RUINSMAGUS

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"RUINSMAGUS is a single-player Fantasy RPG VR game where you play as a novice magus investigating abandoned ruins beneath a prosperous town. With over 25 story-driven quests, face off against guardians, solve puzzles, and upgrade your equipment to uncover the town's secrets. The game takes about 6 hours to beat."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 87 reviews

story23 positive mentions

replayability2 negative mentions

The game offers a highly immersive experience, making players feel like they are part of a living anime world.
Combat mechanics are engaging and fun, with a variety of spells and challenging boss fights that keep the gameplay exciting.
The story is well-written and emotionally resonant, with good voice acting that enhances the overall experience.

The game suffers from repetitive gameplay, with linear dungeon designs and a lack of variety in enemies and environments.
There are significant technical issues, including problems with compatibility on Steam Link and bugs that can hinder gameplay.
The game lacks depth in RPG mechanics, offering minimal character progression and limited interaction with the game world.

story
57 mentions
40 % positive mentions
54 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its immersive qualities and engaging character development, particularly in a VR context. However, some reviewers noted that the main story is relatively short and linear, with limited replay value and a lack of depth in side quests. Overall, while the narrative features enjoyable twists and a vibrant anime aesthetic, it may not be groundbreaking and could benefit from more sophisticated storytelling elements.
- “A satisfying immersive VR story-driven game.”
- “An amazing story with great voice acting.”
- “The story is pretty good and has lots of passionate moments.”
- “Don't bother playing for the story; it's junk.”
- “Story is nothing.”
- “Repetitive combat, no character development choice (e.g., skill tree or itemization), extremely linear story, no 'treasure' (loot) at all, poor VR controls, no lefty/remapping options, and barely any interactable objects...”
gameplay
25 mentions
32 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a fun and action-packed combat system that resembles an FPS, though it lacks depth in RPG mechanics, leading to a somewhat repetitive experience. While the variety of spells and combat mechanics are enjoyable, the overall gameplay can feel limited compared to other titles in the genre, with some players noting issues with dodging attacks and basic VR interactions. Despite these shortcomings, the game offers a visually appealing world and engaging cutscenes that enhance the experience.
- “The variety of spells is fun to use, and the action-packed gameplay loop is comparable to an FPS game, which is to its merit.”
- “The combat is fun and original; the player's character is cool, and the shield is a fun mechanic.”
- “The game is content-complete with proper story development and a basic progression system; the action gameplay is also tight and fun.”
- “It's labeled as an RPG but has no RPG mechanics to speak of besides damage numbers over the heads of enemies.”
- “It is definitely rough around the edges, especially when it comes to the repetitive gameplay loop in the dungeons, the animation quality of some of the NPCs walking around town, the limited VR interactions, and the crude way the game teleports you around different areas without giving you the ability to physically go there yourself.”
- “This game is great at almost everything, except the basic VR mechanics such as weird weapon slot locations, unpolished repetitive dungeons, problematic item ease of use, and the fact your left hand just exclusively stays there to deflect things (unless using ultimate moves) is such a waste of potential.”
graphics
14 mentions
29 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some users noting a simplistic, N64-level quality and a bland art style, while others praise the stylized visuals and character designs that evoke an anime aesthetic. Overall, the art style and presentation are considered polished and endearing, enhancing the experience despite the lack of high graphical fidelity.
- “Now finally gameplay outside of combat (pretty much everything else that didn't fit into the previous 2 categories): the game is very pretty to look at, the art style is great and characters are well designed.”
- “The art style, the lighting and colors, the character designs, and the voice acting are all very satisfying, and lend to the feeling of being inside an anime.”
- “For such a small team, the game feels extremely polished, especially in terms of art style and presentation.”
- “The graphics and environments are about on par with an N64 game, while having a really bland art style.”
- “The story isn't too gripping, the outside characters feel rather dull, even odd because of the poor graphical quality, and combat doesn't really feel challenging.”
- “Graphical fidelity is not amazing but certainly passable for an action-driven game.”
music
6 mentions
83 % positive mentions
-33 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received high praise from users, with many highlighting the soundtrack as a standout feature that enhances the overall experience. Comparisons to iconic soundtracks like those of Undertale and Deltarune underscore its quality, and players express a desire for the original soundtrack to be made available. Overall, the music is described as amazing, complementing the game's engaging story and beautiful visuals.
