Shadow Legend VR

[b] Before starting this review[/b], I need to clear up a few things. Buying this game was actually a bit of a difficult decision for me. I hesitated several times because I saw a lot of people praising it, but also many saying it was disappointing or not what it looked like in the trailers. In the end, I decided to grab it during a good sale so I could judge it for myself. First, it is important to explain what this game is not. This game is not an RPG and it is not an open world game. Do not expect to explore huge biomes, discover large dungeons, craft equipment, or anything like that. About 90% of what you see in the trailers and screenshots is technically possible in the game, but most of those things are not part of the main gameplay loop. In many cases you will only do them once, maybe twice during the entire game. Because of that, the game feels closer to a VR tech demo showing what is possible in VR rather than a full RPG experience. Even so, for the price I paid, it ended up being a really good experience. With that said, let's get into the review. [h1]Played using Meta Quest 3 & Virtual Desktop [100% completed][/h1] [b] Final Score: 8/10[/b] [h2]Graphics & Performance[/h2] This is clearly an indie game, so do not expect ultra realistic graphics. That said, the visuals are still pretty decent in my opinion. They are not amazing, but they are far from bad. Performance is actually very good. Since the game uses small areas instead of a big open world, it runs quite smoothly. I believe most PCs should be able to handle it without issues. There was only one moment near the second to last level where I had a noticeable FPS drop when looking in a specific direction of the map. Restarting the game fixed it immediately. Aside from that moment, I played the entire game with stable 100+ FPS. [h2]Gameplay & VR Controls[/h2] As mentioned earlier, this is not an open world game. Instead, the game is divided into several small stages that you can explore with some limitations. You can climb certain surfaces, hang from ledges, and interact with objects around the environment. Exploration mostly revolves around collecting items and runes. In many ways the game feels like a small collectathon with a few light RPG elements. You can collect coins, jewels, and goblets which can be sold to a merchant for money. That money can then be used to buy weapons like swords, bows, and magical staffs from the same NPC. You can also collect the souls of defeated enemies to upgrade a few stats such as physical damage, ranged damage, and maximum health. However, money and valuables are extremely common in the maps. There is honestly no real need to collect everything since there is no special reward or achievement tied to it. Runes are a different story. They are fewer in number and hidden around the maps. Collecting them is important if you want to complete the game 100%. The good news is that after finishing the game you can return to previous levels to pick up any runes you missed. Each stage also introduces a different mechanic or mini activity. These mechanics usually appear once or maybe twice during the entire game. Examples include forging or repairing metal, feeding animals, doing tricks with a dog, climbing sections, solving riddles, searching for hidden objects, brewing healing potions, and more. This variety actually keeps the game from feeling repetitive. Each new area introduces something different, which makes exploring every corner of the map more interesting. It is a bit of a shame that these mechanics are not explored more deeply. There is a lot of potential here. For example, it would have been great if you could use mined ore to craft metal bars and then use those bars to forge your own weapons instead of just selling the materials. Combat exists but it is fairly limited. You can probably count the total number of enemies in the game on your fingers. That is not necessarily a bad thing though, because the combat system itself is not very polished. There is a parry system where you block enemy attacks with your sword. The idea is cool, but it can feel buggy at times and does not always work reliably. Luckily, as you don't have many enemies in the game, this is something you can handle I also saw some people complaining about the bow accuracy. Personally, after playing several other VR games with bows, I found it quite accurate and much easier to use than the magical staffs or the throwable axe. The VR controls work well overall, but the game could definitely use more polish. For example, there is no real haptic feedback while climbing, and during combat it can sometimes be hard to tell if your hit actually connected or if the enemy blocked it. Still, aside from those issues, the controls work fine most of the time. Edit: There's a speech system in the game, but I haven't tested at all, so I can't tell if it is any good or what can you do with it. [h2]Story & Characters[/h2] This is easily one of the weakest aspects of the game. The game is very short and can be finished in just a few hours. There is no deep story, no major twists, and the NPCs do not have much presence. Interaction with them is quite limited. That said, the voice acting is actually pretty decent in my opinion. [h2]Finishing the Game & Achievements[/h2] I completed 100% of the game, including all achievements, in just under five and a half hours. Yes, the game is definitely short. Personally, I would rather finish a game wanting more instead of feeling like it dragged on too long. For a VR experience, I think the game actually ends at the right moment. You can also return to any stage after finishing the game if you want to revisit mechanics or show them to friends. Because of that, the game also works really well as a VR demo for people who have never tried VR before. Most achievements are very straightforward. They involve completing all side quests in each area, collecting all runes, and doing a few other simple tasks. The only achievement that felt somewhat challenging was the ballista one. Aside from that, everything else can easily be completed during your first playthrough. If you miss something, you can replay any stage after finishing the game and complete what you skipped. [h2]Final Thoughts[/h2] Even though it is short, Shadow Legend is still a very fun VR experience. Playing around with the different mechanics and mini games is genuinely satisfying and makes the game enjoyable from start to finish. That said, the lack of polish in some areas is noticeable. At full price, the game might feel a bit expensive considering the total playtime. If that is a concern for you, waiting for a sale is probably the best option. Overall, it is still a great experience for anyone who enjoys collectathon style gameplay, exploring small environments, and experimenting with different VR mechanics. [b] Final Score: 8/10 [/b]

