ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle

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ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle is a single player action adventure game with medieval and historical themes. It was developed by Smilegate and was released on July 5, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Rogan: The Thief in the Castle is a visually striking new Oculus Rift and HTC Vive game on the way from Smilegate Entertainment. As the name suggests, the game's set within the confines of a giant castle. You have the misfortune of visiting the castle on the day of its Lord's murder, putting guards on high alert. Instead of deciding to swipe loot for yourself, then, you set about trying to prove t…

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Single-Player

ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle screenshot

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61%

Audience ScoreBased on 74 reviews

graphics29 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

Stunning graphics and rich environmental design create a highly immersive medieval castle atmosphere.
Engaging stealth gameplay mechanics that use VR strengths like physical interaction, crouching, peeking, and sound cues.
Interesting story with political intrigue and decent voice acting that motivates exploration and stealth play.

Gameplay is overly linear and shallow, with limited player tools, predictable AI, and little replay value.
Various bugs and technical issues including inconsistent controls, problematic teleportation, clipping, and performance hiccups.
Distracting and immersion-breaking design choices such as a restrictive hood around the player's view and blurry visuals on some hardware.

graphics
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
44%
5%
The game's graphics receive widespread praise for their stunning visuals, detailed textures, character design, and atmospheric environments, contributing significantly to immersion. However, some users report issues with blurry textures and limited graphics customization options, with a few recommending playing on sale due to its pricing and minor performance inconsistencies. Overall, it stands out as a visually impressive VR title, especially for fans of stealth gameplay.
- “Graphically everything is spick and span and beautifully finished as you can notice in the trailer or screenshots, a lot of attention has also been paid to the environments, medieval architecture, and other details.”
- “The graphics in this game are amazing, some of the best in VR gaming; though there were a few low-resolution textures, they were not often on important objects.”
- “Graphically it almost looks like physically based materials or some kind of PBR is being used because the quality of shader work is spectacular all around and overall texture quality impresses up close.”
- “Extremely blurry graphics even on 1080ti.”
- “The graphics are PSVR level blurry, with no real graphics options to toggle.”
- “Character design is cool but the whole game looks like a blurry mess even on the high graphics settings (GTX 1080).”
story
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
72%
5%
The story is a straightforward but engaging stealth narrative centered on a thief helping a framed knight, Victoria, with the plot unfolding gradually through immersive environmental storytelling rather than cinematic cutscenes. While some find the pacing slow at first and the gameplay mechanics somewhat dated or linear, many appreciate the motivation it provides, the intriguing character dynamics, and a satisfying twist ending. Overall, it stands out among VR stealth games for having a richer story that encourages exploration and progression despite some occasional awkward dialogue and minor narrative shortcomings.
- “Storytelling is handled in a restrained manner, conveyed through conversations, environmental details, and occasional scripted moments rather than cinematic cutscenes.”
- “While the story itself is not especially complex, it provides enough motivation and context to give your actions meaning beyond simple theft or infiltration, grounding the experience in a sense of purpose.”
- “Overall the story is great and has a fantastic ending with a really nice plot twist thrown in there.”
- “The story doesn't make sense.”
- “I can just stand there, nothing I can do, the story won't progress.”
- “The game is one big tedious room after another looking for trinkets that don't progress the story at all.”
gameplay
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
66%
11%
The gameplay features VR-specific stealth mechanics emphasizing physical interaction and spatial awareness, with simple, approachable systems that create an engaging but somewhat shallow experience. While the fluid stealth flow and immersive elements appeal to newcomers, limited mechanical depth, predictable AI, linear design, and inconsistent guard reactions reduce challenge and replayability for seasoned players. Overall, it offers a visually impressive but lightweight stealth experience that may feel repetitive and brief.
- “Gameplay centers on VR-specific stealth mechanics that prioritize physical interaction and spatial awareness.”
- “The mechanics are simple to understand and the gameplay feels quite fluid with little interrupting the flow.”
- “Gameplay is an interesting mix of stealth and arcade. Each level you must sneak through avoiding detection; you may also need to find evidence, get keys, or defeat guards.”
- “Its weaknesses stem from simplified systems, predictable AI, and a relatively brief runtime that leaves little room for mechanical growth.”
- “One of the main mechanics is that you can throw objects (mostly apples and potatoes) to distract guards, but it is seemingly inconsistent how guards react.”