- “I really enjoyed the soundtrack.”
- “It is the first real JRPG in VR, and the main story has fun twists and turns, making it a very enjoyable ride. Pairing amazing soundtracks with beautiful anime-style visuals takes the experience to another level.”
- “The music is amazing; it's up there with the Undertale OST or Deltarune. I wish this game was an anime; I would 100% watch it.”
- “I would love it if the OST was available somewhere!”
- “The music feels repetitive and lacks variety.”
- “The soundtrack doesn't match the game's atmosphere at all.”
optimization
5 mentions
60 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
40 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly and maintains stable performance even on lower-end VR hardware, some users feel that the design choices, likely influenced by the need to accommodate the Quest platform, have led to a lack of visual polish and physical interactions. Additionally, there are minor bugs and UI/UX issues that detract from the overall experience.
- “Also, it runs very smoothly and appears well optimized (GPU usage never went above 25%).”
- “The game is well optimized and holds stable 120fps at 4K input resolution on my high-end system.”
- “Most folks should still get great performance even with lower-end VR-ready hardware.”
- “This is not a good sign; this will just keep pushing VR developers towards the Quest mobile platform. This game also has a Quest version, which may be the reason why the dungeon looks dull and similar, as you have to accommodate the Quest's relatively weak performance. This might be why we do not get good AAA PC VR games.”
- “The game lacks polish with a few bugs here and there, and there are many things to nitpick as a VR game: there are barely any physical interactions (if there are any at all), there are many invisible walls (due to the huge collision boxes), and the UI & UX elements are not really optimized (e.g., button arrangement).”
humor
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-executed, with cutscenes that add a unique and often funny twist to the gameplay. Players appreciate the balance between humor and story, with specific moments, like a guildmaster's public announcement, eliciting genuine laughter. Overall, the humor enhances the gaming experience and keeps players engaged.
- “One final nice point I wanted to mention is the cutscenes; all of them look amazing and bring a unique and sometimes funny twist to the gameplay.”
- “Some of the missions are wild; the balance between humor and story is well put together. Overall, I really like this game and will continue to put hours into it.”
- “There was one scene where the guildmaster character was making a public announcement, and it actually made me laugh out loud towards the end, which is something that rarely happens when I'm playing a game.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players report a strong emotional connection to the characters and story, particularly noting a heartfelt experience towards the end. While some criticize the narrative for being formulaic, the overall immersion and character development contribute to a touching and engaging emotional journey.
- “I found myself fully immersed in the world and its characters, feeling especially emotional towards the end as they are all well-written.”
- “The game was really nice; the story was heartwarming, even though it had some repetitive elements.”
replayability
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
While the game has been updated to enhance replay value, the main story is relatively short, and the linear design of the dungeons limits overall replayability despite a good variety of enemies.
- “They also updated the game to have more replay value, but the main story is a bit short and sweet.”
- “Enemies have a good variety, but the ruins (dungeon) are quite linear, making it a game that lacks replayability.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of Ruinsmagus is widely praised as its greatest strength, with players appreciating its unique style and immersive environment, even those who may not be avid fans of anime.
- “The biggest strength of this game is its atmosphere.”
- “I'm not a die-hard anime fan, but I can still appreciate the unique style and atmosphere of RuinsMagus.”
character development
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the character development for its immersive qualities, highlighting the satisfying art style, lighting, and voice acting that enhance the overall anime-like experience.
- “The art style, the lighting and colors, the character designs, and the voice acting are all very satisfying, and lend to the feeling of being inside an anime.”
monetization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy primarily relies on advertisements, which some users find intrusive and disruptive to the gameplay experience. While it allows for free access to the game, the frequency and placement of ads have drawn mixed reactions from players.
- “The game is flooded with advertisements, making it hard to enjoy the experience.”
- “Monetization feels overly aggressive, with constant prompts to spend money.”
- “I feel like I'm being pushed to pay for basic features that should be included in the game.”