Sword Reverie
- January 21, 2022
- Isekai Entertainment
- 5h median play time
Get on SteamIn "Sword Reverie" , players enter a fantasy world as a Hero summoned to prevent war with Elementals. Using motion-based abilities and physics combat, they battle enemies and explore the world with companion Stella, unlocking new abilities and crafting weapons to defeat the Elemental Lords. The story follows tensions between Humans and Elementals, with the last Guardian's daughter assisting the Hero to uncover the mystery behind her father's murder.
PC
Virtual Reality
Windows
Oculus Rift
Reviews
- The game features engaging sword fighting and magic casting mechanics that are satisfying to use.
- The visuals and art style are appealing, creating an immersive anime-inspired environment.
- The developers are responsive to feedback and have shown commitment to improving the game over time.
- The combat feels clunky and lacks impact, with issues such as slow movement and inaccurate hit detection.
- There is a lack of enemy variety and the gameplay can become repetitive quickly.
- The game suffers from performance issues, including lag and crashes, which detract from the overall experience.
- graphics46 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players expressing disappointment in their quality, describing them as bland, sparse, and glitchy, especially for a VR title. While some appreciate the art style and aesthetic, others note performance issues and a lack of graphical options, leading to a less immersive experience. Overall, the visuals seem to fall short of expectations, particularly for a JRPG, despite some positive remarks about specific elements like the art style and environmental design.
“First, the game is super fun, the graphics are great, the voice acting is awesome, and the spell casting is incredible.”
“Graphics make you feel like you are inside an anime.”
“The graphics by themselves are amazing, especially in the ultra settings.”
“The graphics are kind of a let down, looks very bland and boring for an anime VR game; even VR chat has better textured models.”
“The graphics are sparse and ugly, the combat is simple and repetitive, based on four elements (three really, gold is the 'non-element').”
“The graphics are low quality, characters move without walking, and it just seems more like a proof of concept than anything else as it sits currently.”
- story39 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The story in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it either dull or lacking depth, often overshadowed by gameplay elements. While some appreciate the voice acting and the structured chapter format, others criticize it for being linear and not engaging enough, with a focus on repetitive combat rather than meaningful narrative development. Overall, the story serves as a basic framework for progression but fails to leave a significant impact on players.
“The story was pretty nice and fully voiced.”
“The story is good and will keep you interested.”
“The story is straightforward, and the voice acting is super good.”
“This is not a bad game, but the devs need to work much harder on the story and variation of opponents.”
“The story doesn't seem to be the focus of the game; instead, it's 95% swordplay.”
“Maybe a cutscene or intro of being isekai'd or something... the story is kind of lacking oomph right now.”
- gameplay27 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay experiences vary widely among users, with some praising its fun mechanics and unique swordplay, while others criticize it for being repetitive, linear, and lacking depth. Many noted that the combat can be enjoyable, especially in smaller encounters, but the overall gameplay often feels dull or underdeveloped, particularly in terms of NPC interactions and story integration. Despite these criticisms, some players appreciate the aesthetic and potential for future content expansion.
“Even though the story is dull, the gameplay is the reason to play.”
“The element mechanic is interesting.”
“Very unique sword gameplay; changing elements feels very intuitive.”
“The gameplay is decent but it doesn't look like it will get more complex than waving my arms around wildly, and for an anime JRPG, it just seems like a waste of time to me.”
“The NPCs that accompany you seem to do zero damage to enemies; they don't take damage, they pretty much just play an attacking animation but add nothing to the gameplay.”
“Gameplay is boring in the current state.”
- music18 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with players praising its immersive quality and ability to enhance the overall experience. Many reviewers highlighted the soundtrack as a standout feature, complementing the game's visuals and level design. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere and enjoyment.
“The soundtrack is another great addition that provides more immersion into the game world.”
“The music and environment were gorgeous.”
“I really like the musical score in the game.”
“When in the game, it sounds like the music of the hall is being played from inside the room, not 2 inches from your ear.”
“Music?”
“I'm a big fan of this type of anime VR games, and I really like the character design and the music.”
- optimization11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 36 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is severely lacking, leading to poor performance, frequent pop-ins, and motion sickness, particularly in later chapters. Players have noted that even high-end hardware struggles to run the game smoothly, and many believe that improving optimization should be a top priority for the developers. Suggestions for better performance include adopting a more linear open-world design to reduce loading demands.
“Lowering the graphics settings fixed performance and motion sickness.”
“Out of everything, I think improving performance should be a top priority for the developers, even above refining the combat system.”
“Personally, I would have considered a more linear open world approach so you could have high-density forests with little performance impact. For example, if you had a forest, you could have three pathways through said forest packed full of content, and they're also acting as an occlusion area for the rest of the world not having to be loaded.”
“Performance is bad given the quality of the graphics and it's making me motion sick.”
“You will see pop-in quite often, and the performance is pretty rough in later chapters.”
“Extremely bad performance/stutter on high-end hardware (AMD 5800X/6900XT).”
- grinding6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
Players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game; some find it manageable and not overly tedious, while others criticize the slow map movement and repetitive gameplay that detracts from exploration. Overall, the grinding experience seems to vary significantly based on individual playstyles and preferences.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
“The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
“My biggest complaint is that moving around the map is so slow and tedious.”
“It makes exploring the maps more tedious than fun.”
“A JRPG that doesn't focus on story, and more on repetitive, grindy gameplay.”
- stability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -40 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with no major bugs or glitches reported. However, some users have encountered minor issues, such as buggy menus and odd enemy behavior, which can occasionally disrupt gameplay but are often resolved with a reset. Despite these quirks, players find the game enjoyable and well-polished.
“This is a polished VR game that runs great.”
“The game maintains a steady frame rate, providing a smooth experience.”
“I haven't encountered any crashes or bugs, which makes for a very stable gameplay.”
“There are just a few problems, such as the menu for changing the powers for the sword is sometimes completely buggy, and enemies can sometimes attack me strangely even though they are lying on the ground, which means I can't dodge their attack.”
“Fun game, though buggy.”
“Some buggy menus; nothing a reset couldn't fix, though.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by the amusing ragdoll physics of enemies and the comically disproportionate size of the player's small hands compared to the oversized weapons, creating a consistently funny experience. Players find these elements to be some of the most enjoyable aspects of the game.
“The magic is really fun and funny to see the enemies ragdoll and fly away; it's probably the best part of this game.”
“Your hands are ridiculously small, which looks hilarious with the ginormous weapons you're carrying.”
“Swords are hilariously large, and the player's hands are hilariously small.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
While some users express frustration over perceived cash grab elements in the game's monetization strategy, others recognize the effort and dedication behind the game, suggesting that it may not be a straightforward attempt to exploit players financially.
“I'm kind of mad at the cash grab this game is.”
“The monetization feels excessive and detracts from the overall experience.”
“It seems like the developers are more focused on making money than providing a quality game.”
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the character design in the game is praised for its aesthetic appeal, some users feel that the character models do not hold up well under close scrutiny in VR, suggesting a disconnect between design and technical execution. Overall, fans of anime VR games appreciate the visual and auditory elements, but there are concerns about the depth of character development in the immersive environment.
“I'm a big fan of this type of anime VR games, and I really like the character design and the music.”
