Vanishing Realms: The Sundered Rift

Vanishing Realms was one of the early Vive titles, I remember the original game fondly. However replaying it, and now its expansion, shows that its design is somewhat archaic. Games like Blade & Sorcery have shown how you can make combat much more interesting, though Vanishing Realms has a quite expansive singleplayer campaign going for it. Normally this means I'd give this a soft recommend, but the game kind of blew it at the end. Fighting the final boss, you can only deal damage with a weapon that uses vast amounts of mana. Run out of mana? Tough luck, go back into the world and farm more mana is the answer it seems. This pulled me right out of the experience and showcased how shallow the game's design actually is. Please patch this!

Ok so I jumped and bought the expansion as soon as I saw it was available. This was my first WOW game in VR when the vive first came out. Since this has been asked a few times. The DLC is the 3rd chapter of the base game. You must complete chapters 1-2 of the base game to have access to the DLC content. Potentially very minor spoilers below: Now as for merits of the expansion I have about 3 hours in. There is more content, but some of the old clunky mechanics are still there. The inventory system used to be good, but now with better implementations it seems clunky. I have seen a bunch of new enemies. They are varied. There is appears to be a central hub world with many branching paths that seem to lead to smaller little dungeons/zones. So for in about 3 hours I have completed the first 3 "zones". It looks like there are 5 total "zones". There is a chance to upgrade/buy new weapons in each of the different zones it appears, so possibly 12-15 new weapons/shields. I did enjoy my play session, but did leave not feeling wowed. Mostly due to a few clunky enemy encounters and some frame drops on the main hub world. The enemy AI is pretty dumb, but it was like that in the base game as well. The hub world felt full, and the first dungeon was short(15-30 mins I think). The next 2 zones took about 45-50 minutes each. and that was with exploring and getting all collectables(I think). So your time may vary. The 2nd and 3rd zones are not dungeons, but much more open areas with a smaller dungeon in it. I so far find the story element lacking...Ill be honest I have a clear goal, but no Idea why Im doing it. I dont know how much lore stor this is supposed to be or just an explore, hack/slash, get new gear game. EDIT: I have played for a total of about 2 hr and 40 mins. I was able to complete the first 3 "zones" and have updated my review above to reflect that. I am more positive about the game.

Contrary to what many reviews are saying, the first 2 chapters are a complete game in and of themselves. The game came out of Early Access so this isn't paid DLC on an early access game, and there is just as much content here as there is in the first 2 chapters. This game is still one of the best VR games on steam, and done by a single dev. Folks upset that this is paid DLC clearly do not understand the time and effort it takes to make a game. If you care about the medium and the hard work folks put into these passion projects, you will be glad it costs only $15. Worth every penny. I played the first 2 chapters multiple times, and plan to do the same with this Chapter. Having a blast with chapter 3 so far!

Currently playing through this, have been waiting forever on an expansion and it is finally here Here's a vid I've done over the first bit of the expansion - https://youtu.be/7o3Vs_HMX_0 So far it feels worth the price. The dev, who is entirely by himself, mentioned from the beginning that chapter 3 was more than likely going to be paid DLC. For someone that has put in 3000+ hours worth of game dev work towards it... I think the asking price is fair. New gear, a map of sorts, new enemies with new moves, new mechanics... The video I linked will show you what's new within the first 30 mins or so of the expansion. Again, looking forward to finishing it! I'll write more about it once I have played all the way through the expansion

One of the better DLCs for any game I've ever played. It's longer than the base game at 4-5 hours and it feels like it's put together much better than the base game, which is still pretty good. A must buy if you liked the base game at all.

7/10 - good adds chapter 3 & 4, consists of 6 realms. takes bout 4-5 hrs, blind checking all the nook & cranny (chests) still holds up in 2023, the visuals. (played on oculus quest 3) worth it on discount, if you enjoyed chapter 1 of Vanishing Realms.

Spoiler-free DLC review: 3.5 hours of amazing adventuring, then 0.5 hours of "wtf." Refer to forum for spoilers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, and it expands (and improves) upon the base Vanishing Realms game quite a bit. Graphically PC's have come quite a bit since the original Rite of Steel release, so the fidelity is upped quite a bit here without feeling inconsistent or out of place. Whereas Rite of Steel did feel exactly like a 'dungeon crawler' (in a good way), this one opens up quite a bit, in that there are huge open areas that vary greatly in style and feel -- with different enemies and also a slew of weapons. It's safe to say that if you liked Vanishing Realms core-game -- you will like this as well. I fully believe that the base game and then this expansion have and will continue to hold up very well over time. This 'expansion' it meaty, and again...I'm really thankful that the developer has stuck with VR and made such a hand-crafted adventure. If you're not in-the know on him, he was a pretty important employee at Valve, behind some of their best (and establishing) works. He's kind of an all-around generalist & so it makes sense that he has (basically on his own) been able to create such a well-rounded package. If this does end up being the final chapter in the Vanishing Realms installments, I'm very pleased how it ended. I'm eager to see what he creates next, and I do hope that he continues in the VR world. It sounds like a lot of us (myself included) didn't realize that this chapter was released as a DLC & almost missed it as a result...but I'm hoping this does well enough to warrant him to continue his VR explorations & creations! Definitely recommended!!

