theBlu

I'm really not sure whether to recommend this or not. Steam is forcing me to choose whether to recommend this or not, so I'll go with 'Yes', but with a number of caveats. It consists of 3 "episodes" that are fairly short in duration. All together, the episodes lasted probably 20 minutes or so for the main playthough, with you getting booted out of the episode after a set time. You can then play through an 'inspector' mode that apparently unlocks endless modes for the episodes (although the developer has indicated that they may change the flow of this). The episodes in many ways felt like a demo for the Vive, but wow, what a demo. They really show just how amazingly immersive VR can be. I've seen a number of references to others having previously seen the "Whale Encounter" episode and having been impressed by it, but that was by far the weakest episode (probably from having been the first one). The other two episodes allow some degree of interaction, and are just on an entirely different level of impressiveness (especially the Reef). Unfortunately, with just 3 episodes in which you really pretty much see the content in 20 minutes, I'm not sure that I can recommend it at the initial $9.99 price, but at the same time it's impressive and immersive enough that I cannot recommend against it either. Anyway, I've purchased it and it will be the first thing that I'll have others try when demoing my Vive.

Great VR DEMO. This is not a full game experience worth anywhere near $10. I paid $8 for my copy on sale, and it simply isn't worth it. You can download Within on Oculus via Revive, and gain access to dozens of FREE experiences that, for the most part, are better than everything theBlu has to offer. This was a waste of money for what should have been a free demo.

It's just a tech demo/benchmark. You can't move around to change your perspective, or interact with anything. It's awfully short (the blue whale part is like 30 seconds long), and it goes right back to the menu when each of the 3 scenarios has ran its course, so you can't really just hang out with the fish either.

For over 5 years I used to suffer from depression, and this week I have unfortunately had a bit of a relapse, which makes most games quickly lose their appeal, but this is not really a game. Normally when I'm going through this I would try to go outdoors and have a change of scenery to brighten my mood, but the weather has been lousy this week making that not an option. Fortunately, this experience gave me just the change of scenery I needed.

Stick to the whale demo. These are all short. They're not environments you can idle in or enjoy for a length of time and admire. They don't loop. They play through, and for their short, enjoyable lives, they end. Meaning you're broken from the immersion and then you have to start it up again, which isn't what I was expecting. I'll change this review if I find any such option exists otherwise, or if the software changes.

I finally set up my Vive yesterday, and theBlue was first on my hit list for a number of reasons; however, one reason in particular stuck out. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a marine biologist more than anything. As an adult, I became an accountant. The overwhelming beauty of this experience has caused me to have an mini existential crisis, and has made me wish I would have pursued my underwater dreams. At least, in a small way, I can now. Thank you theBlue. I wholeheartedly recommend purchasing this. It is worth every penny.

Glad this is on sale. Really really impressive graphics, but woefully short for the price. I appreciate that the makers have to get paid, but this came out over two years ago and they still only have the 3 (very short) episodes. Very immersive. Overpriced.

This is a great short VR experience. One thing that I find annoying is that the makers advertise more similar experiences within the *demo. The Whale experience is fantastic but very, very short! A little more imagination, mother and calf for example. STEAM should offer the other experiences as DLC rather than getting pulled away to make a private purchase behind STEAMS back for other experiences made by the same company!