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Chiaro and the Elixir of Life - reviews and impressions

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

This game looks interesting, it's also available on Steam (Rift + Vive + MR):



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Reviews are positive on Steam, and it's nearly a perfect 5/5 (average) in the Oculus Store, but it's based on only 8 ratings - and the price is $30. 

https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1728179110583222/

Furthermore RoadToVR did their very best (again) to kill the game in their review - verdict 5/10:

https://www.roadtovr.com/chiaro-elixir-life-review-thin-slice-ghibli-side-order-corn/

SUMMARY

'Chiaro and the Elixir of Life' tries to recreate some of the whimsical feeling of a Studio Ghibli film, but fails to deliver the gravitas that made the latter so balanced and effectual. Hobbled by inconsistent object interaction and at times a corny script, its varied and inventive puzzles offer glimmers of a greatness that just don't shine through brightly enough. 
Gameplay: 5 | Immersion: 4 | Comfort: 7

Well, maybe 5/10 from RoadToVR is a sign of great quality, hmmmm - other 5/10 games by RoadToVR include: Marvel Powers United and Detached  😉  

Has anyone tried Chiaro and the Elixir of Life ? 

PS. Right now there's no free locomotion, but teleportation - according to the devs, free locomation will be ready in a few days:

"Smooth locomotion is on our roadmap but we were unable to finish an acceptable solution for launch. We expect to have this feature ready in ~1 week. :D"
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/app/551440/discussions/0/1742220359683446277/

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

16 REPLIES 16

RuneSR2
Grand Champion
One month later there's just 9 instead of 8 reviews indicating this title isn't selling, unfortunately, maybe $30 is too much... Free locomotion has been added (beta) and this 2 min review was published a few days ago:

https://youtu.be/77uA-ThCdy4

There're 12 reviews on Steam - all positive (like in the Oculus Store):

https://store.steampowered.com/app/551440/Chiaro_and_the_Elixir_of_Life/

My backlog is too long, still haven't played Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin for more than 15 minutes, sigh. 

Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

nrosko
Superstar
Still waiting for the proper locomotion b4 i buy it.  

CrashFu
Consultant
Just a head's up for anyone who was waiting on the fence:  The game is on sale for 22.49 until Nov 1st!

I wasn't necessarily waiting for a sale, but when I saw this I bought it immediately!  (It helps that I had an inexplicable $10 store credit on hand. Really no clue where I even got it, but I'm not complaining lol)

Conveniently, this also happens to be my day off, so I'll be sure to play some after lunch. :smiley:

P.S.   In case you missed it, free-locomotion is an available option in the game now.

Update:  I played up to the beginning of Chapter 4;  I love how much interactivity there is!  Sometimes things get a little buggy in terms of physics / player positioning  (at one point I somehow managed to launch myself in an arc a hundred feet into the air and into a lake, but I rather enjoyed the trip, lmao.  I also noticed it was possible to just lean through a certain locked door and teleport onto the other side, but I turned back without checking to see if I could actually skip ahead in terms of chapter progression that way), and it's a little weird how the music will just cut out for long stretches, but otherwise I'm enjoying the adventure so far!


It's hard being the voice of reason when you're surrounded by unreasonable people.

Doum76
Expert Protege
Just bought the game last night, got a stupid question, but, anways to adjust height if i wanna play sitting, when i load while sit, i simply stand like i'm on my knees, imaging when i crouch in game 🙂

nrosko
Superstar
Is free loco out of beta yet?

Yes, full locomotion is working now. Sorry for the nearly 3 years late reply, but better late than never  

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Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"

RuneSR2
Grand Champion

I just bought the game - I now I'm late, but at least I just supported the devs with $30, lol. 

 

The Steam version supports native Oculus drivers, but starting the game with CV1 ss 2.0 didn't work well. Seems like something is broken in the Rift version with very high levels of ss. Also textures didn't impress me. 

 

Then thought of refunding the game, but wanted to give it one last try with the Index. Really glad I did - this games looks so much better with the Index! Also no performance problems with the Index even forcing highest settings in the the game. Maybe the Steam drivers are much better at handling high levels of super sampling in this game... 

You can set resolution in-game, and the best may be to use SteamVR res 100% and then set the in-game res to the highest - looks like res 200% or close to me. 

 

The game is close to some "feel good" experience - at least the first levels. Feels like a place where you just like to be. Didn't have much time with the game last night, will continue later today. 

 

Btw, Index controllers work as Wands, meaning full locomotion and smooth turning are on the trackpads, and not the thumbsticks - after some minutes I got the hang of this, but mastering such controls will indeed separate the sheep from the goats 🤣 Using Touch, locomotion and turning work with the thumbsticks. 

 

With the Index and a fast gpu, this game may be considered a long forgotten gem. 

 

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Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTX™ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD
"Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"