Played on Quest 3, and everything worked perfectly through Virtual Desktop. I only checked out Shadow Legend because it’s from the same dev as Arken Age, and it kinda feels like a predecessor to that game. It’s pretty short, clocking in at about five hours to 100% it without rushing, but I still highly recommend it. It’s short, but sweet! And if you end up liking it, Arken Age is the natural next step. Same vibe, just better in pretty much every way. A few cons: The combat wasn’t so great for me, and it honestly felt kind of tacked on, like something they added late in development just to have that checkmark. It works, it’s just not a selling point for me. The game’s also pretty linear, and once you move on, you can't go back to earlier areas (though there is a level select after you've finished the game). It doesn’t really feel like a full RPG, but more like a bunch of ideas the devs wanted to try out before they really found their groove with Arken Age. That said, I still had a good time just wandering around, finding hidden stuff, and doing the light platforming and puzzles. The exploration side of things is definitely where the game shines for me, and it’s what kept me engaged the whole way through. Score: A solid 7 out of 10.

When I was a child in the 1990s, I could only ever dream of such a VR experience, I can remember thinking how cool it'd be if one day we could have such technology to be able to go into a virtual world such as the one here, I was a fan of the TV show Knightmare, to put it this way, Shadow Legend VR has brought that childhood dream of mine to reality!

So far so good. Exploration for runes, gems and Gold coins. get's you searching all over the place, high and low including climbing. Combat is ok so far. block their attacks and chop their arms off and then the head. cooking foods and making potion to regain health. pet your dog, feed the horse a carrot. voice acting is nice. I haven't left the courtyard yet.

Игруля хоть и старая, но в неё я залип сильнее, чем во многие современные vr игры. Однозначно советую!

Very good so far.

Выглядит всратенько, но играется бодро и интересно. Постоянно появляются новые механики, хоть и толку от них не много, но это здорово разбавляет геймплей. Разве что боёвка подкачала.

Good get it on sale

отличная игра. хоть и без РУ озвучки, да там понимать не чего). на сюжет по фигу а механики класс.

Не плохая игрушка, с кривоватой боевкой и не самой красивой графикой, душненьким поиском рун для ачивки (практической пользы не нашел), но хороших вр игр мало и нужно радоваться и такому. когда в магазине увидел ручную пушку, у меня была не поддельная радость, с нее достаточно приятно стрелять :) в отличие от другого дальнего оружия :( . очень сильно сгорел с доп квеста на то чтобы убить 5 летунов подряд без промахов. в остальном игра ощущается устарелой, но хотя в целом, играть можно и сейчас.