Pirates VR: Jolly Roger Review

A deserted island paradise, spooky caves, shipwrecks, skeletons, and a mouthy parrot, these are some of the things that await you in Pirates VR: Jolly Roger. Explore, find treasure, and break literally every cutting implement you come across in this VR adventure set in a fantasy 17th century.

As the game begins, you’re already on the island and you meet the parrot which will be speaking to you a lot and offering tips. Okay, so not a lot of tips, but they will be talking and razzing you often. They lead you, the long way, to a locked gate, and you need to get the key from a locked chest — this bit had me stumped for a good while because you’re told to find a way to break the lock. That’s it. Nothing tells you that you have to dive into the ocean to locate a pickaxe head, then attach it to a stick you found elsewhere, and combine the two to whack the lock.

It’s obvious in hindsight that after exploring the entire beach my only option was the water, but I had tried going in the water earlier and was killed by poisonous seaweed. Diving down a short distance, however, showed a path to get to the pickaxe head. But nothing prepared me for the pickaxe breaking the instant I cleared the required route. Blades in Jolly Roger are only as useful as the game decides, which is frustrating at times.

Along the way, you find a magic oil lantern which can blast enemies if you charge it up, though this does use up some of your oil and means you need to refill it. Not ideal when you have cursed skeletons charging at you. You also pick up a single-shot pistol, which you reload by tapping it against the bag of bullets in the middle of your belt. Look, I already said “cursed skeletons”, don’t get on at me about easily reloadable 17th-century guns. There are also apples on this Caribbean island, which you eat to replenish your health, so historical accuracy wasn’t developer Split Light Studio’s main concern.

Similarly, a lot of the puzzles and traps are covered in Norse runes, while there’s no evidence the Vikings ever travelled that far south. However, the aesthetic works and means that you have to pay attention to solve the puzzles. For example, your lantern being able to highlight certain hints in the form of wall paintings.

Jolly Roger is a fine-looking game, all told. Sure, the character model is a bit generic, but you only see him in the main menu. And your hands are literally the same model flipped. But the environments at least are beautiful, with really good lighting. The stones which hum as you pass them underwater, the many skeletons, the green moss which tells you where your handholds are while climbing… It’s all great to look at, except for a single large rock which didn’t look like the textures had loaded properly.

Audio-wise, the game has some haunting music which ratchets up the tense combat whenever an enemy spawns, so you know to be on your guard. It adds to the isolation of being the lone human on the island, rather than being some epic tune that lets you know this is a full-on quest. The noises that the skeletons make as they charge at you are unsettling, as you’d expect it to be, so while I hate hearing it, I can’t fault it.

Unfortunately, combat isn’t a place where Jolly Roger shines. The aim for the pistol is just quite bad. I’d understand if it was my fault for becoming flustered and cracking off potshots at three running skeletons, but I missed when I tried to shoot a pot at close range. These are pots that you’re told to shoot to break open, and I saw the impact of the bullet on the wall behind the pot, so I know that my angle was good. The hitbox wasn’t, unfortunately. On the other side of it, skeletons can take several shots, but it seems headshots are fatal (who knew?), so I’ve been surprised when I’ve definitely been aiming at the ribs and the skeleton just crumbled.

Actually, on the topic of skeletons, Split Light Studio made the decision to let them phase through doors — sensible, as you don’t want your enemies stuck and unable to attack. However, occasionally a skeleton will do the “Nothing personal, kid” meme by teleporting behind you. Whether they got stuck on something on the floor so phased through it, or whether it’s intentional is never clear. It is, however, frustrating.

I suppose that’s not a bad summary of Pirates VR: Jolly Roger; sensible but frustrating. You do a lot of climbing, but it can often be unclear whether you have a proper handhold if you’re hurrying, which you’ll be doing because your stamina is limited. You find plenty of ammo for the pistol and oil for the lamp, but you’ll need it for the streams of enemies in some areas. Exploration is rewarded with treasure, but you’ll be backtracking because you didn’t explore enough and missed a hidden key item.

It’s a good, linear adventure with decent puzzles, and since the inventory is a menu that appears in front of you, you don’t need to worry about chairs getting in the way of the equipment on your hips for those who can’t play standing. Just be aware of the issues I’ve highlighted, and you’ll have a fun time.