has.”
- “The current price seems fair for what you get, even if the replay value might be limited.”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players consistently express that the grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming, often likening it to needing a "second life" to manage the required effort.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find humor in the game's quirks, such as the amusing sight of ghosts struggling in the environment and the unexpected performance improvements when adjusting graphical settings. This blend of technical surprises and whimsical visuals contributes to a lighthearted gaming experience.
- “It's funny to see ghosts struggling wildly in the rocks and stuff like that.”
- “The funny part is once I loaded into the world, I was able to put all the graphical settings back up to what they were on (epic) and the game worked perfectly fine.”