SVRVIVE: The Deus Helix

Since nobody is reviewing this game, I'll give my first impressions after a bit less than an hour of gameplay (and update it once I'd played more). Note that I progressed quite fast in the first level because I already played the demo before (it's the same level). First of all, despite the game, this is not a survival game, but a riddle or escape-the-room-like game. It feels really cool to be driven into a story in VR, I must admit that this seems to me to be one of the first games on Vive to offer a real scenario. Graphics are really good, and scenes are made with an obvious sense of detail, although it looks like for some reason, I'm more annoyed by Vive's halo glares in this game than on most of others (maybe because of a high contrast in luminosity within the scenes). Aliasing is barely noticeable given this kind of detailed graphics. Physics are good (like not as good as Cowbots vs Aliens, but much better than a Chair in a Room), they sometimes glitch a bit, but nothing ridiculous or making everything fly miles away, and it feels right to not see objects pass through each others (should be mandatory in VR). The game is well polished, and I'm pretty sure that the devs (that communicated quite well so far) will hear the little complains in order to make it even more polished (something like being able to autolock the flashlight in the first level, etc). What stands out in this game is the atmosphere, those who tried the demo would understand. I've only reached scene 2 at this moment, the atmosphere is very different (not that creepy), but the sense of presence is strong and the ambiance is intriguing. Devs claimed that the game's play length is about 4 to 5 hours, so 20 creds seems to be quite a correct price considering that I still have to play a (full-) VR game that offers that much game length with a story. So for the moment, for what I've seen, I recommend it, and if the rest of the game is as good as what i've seen so far, for 5 hours, I'd even highly recommend it !

"One of the longest VR games to date" - Boy, we sure are lacking in long VR games, then, aren't we.. The premise is interesting, and I do love a good puzzle, but I didn't really find this one all that compelling. The puzzles aren't exactly groundbreaking, and while the story has potential, it's marred by poor writing and awkward voice acting. A lot of visual glitching, too, like rocks that only exist if you're not looking at them.. Textures are pretty bad overall, except for the "important" objects, and there's a lot of loud ambient noise that makes some of the puzzles headache-inducing in the wrong way. The fact that it was easily completed in 4 hours (and only because some of the puzzles are of the "what the f*** do you even want from me?"-style until you find the one object you need to poke the other object with) with no replay value doesn't help it either, and the whole thing really just feels more like a demo. On the whole, if they improve the writing and get a little less awkward in the voice acting department for the next one, I'll probably come back to the follow-up, but I won't hold my breath. Edit: After some consideration and a bit of sleep, I'm changing my opinion slightly, I would recommend a playthrough, especially given the price point. It wasn't mind blowing, but it did keep me entertained for the 4 hours it took. And really, 4 hours at that price is completely reasonable.

So i just played the first two missions and have to say that i like this Game alot. As others wrote this is a Escape the room type of game where you have to solve puzzles to progress. The difficulty is just right in my Opinion, but im not very good at puzzle games so maybe others would disagree with this. The Story as far as i experienced it is good too. I really want to know what the Deus Helix is and if my "employer" is telling the truth. And there seems to be more than one faction involved too. That is what VR needs most in my Opinion: A good story that keeps the player interested. There are way too many VR Games that have no Story at all and you just shoot things up. Another thing thats good is that they finished the first Chapter before releasing it. Im fed up with EA Titles that promise alot and deliver nothing. So keep up the good work Devs, i hope this Game sells well so that you can continue this project.

This game is like six escape room games each played out on a grand scale and linked together by a pretty interesting plot. To me that was the big alure of this game, instead of spending $5 on a game that will take me roughly an hour to complete and then never touch again (the sad reality of escape rooms, they're only fun once) I picked this little gem up on sale for $10 and got around six hours of amazing gameplay! Pros: - The price, even though I got it on sale I can enthusiastically say that I would not have minded one bit paying the full price. - The graphics, the places this game takes you are all very visually engaging and in some cases absolutly breathtaking! - The voice acting - The overall tone, this game managed to create an intense and at times creepy atmosphere using only music and visuals (this game has NO JUMPSCARES). There were also some humorous moments too! Cons: - A couple of the puzzles had very unclear instructions and I had to look up a walkthrough to figure them out Honestly, this is in my top 5 list for favorite VR games I've played so far and I look forward to more from this developer!

