Fated: The Silent Oath Review

Developed by Frima Studio and released on the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and soon to be Playstation VR is Fated: The Silent Oath, a Nordic tale where players live out the role of a mute father and his family through dark times. This is a story-telling adventure through and through so if you’re down with having less input then this might be worth the £14.99 punt. Check out our Fated: The Silent Oath review for the full low-down.

Fated: The Silent Oath Review:

Today we’re taking a look at Frima Studios story telling adventure game Fated: The Silent Oath which released on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive with a Playstation VR version launching later this year. To be very clear from the off, this is very much an interactive story rather than a fully fledged game where you’ll be listening to other characters, looking around the environments and occasionally nodding your head – because your voice is taken away from you at the start of the game in exchange for your life. It’s a tale of Vikings and giants and as you watch and interact, you’ll get deeper into the lore across its five acts.

There are some moments where you have complete control to move around using a gamepad, of which there are two modes to handle the turning with the snap option of the two reducing the likelihood of inducing motion sickness. If you’ve the stomach, then a more traditional option is available which isn’t so bad considering the moments where you’re in control are spaced out quite well and the speed at which you move is about the same level as a snail. Combined it’s pretty easy to not feel the effects of sickness even if it means the game’s overall length is needlessly elongated as a result.

At other times your silent character will ride a horse and cart and it’s here where you can take the reigns and steer. Sadly there’s no options to whack the horses rear to speed up here so it does feel a bit like lip service.

There’s an interesting story on offer here which does draw you in if you pay attention but does end rather abruptly and seems to suggest there will be further episodes. You can replay any of the completed sections if desired but there’s little incentive to do so once you’ve experienced it the first time because it plays out the same regardless of what you do – it’s very much linear in its progression.

In terms of visuals the game’s animated look works well in VR and offers confined moments such as in caves although at the start you do get to shoot arrows at deer in the woods. There’s some good quality production values here but the lack of freedom does impact the game a little leaving players on the brink of desiring a bit more. The audio is well produced with likeable characters and a neat soundtrack to compliment it.

Fated is very much like jumping in to a story book and being an observer whilst events happen around you, so much so that it feels like this could be a prelude to a new way of presenting tales to younger gamers. It’s a short experience that will last under 2 hours and as mentioned, once done there’s really no need to go back which is a shame. For VR enthusiasts, Fated can only really be recommended for those with younger players who might want to jump in to a VR adventure without blood and gore or any real spooky moments. There’s a few puzzles and interactive features tossed in to keep things involving, but in terms of the Vive and its controllers there’s no unique features that make use of the hardware so it’s very much a seated play experience only.

Fated coming in at £14.99 seems like a lot for such a short experience even if it’s a well made product, which means it’s pretty hard to recommend at its current price given the lack of replay value. If you’re looking for a game where you fight, smash swords and explore then this isn’t it, if you’re after a interactive story then you’ll find an interesting game that’s worth checking out once the price has fallen considerably.

Score – 6/10

Written by: Rob Cram

Rob Cram has hundreds of video game reviews, thousands of articles under his belt with years of experience in gaming and tech. He aims to remain fair and free from publisher/developer influence. With his extensive knowledge, feels his gaming opinions are valid and worth sharing. Agreement with his views are entirely optional. He might have a bias towards cyberpunk.