Pirates VR: Jolly Roger Review

Pirates VR: Jolly Roger sets sail as one of the more ambitious VR titles in recent memory, promising exploration, combat, and puzzles across a cursed Caribbean island. The single-player VR adventure delivers strong atmosphere and striking environments. But in 131XR’s Pirates VR: Jolly Roger review, we learn that it stops short of being a full-blown pirate epic.

What is Pirates VR: Jolly Roger?

At its core, Pirates VR: Jolly Roger is an adventure game that shines with environmental immersion and exploration. From lush jungle canopies to murky underwater caverns, the world is richly detailed and rewards curious players with loot and hidden secrets. You’ll be traversing cliffs, climbing vines and swimming through grottoes. Descend into shadowy caves, all feeling tangible thanks to thoughtful level design and visual presentation.

However, beyond this the game struggles. Combat feels light weight, enemy variety is limited and the puzzle intensity is non-existent. Unless you count occasionally wandering around for 20 minutes to look for a shiny object you haven’t yet interacted with.

In 131XR’s Pirates VR: Jolly Roger review below, we learn that the game is welcoming for those who want a pirate adventure in VR. However, up against stiff competition in the adventure genre, there are better options out there if the theme isn’t your favourite.

The game is visually appealing and atmospheric, and delivers enjoyable moments of exploration, light combat, and puzzle solving. Its Caribbean world is a highlight, and the quirky parrot companion helps set it apart from more generic titles. However, according to 131XR, that’s all there really is. The level of challenge is incredibly light. And there are some design decisions that make you wonder if the game was ever playtested outside of the development studio at all.

The rough edges of the game are demonstrated aptly by the design of treasure chests. Sometimes you’ll be able to open them with one hand, sometimes two hands are required. Sometimes, you’ll need to crouch down to get to eye-level, use two hands, perfectly placed in specific points on the lid of the chest. And there seems to be no reason nor rhyme as to why. This simple example is emblematic of the wider game as a whole, as can be seen in 131XR’s review embedded below.

A Good Attempt at a Grand Adventure

Ultimately, Pirates VR: Jolly Roger is a good attempt at a VR adventure game with a pirate thematic, but has too many rough edges to be an easy recommendation. It delivers a welcoming, cohesive world, but does so at the expense of challenge or depth. 131XR’s review above was conducted on a Meta Quest 3S, but we’d be pretty sure that the same problems also exist in the SteamVR and PSVR2 editions of the game.

Have you been playing Pirates VR: Jolly Roger on any format? Do you disagree with the review above? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!