In April, 1993, The 7th Guest released on CD-ROM and was a technological marvel at the time. It has been 30 years since the title released to the world, and now that universe has been revived by Vertigo Games.
The project, which eventually took form as The 7th Guest VR, started because of the love, Director Paul van der Meer, had for the original puzzle game. His passions were recognized by those at Vertigo, and thus this remake was born.
As I made my way through the massive Stauf mansion, completing puzzles in the 17 different rooms, it was clear the team behind the mystery adventure had taken great care in crafting this world. Although I never personally played the CD-ROM game, everything I experienced suggests The 7th Guest VR has done great justice by its predecessor.
The 7th Guest VR Is Not a Marathon Game And Isn’t Meant to Binge
As I started exploring the mansion there was some expectation, like many VR games, that the whole experience would only take a couple of hours. I was very wrong. The 7th Guest VR is a great time, but if you take away nothing else from this review, it should be to play at your own pace. There is so much to see and experience that will be missed if you try to speed run through the house.
One of the most unique parts of the game is the lantern you carry everywhere. It reveals hints, factors into solving puzzles, and the best part is that it changes the pictures hanging on the walls. Almost every room has portraits that evolve from normal images to macabre depictions when illuminated by the lantern. As you navigate each room, walking around and viewing the pictures is part of the fun.
In fact, each room is so expertly crafted, I found myself spending around five to ten minutes in every location getting oriented before starting the puzzles. A slow exploration is definitely the way to go in these moments. There are also narrative pieces spread through the rooms that provide more context to the overall story.
When you do eventually start the puzzles, you may experience a wide range of emotions. Some of these challenges can be fairly straightforward, while others are going to require much more attention.
Another reason I recommend a slow playthrough, is that the weight of the VR headset eventually becomes tiresome after so much use. Several of the puzzles require the player to look downwards, which can be a strain on the neck. This is in no way a flaw in the environmental design, as the puzzles tend to be logically placed, but expect to be looking towards the ground frequently.
Each Room In The 7th Guest VR Plays to Its Strengths
One of the most clever aspects of The 7th Guest VR, is that the rooms themselves conform to the puzzles. So, instead of challenges that feel completely random, the developers have considered the space. Each section is like an elaborate escape room that stays surprisingly unique despite having so many play areas.
That said, there are certainly rooms that were more enjoyable than others. I felt that the library and Temple’s room were masterfully done in terms of challenge and intrigue.
The library puzzle is not overly complicated, but it utilizes the entire room. Without giving too much away, I will say that watching yourself solve the problem is a lot of fun. You get to break out your interior decorating skills and the result can be a quite chaotic mess that is laughably fun.
Temple’s room is a classic homage to the stage magician. If you have seen trailers for The 7th Guest VR, then you know that teleportation comes into play with this challenge. I could have easily done several more puzzles in this room and it passed the paranormal vibe check.
The bathroom puzzle is also an honorable mention for top room. It feels exceptionally creepy and utilizes the drain system to build your path to the solution.
The one puzzle I felt mostly aggravated over was the doll room. This puzzle was still perfectly creepy and the concept made sense, but the prompts felt too generalized. I needed more detail and ultimately pulled a solve coin just to end my dastardly doll dilemma.
The Narrative of The 7th Guest VR Is Good, But I Wanted More
The story throughout The 7th Guest VR is interesting, however, by the end I was left wanting more information. Every room adds to the story with various music boxes, photographs, and played out volumetric video scenes. However, even with all of these options by the end of the game I wanted a greater history of the characters.
As you traverse the mansion, you get backstory on Stauf and how he came to success as a toymaker, but you get much less information on his guests and how their lives put them in his path. They are all clearly persons of prominence and it would have been interesting to know more about the major players.
One thing The 7th Guest VR does really well with narrative, is that it offers a way to rewatch story sequences. This provides more ease to play the game at your own speed and also allows you to review for things you might have missed.
The Finale to The 7th Guest VR Will Have a Mixed Reception
The conclusion to The 7th Guest VR is somewhat unexpected, because the final stage is less of a puzzle and feels more like a board game. This will likely lead to a divisive response among those who play until the very end of the murder mystery.
Initially, I felt like the ending was more up to chance, which seemed out of place. However, upon further consideration, I’ve come to decide that it was a fun change up from the standard puzzle gameplay. I will say I believe the challenge was longer than necessary, but ultimately it was enjoyable. In order to refrain from any spoilers, it will be up to you to decide if the ending is adequate.
Overall, The 7th Guest VR is very well done and accomplishes the goal of successfully reviving a beloved puzzle game. It was certainly an experience that I enjoyed and it fits perfectly into the October lineup.
The 7th Guest VR is a great marriage between spooky atmosphere and dynamic puzzle solving. It carried my interest through the entire storyline and should easily be a fan favorite this Halloween season.
8/10
The 7th Guest was played on Meta Quest 2 with a code supplied by Vertigo Games.
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