Unknightly might need to watch it’s back; there’s a new Thief wannabe in town.
Rogan: The Thief in the Castle is a visually striking new Oculus Rift and HTC Vive game on the way from Smilegate Entertainment. As the name suggests, the game’s set within the confines of a giant castle. You have the misfortune of visiting the castle on the day of its Lord’s murder, putting guards on high alert. Instead of deciding to swipe loot for yourself, then, you set about trying to prove the innocence of one of the crime’s most likely suspects. Check out the trailer below.
To that end, you’ll sneak through environments, swiping evidence and avoiding the steel of guards. Smilegate says players will need to heavily rely on the game’s 3D sound system to listen out for footsteps that will clue you in on approaching guards. You can also make your own noises as distractions and create ambushes using weapons to get out of tight spots (though taking enemies head-on is not advisable).
It sounds like Rogan will be a challenging affair. Guards will be able to spot you if you linger around corners and cracks for too long, and will react if you make the slightest noise when they approach. You’ll even need to make sure doors are closed once you’ve passed through them. Visually the game looks pretty promising, though we’ll have to wait to see how it holds up inside a headset.
This all sounds pretty promising, though we won’t know how many of Rogan’s promises will be met until we get our hands on the game for ourselves. AI can be a tricky thing to get right in these types of games, especially when you add VR on top. Meanwhile, Portal Studios’ Unknightly is another excellent take on the stealth genre in VR, though it’s admittedly rough about the edges right now.
Look for Rogan to land in the first half of next year.