This DLC is an absolute must to experience everything this great VR game has to offer. It's well worth it as it more than doubles the length of the game, and adds a much greater variety of enemies, weapons, and environments.

I normally don't really write reviews but on the massive amount of VR games that I collected over the past couple of months, I must say my attention was hooked on this one by a long shot! I just kept on playing and playing, the atmosphere of the game really gives me the feeling that I am in an actual dungeon. As a PC gaming enthusiast I used to play many dungeon games, this is as close as it gets of being in a dungeon filled with traps, puzzles, riddles, monsters and magic. The monsters you fight actually try to dodge your attacks instead of standing still like a mindless statue, and the rewards you receive from the end boss battle are very good. in overall I will reply this game once I finish it (inc the expansion) and I truly hope the developers add more content in the future. I will definitely back them up. big thumbs up for this one!

One of the first games I played on my Vive when I got it in FEB 2016. Really scratched the itch for a lonely dungeon adventure. As one of my first VR experiences it really blew me away. It's not a long game, and it's not a game you play for the graphics, but the adventure is really cool and a great VR experience.

Great journey, and on Index it looks great, and plays great. Only negative remark I have is that bosses should've been harder. Like, why don't they attack faster, move more, or leave lava marks where they hit for x seconds, making you watch your step? And bosses should sometimes do powerful attacks that can be interrupted if you hit them in specific spot (like on the moving traps earlier in game). Same can be applied to monsters, as, troll should throw back spears that are stuck in him, or orcs should throw back dagger/axe stuck in shield, maybe with more speed than you can, so you have to use shield too. Would also make fight more dynamic. But all this is only ideas, probably hard to do.

There needs to be better some guidance on how to start this DLC in the game? Maybe it's easy if you're starting from scratch and find it naturally, but I'm not at the start and I have no idea, even after walking around everywhere. Will update this review when I find it, anyone can feel free to comment on this!

Awesome game, I keep getting more and more impressed with the design - maybe It's a good thing with just one dev so everything doesn't have to be discussed ;-) Maybe the game could be called "Skyrim VR Mini", lol - but you don't get the same amount of freedom as in Skyrim VR, but you do get great weapons and get to battle great enemies. The expansion is much better than the first 2 chapters. Today I picked up wooden planks to make a small bridge, can you do that in Skyrim? And the new monsters have many more polygons - some are really hard, I even died once today and started doubting my top-of-the-line-weapons were good enough - and these fights get me sweating, doesn't happen often in other games, lol. I'm amazed thinking that only one person made this game, I'm starting to understand why he used "thousands of hours" to make this game. You can feel that this game was made with the greatest passion for RPGs - the music and the world design are second to none. It's one of those rare game where I just like to be present in the world - but you can get that feeling in Skyrim too, although Vanishing Realms feels like truly made for VR (even with no real hands and fingers). One advantage of the game is its very low system requirements - you should be able to play this game perfectly on all VR compatible rigs. And if you've got a GTX 1070 or faster, you can crank up super sampling to achieve the best possible image quality. Using such video cards SteamVR can easily be set to 150% or higher. I used SteamVR ss 200% and the Valve Index, still fps were solid 90 with extremely few dips below. The new 3D grass looks awesome and doesn't seem to reduce performance. Although finger tracking isn't supported, the Knuckles has been supported probaby as perfectly as possible in this game. And Touch works perfectly too (I have both CV1 and Index). This game has several dark areas, and has been originally designed for OLED hmds, so although Rift CV1 can't match the Index res, CV1 may provide the best image quality in the very dark dungeons. The game has full locomotion using one thumb stick, the other thumb stick is used for rotation (no smooth rotation though), so controls are basically great - would have been nice with smooth rotation though. 9/10 considering content, price and performance.

