Pirates VR Jolly Roger – A Review

The concept of pirates, as we know it, is embellished by what we have been shown in the
media—Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, One Piece, Pirates of the Caribbean,
Sea of Thieves. The collective unconscious mostly has a clear archetype when the idea of a
swashbuckling, gold-finding, drunk sailor comes to mind. To conceive that idea as a virtual
reality video game seems like a winning strategy. After all, who wouldn’t want to sail the
seas and plunder forgotten loot while fighting cursed skeletons in the process? From the
outset, Pirates VR Jolly Roger felt like it was going to be that fantasy-accomplishing game,
but sadly, that is far from the truth.

Instead, what developer Split Light Studio created is something more akin to a puzzle game
set on a Caribbean island, with not much else to give that sense of what players would think
consists of a veritable pirate adventure. This is not to say that it is a bad game by any
means, but simply something that, from the marketing surrounding the game, felt like a
completely different experience from what players could eventually expect to play.
Thankfully, there are some sparks of Jack Sparrow magic here and there that could keep its
aficionados going.

Pirates VR Jolly Roger opens on the galley of a ship with your fellow mate drinking rum from
your tankards as per usual, talking about rumors of the coffers of a lifetime. Not long after
hitting another cliched pirate story beat about the buried treasure of Davy Jones, the game
drops you on an island close to the ship. A few direct tutorials that explain how to move,
crouch, and grab things lead into what the game actually offers, with a somewhat teasing
parrot as your guide.

Cutting to the chase, the gist of Pirates VR Jolly Roger is to explore around the island and
find your way around it to find said booty. No hand holding might sound enticing for a
specific subset of players, especially for a one and a half hour puzzle adventure. Although
there is not much in the way of side content to explore, no options to nudge you as to where
to go next can become easily frustrating. Considering the way the game itself feels to play, it
is disappointing in several ways.

If this were your first time playing a VR game, it would understandably feel like a bold step
into the immersive world of virtual reality, but for veterans of the medium, this game feels
barebones at best. Climbing is an exciting mechanic that, again, for newcomers to the
platform might be revolutionary, feels out of place being so prevalent in a video game that
has “Pirates” as the first word in its title, and there is a lot of it. Extending your arms to grab
ledges or vines is novel enough, but even when the platforming and collision are flimsy, it
tests your patience to say the least.

Although the animations leave to be desired, for a PS VR2 video game quality the graphics
are serviceable. The movement of the sea looks natural, the rock textures inside caves feel
rough and authentic, for the most part, and the gorgeous white sand at least gives off the
impression of walking in it briefly. It is the rest of the experience that is lacking. The lack of
impactful exploration, nonexistent collisions with the environment, too much climbing, and
not enough swashbuckling is what ultimately made me feel that I was misled into thinking I
was going to play a different game than what I ended up experiencing.

Looking at it from that perspective, there is an enjoyable campaign to be had. Throughout
the course of its 5 chapters, each area tends to try its best to convey a balanced line
between being a grave robber and a treasure hunter at the same time. None of the puzzles
are exceedingly difficult, and with a bit of patience, there is a way to figure them all out
without the need to look them up at first glance. The use of a lamplight does offer a sense of
atmosphere that is not easy to recreate, and even exudes eeriness paired with the vibration
of the headset in certain areas. Without going into much detail, there are even some spooky
moments that harken back to the developer’s last game, Afterlife VR, which is a welcome
change of pace from the careful observation of your surroundings to find the solution to each
puzzle.

Verdict

Fundamentally, a puzzle game with light gameplay elements, Pirates VR Jolly Roger is a
short story that tries to recreate the most recognizable highlights of a pirate’s life, but ends
up showing only the stereotypes without bringing anything new to the table. That said, those
Looking for a brief detour into an inoffensive pirates-style attraction in VR for a while, you
know exactly where to look.

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