- “Gameplay is light, with not much going on: hide, steal, find an item, move to another place. There could be some intense moments, but overall the game is not challenging at normal difficulty.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The game excels at creating an immersive, richly detailed medieval castle atmosphere that captures the essence of a thief experience through its design, lighting, and sound. While mechanics are basic and replay value limited, the strong environmental presence and authentic ambiance make it a standout VR title for fans of atmospheric stealth. Some minor issues, like lack of music and intrusive collision effects, slightly detract from immersion but do not diminish the overall mood.
- “Castle Blackstone is richly detailed, with convincing medieval architecture, cluttered interiors, and atmospheric lighting that enhances the sense of place.”
- “There are just not many games that capture the thief atmosphere nowadays but this game nails it right out the gate.”
- “The graphics are really really good and the atmosphere is like what a thief game should have.”
- “- Collisions: when you accidentally put your hand or head into a wall, the screen instantly turns bright white (the game's atmosphere is pretty dark), and a text appears saying you will be teleported to your previous location in 5 seconds.”
- “- Lacks music to add to immersion and atmosphere.”
- “Replay value is limited, largely dependent on a player’s desire to re-experience the atmosphere or refine their stealth approach rather than uncover substantially new content.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Optimization for the game is generally decent, running smoothly on a GTX 1080 with stable frame rates and no major performance issues reported. However, some users note blurry textures at close range and minor graphical limitations like reduced field of view due to the HUD. Overall, performance is stable and playable, though not exceptional.
- “Optimization is good; tested on GTX 1080 and i7 4770k with very stable, playable frame rates.”
- “Unlike a lot of other reviews, using a Rift S, I experienced no graphical or performance issues.”
- “It's some kind of 'stealth' walking simulator (on the only path available, no choice on where to go), poorly optimized, textures are blurry when they are 2 meters ahead of you and the hood reduces the FOV.”
- “Performance in this game is okay but certainly not amazing; I ended up playing at medium settings and the game still looked really good.”
- “Playing with a GTX 1080, no performance issues so far.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
Replayability is generally limited, appealing mainly to players interested in revisiting the atmosphere or refining stealth tactics rather than discovering new content. While challenge modes could enhance replay value, the game may feel repetitive for those seeking complex mechanics or long-term engagement.
- “Replay value is therefore limited, largely dependent on a player's desire to re-experience the atmosphere or refine their stealth approach rather than uncover substantially new content.”
- “Those seeking intense challenge, complex stealth mechanics, or long-term replayability may find the experience enjoyable but ultimately limited.”
- “Replay value is therefore limited, largely dependent on a player’s desire to re-experience the atmosphere or refine their stealth approach rather than uncover substantially new content.”
- “Little replay value.”
- “Maybe some challenge modes to give it replay value.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game's music is generally well-received, with fitting and pleasant tracks that complement the aesthetic. However, the limited number of songs and occasional lack of music reduce immersion, and some odd dialogue—likely due to translation—affects the overall audio experience. Voice acting is mostly professional, despite a few unusual casting choices.
- “The audio was really good, the game has good music.”
- “There were only a few songs in the game and they were nice and fitting with the aesthetic.”
- “The game's voice acting was very good and professional.”
- “Lacks music to add to immersion and atmosphere.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The reviews highlight impressive character design and strong voice acting, contributing to well-developed characters. Overall, character development is positively noted alongside appealing graphics and story elements.
- “Character design, graphics, voice acting, and story are pretty nice so far, loving it.”
- “Visuals are amazing and character design is definitely superior.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences some stability issues, including occasional bugs and inconsistent gameplay mechanics like scale and stealth, which can affect the overall experience.
- “Buggy gameplay.”
- “The game still has issues; the scale seems a bit off, stealth can be iffy, and it can be a tad buggy.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is seen as tedious due to repetitive tasks that don't advance the story, but some players appreciate that it requires less time compared to other games like Skyrim.
- “The game is one big tedious room after another looking for trinkets that don't progress the story at all.”

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3h Median play time

3h Average play time

3-3h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle is a action adventure game with medieval and historical themes.

ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle is available on PC, Virtual Reality, Windows and Oculus Rift.

On average players spend around 3 hours playing ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle.

ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle was released on July 5, 2019.

ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle was developed by Smilegate.

ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its graphics but disliked it for its optimization.

ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle is a single player game.

Similar games include Budget Cuts, Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow, Remothered: Tormented Fathers, ALICE VR, Espire 1: VR Operative and others.

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