Please look at my first Vanishing Realms review to get a full perspective of the game as this DLC offers the last two chapters (3 and 4) of this game. GRAPHICS Graphics are substantially improved from the first game and the vistas/locations you explore truly immerse the player into the environment. Awesome job. 1.5/2 Music/Sound Effects The sound effects in each environment/path truly fit the area such as empowering/battle tunes in a war torn graveyard or whistles, sounds of dragonflies, and water running in a swamp-like area. Very varied environments truly help bring the sound alive. 1.5/2 Storyline/Bugs The storyline is greatly improved from the first game, as it actually has a proper objective. Throughout your quest, you venture off into 5 distinct and truly diverse realms in which you have to find a lost piece of an ancient relic. After you find this ancient relic, you venture off to kill the Dark Lord (more on this fight later, truly dissappointing) and help save the sundered rift. Not many bugs, except some minor gameplay errors such as map clippings and other hazards. 1.5/2 Pacing Throughout the game, you are getting new weapons at every area you visit and new enemy types to learn and conquer. Truly a step up from the first game, as that one only had about 6-8 enemy types, in which this game has about 12-15 new enemy types. An even better job was done with the weapons, which includes and is not limited to a war hammer that kills orcs, throwing axes that return to you like Thor's hammer, and shields that protect you from fire-like beasts. 2/2 Gameplay/Length Gameplay is very similar to the first, but the inclusion of new areas, dungeons, and weapons greatly improves the combat. Although, sword-fighting may be clunky at times, it is definitely satisfying to slay each and every enemy you find. This DLC was very deserving in terms of content (something the first game definitely lacked for an asking price of $20). This game was 15$ and offered a little over 4 hours of gameplay to enjoy, which was very enjoyable. 1.5/2 BIG SPOILER HERE - Please skip to bottom of review/final verdict to see the game's final rating. Although, this game was very good throughout my 4 hour playthrough, a huge error was made in the final boss. As the final boss can only be defeated if you collect, basically all the mana in the game, I had 3000 at the time of venturing towards the final boss, it warranted the player to grind for 1-2 hours to collect mana to defeat the final boss. This is absolutely unacceptable as the devloper basically does not have a way of fixing this issue as he wants to challenge the player?!?! There is no challenge in mining ore, but there is challenge if you need to master a boss's abilities and skills to finish the fight. This is why I have to issue my first reduction in points, due to the developer's poor response to player feedback. -1.5 POINTS FINAL VERDICT This game is great, but is almost ruined by a huge mistake by the end of the game. This game expands on everything the first game did and it makes the combat fresher, more accessible for new players, and greatly increases the gameplay time and unique worlds. Overall, I have to give this game a 6.5/10 (Above-Average) and I must give this DLC a VR-MUST PLAY.

The base game was about right length wise for what I paid for it, but this expansion has blown my mind! There's so much content and it's really varied too! Adorable spirits animals, varied enemies, hidden treasure, puzzles, loads of new equipment and a beautiful environment make this a MUST HAVE DLC for anyone who enjoyed the original. Just get it now.

DLC is better than the original which I enjoyed too. It's a lot more polished with a better story, improved environments and enemies. Sound design is good and adds a lot of atmosphere. The DLC has a style and feel that reminds me of World of Warcraft, albeit single player. Definitely worth getting if you like D&D type games. For anyone playing solo I would say this is a better choice than Karnage Kronicles and VR Dungeon Knight (I enjoyed the latter but didnt get into the former).

Great addition to a great game, some of the new monsters are impressive. Well worth the price. Love the new scenery.

I haven’t finished it yet but I thought I’d show my support. I really love what I’ve seen so far but I have some suggestions for the devs (if they listen to that sort of thing). Feedback below. 1. I encountered multiple ladders so far that won’t let me physically interact with them. I can still just teleport up them but I always preferred to actually climb. 2. I think the throwing hammer should do return damage, even if it’s only like 1-2 damage. It would make the weapon 10 times more satisfying than it already is. 3. The game currently allows you to teleport to the bottom of the pits in the first room with seemingly no way the get out. Should probably be fixed. 4. When inside the pit on the left side you can see under a wall and out of the map. Overall I really like what I’m seeing so far and Incase the devs are looking at this I will continue to update this review with future issues I encounter.

The best VR game gets even better! Buy it. You won't be disappointed. Great sound, level design, and no strange VR glitches keep me coming back for more.

Headset: Samsung HMD+ (WMR) Beated this dlc in 3h Even better than original. If you like the base game dont think twice and buy this one as well.

This game is still awesome, DLC is worth the price. No other game makes you feel more like you're in Zelda VR.

Just want to thank the Developer for a magical experience and was worth the wait!!!

8/10 - The Sundered Rift is comparable to the original game in size; while V.R. is not quite as amazing as it was upon release, the DLC is definitely worth it for those who enjoyed the original.

I enjoy this, and (again) can only recommend it barely due to an abundance of bugs and poor design decisions.

I fully support this game it's amazing.