The Mage's Tale

 PC
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. GMW3
    Aug 20, 2017
    100
    Technical gripes aside The Mage’s Tale is a really good magical adventure that really puts you into the heart of the experience. The story provides hours worth of gameplay and the potion creation side adds even more fun, mixing and matching various items to see what they do. If you’ve been looking for a decent fantasy RPG then you can’t go too far wrong with this.
  2. Gamer.nl
    Jul 4, 2017
    85
    It is awesome to play a VR dungeon-crawler with a big budget. The dungeons are visually amazing, filled with puzzles and secrets and they are a joy to play, combined with the exciting combat and bosses. [Tested with Oculus Rift]
  3. COGconnected
    Mar 30, 2018
    82
    Traveling through the dungeons gives that rare feeling of a pen and paper RPG coming to life. The puzzles and traps are smartly done. Overall, this is a highly enjoyable VR RPG experience. Unfortunately, the weak link comes in the controls.
  5. Impulsegamer
    Aug 7, 2017
    82
    The Mage’s Tale may very well be the most ambitious Oculus Rift title to date. Despite its handful of quirks, it’s a legitimate dungeon crawler embracing a VR body…versus the other way around. The game is fun, clever, and surprisingly quite polished. Moreover, it’s one of the few Rift Experiences with legitimate game length, also a wonderful example on how to use the Touch controllers to near-perfection. What minor quirks are there (in puzzle difficulty, environmental interaction, potion making system) do not seriously hamper overall experience.
  6. 4P.de
    Jun 30, 2017
    81
    This is not only one of the longer VR gaming experiences out there. Visually it is a blast and highly immersive. Unfortunately there are little shortcomings in terms of movement and spell control. But nonetheless this is a prime example how old concepts can benefit from virtual reality.
  7. UploadVR
    Jun 20, 2017
    80
    The Mage’s Tale is one of the best examples of how to take a tried-and-true existing gaming genre and adapt it for the new VR medium. While it retains plenty of design decisions that make it clear where its roots lie, The Mage’s Tale iterates on principles that truly move the first-person dungeon crawler RPG subgenre forward in big ways. This is easily one of the longest and most involved adventures to grace the VR market thus far and is a must-play for RPG fans.
  8. GamingTrend
    Apr 3, 2018
    75
    With high production values, solid voicework, and impressive scale, The Mage’s Tale was every bit worth the wait. While the controls are certainly obtuse for the platform, the fun storyline, puzzles, and spellcrafting makes it a fun addition to the Vive library.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12
  1. Sinbaddusnavy
    Jun 29, 2017
    9
    One of the better Virtual Reality games I have played. Most VR games are more like demo's of what can be done this is a proper game, withOne of the better Virtual Reality games I have played. Most VR games are more like demo's of what can be done this is a proper game, with progression and a good plot line to it. It is refreshing to have an actual game that engrosses you and the spell casting is pretty cool. It is not full movement like other games yet as there is a step movement type that allows you to slightly step forward or use the standard VR movement system of the past where you morph to new spots instantly. This is a good step forward for VR gaming as it truly immerses you into the game and it finally gives us a total story to be involved within and the game play is fun and involving. Still a little linear not open world but that is a ways off it seems for VR gaming, but this is a fine start. A must have title if you do any real VR gaming as it is worth every penny of its price of admission. One of the best VR games I have played so far and I have played a lot of them to be honest.… Full Review »
  2. GuruChaz
    Oct 3, 2017
    8
    First of all, the game reviewer for Gamespot should be ashamed of himself. He clearly has no taste in VR games as a new medium. Second, IFirst of all, the game reviewer for Gamespot should be ashamed of himself. He clearly has no taste in VR games as a new medium. Second, I love this game. In my quest for a great VR RPG game, it comes closer than many in fulfilling sort of what I'm looking for. Yes, the movement isn't quite there but the atmosphere, story, puzzles, action are all there. VR is just getting started and there are some great games coming down the road. In the meantime, I am enjoying playing The Mage's Tale immensely and I'm pretty picky about the games I play. I give it an 8 easy. Thank you, Inexile!… Full Review »
  3. Runesr2
    Jul 30, 2018
    10
    A dream come true - feels like magic ;-)

    You really don't need more than this game to get full value for your Rift investment. If you're    A dream come true - feels like magic ;-)

    You really don't need more than this game to get full value for your Rift investment. If you're into the world of Harry Potter and love RPGs with magic - and if you ever dreamt about being a wizard - this game is a must have! Maybe it's just me having cleaned my glasses, but after the new patch (1.548 - a whopping 15GB!) it seems that many textures have been greatly improved in resolution and the performance too! I'm running the game on an overclocked GTX 1080 and i7 7700K (4.2-4.5 GHz) with 16GB 3200 MHz using highest settings and supersampling 2.0 - and I'm getting solid 90+ fps. It really feels like being there, the atmosphere, the humor and the ability to use magic are simply out-of-this-world. Remember that your Rift sensors each operate at 1000 Hz (I'm using 3 sensors for 360 degrees tracking - you really need it in this game), thus the faster you throw your fireball in the real world the faster it's thrown in VR - and there's just no way you can be faster than your sensors ;-) The full locomotion is brilliant (neither my son nor I ever felt motion sickness) and Touch controls let you throw, grip and manipulate objects - a true inspiration to how other VR games should implement Touch controls to make immersion perfect. BTW, try making a shield in each hand - now bring your hands/shields together and see how your 2 shields merge into one giant shield - simply awesome! The game can be frightening for kids. My 10-year-old son more or less panicked when standing on a bridge and a 5 meters tall giant walked under the bridge :-) Although the action can be fast this is a thinking man's game (or challenge, there are quite a few puzzles in the dungeons - some optional). Consider your choice of spells wisely - and use them likewise! Don't judge the game before you've played at least one hour. Note that this game really isn't 5/5 - it's 6/5, and no I'm not trying to get the developers to like me, I'm simply stating the obvious. Welcome to the dungeon!    … Full Review »
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