RUINSMAGUS is one of those titles that reveal themselves over the trailerslikeUltimechs. At the first trailer, we thought as many that it was about a visual novela very advanced narrative genre Tokyo Chronos. We were wrong! Last December, theUpload VR Showcase had taught us a lot more about the title by revealing its gameplaynow registering the game in the genre dungeon crawler.
Our colleagues fromUploadVR were able to access the title and try it, the opportunity to give you their impressions here. First of all, the aesthetics of the title and its animation easily immerse the player, giving them the impression of not being in front of an anime, but of actually being part of it. This same player is part of a guild (grouping warriors, magicians, engineers) who will have to carry out quests and other expeditions, as in any good RPG who respects himself.
The best thing I can say about RUINSMAGUS is that from its striking art direction to its fantastic premise, it feels like you’re in an anime. You play as the newest member of the title guild, a group of warriors, magicians and engineers who explore a deep set of ancient caverns carved into the belly of a massive mountain. Right next to the entrance is Grand Amnis, a thriving gold rush town that lives off the discoveries of your expeditions. This is also where you’ll get new missions, make item purchases, and talk to NPCs to learn more about the world.
The Japanese dressing, not very present in VR (especially at Meta) brings a change of scenery. The aesthetics of the title, with its characters and NPCs, is sometimes reminiscent of a Final Fantasy.
Traditional characters and settings, as well as Japanese voice acting, are perfectly suited to the game. Merchants sit in tents filled with trinkets, and guards patrol the streets with exotic weapons in outfits that might suit a classic game. from Final Fantasy.
The game having been designed for the VR on PC, the fear of ending up with a standalone version at a discount can be understood. It seems that is far from the case. The tester even announces that although the game is far from being photorealistic, this in no way prevents it from claiming the title of the most beautiful game on Quest.
In standalone, there are no texture degradation effects that tell you that you are playing a PC VR port. Granted, it might not have the technical complexity of some more realistic headset titles, but it’s not hyperbole to say it’s one of the system’s prettiest games.
Small defect to note, NPCs have no eyesmasked by their accoutrements or hairstyles, which can be disturbing for the most fearful of us.
If there’s one thing that’s off-putting, it’s the oddly eyeless NPCs, who mask their gaze with armor or, more alarmingly, long bangs. This makes some characters look unintentionally creepy, like you’re in a town populated by The Ring’s vengeful spirit’s extended family.
Outside the city, you will have to explore, as the title suggests, ruins. There are no less than 25 missions that you will have to complete before seeing the end of it. In terms of lifespan, the game seems robust. In terms of gameplay, you control spells with your right hand and you have a shield on your left hand. You can throw fireballs or lightning charges at your enemies, block and parry projectiles with the right timing using your shield.
When you’re not exploring the city, you embark on one of the game’s more than 25 missions, battling enemies in the ruins. This is where RUINSMAGUS proves to be a surprisingly robust action game. At first, players have access to a simple fireball spell summoned with the right trigger, as well as two switchable special skills used with the right grip. One is another fireball that creates area effect damage, while the other is a charged lightning attack that covers a wider space the longer you hold it down. With your left hand, you have a shield to block projectiles and, with the right timing, parry them by pressing the left trigger.
At the item level, it is possible to throw grenades and restore life using potions. There are so many things to take into account and buttons that there will obviously be something to get lost in. The testerUploadVR hopes the learning curve will be better mastered as we get closer to the title’s release. Finally, RUINSMAGUS will be physically demanding and you will have to be constantly on the lookout to avoid enemy projectiles.
You can also grab Grenades and Health Potions purchased from the Item Shop on your chest. In other words, there’s a lot to consider here, and balancing the different types of attacks with the fast move can be overwhelming at first. RUINSMAGUS’ button-heavy control scheme left my fingers knotted trying to remember which combination of inputs did what, but hopefully that learning curve can be mastered in the full game.
I really hope it does, because in its moments of clarity the combat system is truly thrilling and physical. Enemy attacks are big, bright projectiles that are easy to spot, but hard to predict, meaning you’ll need to be ready to raise your shield or dash forward at all times. I especially like how some attacks zigzag towards you, making it hard to tell when they’ll land on you and from what angle.
The game has a well balanced and progressive difficulty, at least at its beginnings. It will therefore be necessary to wonder if the dosage will be over the duration of the same ilk and if this is the case, it is likely to be a dynamic and engaging experience.
I played the first few introductory missions, which lasted at least ten minutes each if you include the story sequences etc. I unlocked more attacks towards the end of the second mission and the new enemy types threaten to hit harder and become harder to hit. If the game manages to maintain that pace throughout its campaign, it should make for a truly dynamic and engaging experience.
So I’m surprised. RUINSMAGUS isn’t the game I thought it was going to be, but from what I’ve seen it’s also a bit better than I expected. I’ll wait until I’ve played the full game closer to launch later this year to give you my final impressions.
The game is thus planned on Steam in computer VR and in stand-alone version on Quest 2 this summer. A demo should be available during the event SteamFest.
If you haven’t taken the plunge yet, you can treat yourself to a Oculus Quest 2 at the house of Bakerthe Fnac, Darty or Amazon for €349.99. You can also find good PCs for gamers there.