Chiaro and the Elixir of Life

[h1]Experienced on the Oculus Rift with Touch Controllers[/h1] You can view my review & gameplay here: https://youtu.be/2kK-Ezt0yTE This was a very tough call for me on whether to recommend or not. On the one hand, this game does a great job of world-building and you do feel like you're on this epic adventure in VR with interesting characters. On the other hand, this game is so full of bugs that it really takes away all the good feelings you might have had about this game. Whole game took me about 4 hours to finish, with all the bugs. Without the bugs, it probably really took me 2.5 to 3 hours at the most. The game is mostly about either puzzles or this throwing mechanic. The puzzles were pretty straightforward and not really a challenge. Usually, it was just object hunting or the use of simple logic. I found the throwing mechanic to be more challenging because you do have to be precise & sometimes quick as well (however, I was playing seated so that may have added to the difficulty...

This is an enjoyable VR adventure that takes place in a beautiful world. You can tell the developers really put time into their creation. I recommend this and the play time is well worth the price.

This may be my favorite game that I've ever played. I love the puzzles, the music, the story. I shed a tear when I first saw the beautiful landscape when Chiaro takes his first step outside. This is storytelling at its finest, and I would pay twice this cost for this game. Super recommended for those who love LoZ, Portal, or Miyazaki films. There are a few bugs still, but nothing that really bothered me or broke the game. The only negative thing about it for me is that it wasn't longer. I really hope that these developers make their next project in the same world, because I'm not ready to leave it yet.

The game seems to be quite buggy and the achievements don't work, but the story is great and the place is beautiful. So I still liked to play this game.

I wanted to like this game as it does appear to be interesting and the music really is nice but it doesn't feel like it's worth the $30 they're asking for it. Upon first playing I ran into one consistent bug, the sound for the cutscene wouldn't play. I had to open the Steam menu and then close it just to get it. The cutscene was also very strange being a movie played on a curved black wall that could oddly be moved around if you touched the touchpads. The controls seemed rather odd as well but that could just be Valve's attempts to integrate the WMR headset into their platform. Interacting with the world around you was especially strange. Around Chiaro's home were these frog-like slug creatures you could pick up. Tossing or dropping them they just went into this weird pose and remained like that. Carefully setting them down they immediately went back to sleep as if you weren't ever there. Assembling Boka as well didn't feel very interactive. Grab a part, carry it to the right spot and...

Colorful and charming adveture. I liked it a lot.

Took me a bit to decide whether to recommend the game or not and, in the end, had to go with no. Game is pretty short (like 2-3 hours short) and it doesn't really have much going for it. It’s a story puzzle game that has neither an interesting story nor particularly interesting puzzles. They have a really neat concept with the knife but failed to deliver engaging content for the vast majority of the game. It's also not nearly as pretty as the screenshots on the steam store page make it out to be but if you leave the well beaten path (which you're encouraged to do with the collection mini game), you'll quickly find all the repeat textures and bland environment surrounding the tunnel that’s been provided for you. I didn’t enjoy Boka much either; not that the character was bad but it was neither particularly likeable nor particularly interesting. You're intended to feel for your companion but, unfortunately, the connection with your alive machine is not developed so there is no r...

I'm afraid I don't get all the positive reviews. This is almost as bad as Loading Human, though with opposite aesthetics. I stuck through it till chapter 9 based on specific comments from reviews about Ch 9 being great and the game starting slow. While it is better than most of the rest of the chapters, Ch 9 only rises to the level of OK. Well, the first half. Because I finally gave up on this game. Nearly every chapter I hit a point where I got blocked on what ended up being a gratuitously non-obvious interaction or hidden object or location and I got stuck towards the end of the Ch 9 fire section. I'm not replaying all that even if I knew what to do. The way that is supposed to work is the player mentally connects things after some thought. At least it should look meaningful afterwards (like in Riven where a opening the door to get in blocks another doorway). At worst, trail and error in an obvious interaction point. Pros: - Checkpoints within chapters (but not if you exit...

Aesthetics are amazing, some of the best I have seen in VR. The music is good and the game play and story feel fun so far. Some small glitchy behaviors but nothing game breaking.

**Note** I've only put about 30 minutes into the game, but really wanted to get my review live in hopes it will help boost the game. I'll update my review once I've been through the entire game. It's hard to be disappointed by any real attempt at making a VR Fantasy RPG since there is very little in the way of choice, but even if that wasn't the case, Chiaro would have been on my "must buy list". The visuals are stunning, the dialog is excellent, and the gameplay is above average. There is a lot missing from this game that would make it a AAA title (and I"ll list those below), but I am absolutely loving it so far. If you're a fan of Fantasy and a steampunk vibe, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this one! I'd love to know if the devs have any future plans with this game as DLC or other titles! I am hopeful. Pros: - Set in a beautiful fantasy land - Exploration feels good. - Characters don't seem flat and dialog is high quality - The controls work well. - Interacting with the world feels g...