Peaky Blinders: The King's Ransom
- November 2, 2023
- Maze Theory
Get on Steam"Peaky Blinders: The King's Ransom" is a virtual reality game set in the world of the popular TV show. You play as a fugitive seeking help from Tommy Shelby, becoming involved in a dangerous quest to find Winston Churchill's Red Box. Expect to encounter iconic characters, intense action, and high stakes as you navigate England's criminal underworld.
PC
Playstation 5
Virtual Reality
Windows
PlayStation
PlayStation VR2
Reviews
- Fans of Peaky Blinders will appreciate the immersive experience and the opportunity to interact with beloved characters from the series.
- The game features engaging story elements and original voice acting, which adds authenticity to the experience.
- Some players found the shooting mechanics enjoyable and appreciated the inclusion of unique features like smoking in-game.
- The game suffers from severe optimization issues, including frequent frame drops, stuttering, and crashes, making it nearly unplayable for many users.
- The gameplay is criticized for being short and lacking depth, with only a few missions followed by repetitive shooting challenges.
- Many players reported technical problems, such as glitches with hand tracking and issues with compatibility on various VR headsets, particularly the Quest 2 and Quest 3.
- story66 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being short and underdeveloped, with many players feeling it lacks depth and coherence, often describing it as a missed opportunity within the Peaky Blinders universe. While some appreciate the engaging narrative and voice acting, others find the plot simplistic and poorly executed, leading to an abrupt ending that leaves players wanting more. Overall, the story's potential is acknowledged, but many reviewers express disappointment in its execution and the game's overall quality.
“But I think playing through a story (that is in the Peaky Blinders world) made it overall pretty fun.”
“Story lovers: if you appreciate a compelling narrative, you'll be captivated by the gripping story this game offers.”
“Engaging story: the game's storyline is exceptional, keeping you hooked from start to finish.”
“The storyline itself quite literally misses the plot.”
“The main story makes you want more but prepare for an abrupt ending.”
“The story line is short, character models are something I would have expected 10-15 years ago.”
- optimization24 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 42 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some users experiencing significant issues like freezing, stuttering, and object glitches, particularly on non-Index setups. In contrast, others report smooth performance on the Quest 3 and high-end PC setups, achieving solid frame rates without major problems. Overall, many players feel the game is poorly optimized, especially for AMD users, and express disappointment in its lack of polish compared to its demo version.
“Seamless performance on Quest 3: this game runs smoothly on the Quest 3, offering a flawless VR experience.”
“I have no issues with performance, even forcing index res 400% (36 million pixels per frame res combining both eyes).”
“So I get no stutters, freezes, or crashes - performance is much like The 7th Guest (with maxed in-game settings and same resolution), or maybe slightly better.”
“Don't support dev teams who knowingly ship out these broken, un-optimized messes.”
“Horrible optimization and might have something to do with AMD cards.”
“Honestly, I love Peaky Blinders as much as the next guy, but this is a poor port of the Quest version that just doesn't feel like a real PCVR title. It should have been made a bit better with better gunplay because it feels lame. There's no real powerful moments. It feels generic and boring, has poor optimization, and was a Quest exclusive for a year, which just killed the game for me. The devs should have taken more time to improve animations, gunplay, story, etc. Until I see improvements, I won't recommend this to anyone; go buy a different game.”
- gameplay18 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally considered basic and short, with the main story lasting around 2.3 hours, yet some players still find enjoyment in it. While the shooting mechanics are praised for their excitement, many reviewers criticize the uninspired reuse of mechanics from the Walking Dead engine, leading to awkward controls and a feeling akin to a walking simulator at times. Overall, the gameplay has potential but suffers from a lack of innovation and polish.
“Outstanding shooting mechanics: the shooting gameplay is fantastic, providing a thrilling combat experience.”
“The gameplay is fairly basic and it's fairly short (2.3 hours for the main story), but I still liked it.”
“It uses the engine from The Walking Dead, but the gameplay mechanics have been reused in the most uninspired ways imaginable.”
“Sadly, the gameplay and the controls are awkward.”
“As said, the gameplay could be better, and sometimes the game can feel close to a walking simulator, but I'm greatly enjoying this experience nonetheless.”
- stability16 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting significant bugs, frequent stutters, freezes, and crashes, particularly on high-end systems. While some players experience smooth performance, others encounter severe optimization issues that hinder gameplay, especially with certain GPU configurations. Overall, the game's stability appears to be a major concern, impacting immersion and enjoyment.
“The full game runs like garbage. I'm running a 3080, Ryzen 9 5950X, and 32GB of RAM, and the game stutters, freezes, and crashes constantly.”
“I can barely make it past the main menu before this game freezes.”
“Optimisation is horrible. I have a RX6750XTX with 12GB VRAM, an i7 10700F, and 32GB RAM. The game is installed on an M.2 NVMe SSD, and it's choppy, freezing, and buggy. The actual game seemed alright, though; I just can't enjoy it.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's graphics have received mixed reviews, with some praising them as impressive and immersive, featuring dynamic shadows, real-time lighting, and high-quality textures that rival those of other top titles. However, others criticize the overall visual quality as outdated, likening it to graphics from 2010. Despite the lack of customizable settings, recent updates have introduced a graphical improvements menu, indicating a commitment to enhancing the visual experience.
“Impressive graphics: the game's graphics are a visual treat, making the world come to life.”
“There are no settings for graphics, but you get some dynamic shadows, some real-time lights, many ultra-immersive textures (some even better than Alyx, never thought I'd ever write that), and several effects (dust particles, insects, fog in the air, etc.).”
“Also, I read that Quest 2 is set to only 36 fps (with ASW) to provide better graphics, just like Assassin's Creed Nexus, which may explain why the game does not look much like a Quest port.”
“There are no settings for graphics, but you get some dynamic shadows, some real-time lights, many ultra-immersion textures (some even better than Alyx, never thought I'd ever write that), and several effects (dust particles, insects, fog in the air, etc.).”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as "so bad it's good," with players finding amusement in its absurdities and contradictions, particularly in its portrayal of communism. The game unintentionally highlights the positive actions of its characters, leading to a comedic irony that resonates with players.
“This game is so bad it's good... in a funny way.”
“For a game that tries to vilify communists (even though they actually spend most of the time doing objectively good things, like removing gambling shops from poor neighborhoods), they sure have a funny way of proving Karl Marx was right.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a low-effort cash grab, suggesting that it prioritizes profit over quality and creativity. Reviewers express frustration with the perceived lack of effort and talent behind the game's development, indicating a corporate-driven approach to its creation.
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is noted for its presence and contributes to the atmosphere, with an engaging intro that effectively sets the scene.
“The music is there; the intro with the environment-placed text was interesting.”