(fixed - see below) NOT PLAYABLE WITH WMR or QUEST 2! I know it does not say it supports WMR or quest but you made literally THE ONLY GAME ON STEAM THAT DOES NOT WORK ON Windows Mixed Reality! And I did dot see ANY game that works on Rift and does not work on the Quest via link either! When you start level 1 you have no way of grabbing the controllers in the game... nothing works, no redefining of buttons works... wth? To make things worse, the game has a long and painfully slow narrated beginning: In...co...ming trans..mi..sion... dear... Null... you might be wondering why you have to watch this 5 minute un-skippable intro before seeing that none of the controls work (although the menus did work, you see your controllers and you could select everything in settings). It is because the devs are playing a cruel joke on you! P.S: 2 years later and after several hours wasted I found out it is not a headset issues. Some people have it on the Vive as well. To fix it you need to: modify the save file with a text editor here: AppData/LocalLow/Svrvive Studios/SVRVIVE - The Deus Helix/UserData ( run "%appdata%" without quotes to open the appdata folder) The save file name will have random numbers and end with _game.dat In this file, change "Totalprogress":0} to a 1 instead and you'll be able to select the next level (Lewis Basement) in the main menu. If not, try changing the checkpoint value to 1 as well

Back when the demo for SVRVIVE was released, it was my first VR experience. I absolutely loved it, the atmosphere it created and really hoped the rest of the game would stack up to it. It didn't, but it was a good experience. When I played the demo the idea of travelling to the 1970's felt epic, creepy and a little like something straight out of Stephen Kings The Dark Tower mixed with the visual aesthetic of Se7en. When I appeared in the 70's it felt like a different place and time, especially compared to where I was previously. That, coupled with the creepy visuals, the fact that you could HEAR the guardian walking around upstairs and THAT moment with the purple light-bulb, it promised something that was more horror sci fi than anything else. However, the full game just didn't live up to what the demo promised me. I expected and wanted to perhaps transport to a German Bunker during WWII on the brink of being bombed, on the Orient Express amid a murder mystery, under a Colosseum in Rome while a gladiatorial fight is taking place overhead, or in an apartment of a cyberpunk hacker in the year 2150, searching for a digital Helix before some futuristic Japanese death squad blast their way through the door. Though the worlds presented are OK, they're never that interesting, and it's not a good thing when your best level idea is used on the first mission. Instead of an endless stream of possible great ideas, we get samey Alien Worlds and a pirate ship, none of which really inspires. I know it sounds like I'm ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ on the game, but after such a great demo, I was disappointed. I still recommend the game though, but for no more than around €10/E8/$10. The game would take a typical player around 5 hours. PROS: +Interesting story, and ends with a decent, if predictable conclusion +Great voice acting +Some great puzzles +Good array of different locations -Item physics can be way off -Levels jump between being good to just plain boring -No real consequences during missions. For instance, why can't the guardian in the first level find you if you're too loud? -Some graphical glitches. Found myself inside walls from time to time, etc. No game breaking glitches though. -Sound Design is poor. Could have been incredible. For instance, on the last level a generic cave hum sounded flat. Because of this the game lack atmosphere is could have otherwise had. The devs did a good job, but dropped the ball a bit nonetheless. SVRVIVE could have been a great game, but it has settled to just be a good one.

One of the earliest VR games and it really shows: items interactions are clunky and visuals are very outdated. There are some nice puzzles there, but also a a lot of bland and frustrating ones. Pros: + Pirate ship level is really great: it got the best puzzle in the game and even decent looking environments Cons: - Item handling is janky and does not have any physical feedback. And a lot of time it's impossible to tell if the object is interactable by looking at it - Visuals are bad even by 2016 VR standards - Final chapter got some really obscure abstract puzzles, especially compared to logical environmental puzzles of previous levels - Loading time is very long - Story doesn't make a lot of sense

Game too frustrating. Poor feedback as to whether what you are interacting with is progressing the game. And worst of all, no mid-level saves. I got to the floating stone puzzle on the last level, and had to quit the game before solving it. No way am I going through that entire freaking level again, especially as frustrating as it was to get those three items to float on top of the pedastals. At least I got it on a good sale. Will uninstall uncompleted, and just hide it in my steam list, so as to try to forget my shame.

Wow! I tend not to write reviews for basically good games. But this was superb so far. and i just discovered the free DLC. Nice Job Devs. Lots of junk out there. but not this. Spent about 2 hours getting through the first 2 missions. Looking forward to the rest. I appreciate the visuals in concert wiht the subtle hints required ot figure it all out. I could not come up wiht puzzles like these, but i can sure appreciate them. What a jewell. Worth every penny. Regards, Sleepdoc

Do NOT buy this game if you have an HTC Vive Pro. It does not recognize the controllers. Developers admitted in 2018 that they do not have a vive pro to issue a patch. Game is unplayable. Had to request a refund.