Mythic Realms [Meta Quest 3] | REVIEW

Mythic Realms combines rogue-lite RPG mechanics with the thrill of mixed reality, letting players embark on a journey that brings the fantasy adventuring into their own living room. Yeah, it’s as cool as it sounds, with its addictive gameplay loop and creative use of mixed reality ensuring that it’s another standout experience on the Meta Quest 3.

Check out some screenshots down below:

The tale of Mythic Realms is straightforward but effective, with players taking on the role of an adventurer that finds themselves transported to a fantasy world in that is in disarray. You soon find out that the land has been ravaged by evil forces, so it’s up to you to help rebuild the town, strengthen its defences, and gather enough power in order to vanquish the villains once and for all. In many ways, it takes your typical old-school fantasy plot and runs with it, with no real surprises popping up in the storytelling. But you know what? It’s charming, fun, and does a good job of helping build a world that the player will feel invested in helping.

The core structure of Mythic Realms’ gameplay revolves around a simple but addictive gameplay loop: embark on expeditions to gather resources, defeat any perilous monsters in your path, and then return to town to upgrade your equipment and build new facilities. This cycle creates a constant sense of progression that makes each run feel meaningful, with your efforts going a long way in helping build a booming town to return to. Admittedly, it might have been nice if there were a few additional locales to explore within the town to flesh things out and play into the game’s fantasy setting, but it’s still a nice place to call home and to spend time in-between expeditions.

Expeditions take place in procedurally generated dungeons where you navigate through a branching path system. In true rogue-lite progression style, each node on the map presents a different activity where you might encounter an enemy, discover treasure, or gather resources, with a sense of unpredictability added as you explore. The risk-and-reward element adds strategic depth, as you have the option to retreat with your loot before pushing on between nodes. If you die, you lose all the equipment you have on you but retain your gold and resources, encouraging you to weigh each decision carefully and not push yourself too far out of your comfort zone. If you’re familiar with the genre, you’ll feel right at home, with Mythic Realms playing it safe with its familiar yet satisfying gameplay loop.

“Mythic Realms delivers an engaging mix of rogue-lite exploration and immersive mixed reality action that make for a highly rewarding experience.”

Of course, what’s special about these expeditions is that they take place in mixed reality, meaning you’ll be bringing each aspect of your adventure into your own living space and watching it transform into a fantastical landscape. And you know what? I loved it, especially when fighting monsters in my living room. Simply seeing everything around you change and embrace fantasy elements never stopped feeling cool, whilst actions such as gathering resources, finding treasure, or seeing an imposing enemy arrive really showed off just how effective mixed reality can be. It’ll make you genuinely feel like you are part of a fantasy world – even IF that fantasy world just so happens to include your living room.

Combat is fast-paced and works really well in mixed reality, with players able to wield various weapons, including swords, bows, axes, and so forth to get the upper hand over their foe. Each weapon has a distinct feel in virtual reality, with satisfying weight and impact felt as you land strikes and defend yourself from incoming hits. The boss fights are a particular highlight, with each pushing your skills a little more and utilising mixed reality in some really creative ways that gives them a more foreboding sense of presence.

The only downside? Battles tend to devolve into swinging wildly at enemies rather than employing careful strategy, with a lack of depth found across the mechanics. On one hand, this ensures the game is fast-paced and fun, with Mythic Realms accessible to all kinds of gamers – however, the lack of overall strategy can also make it feel a little one-dimensional, especially when compared to some similar virtual reality titles that offer more fleshed out melee showdowns. Luckily, it’s still plenty of fun and the novelty of playing in mixed reality ensures it never gets boring, but you should keep your expectations in check if you’re hoping for intricate and strategic showdowns with foes.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Between expeditions, you’ll spend time managing and expanding your town. At the start, the town is nearly empty, but as you gather resources and complete quests, you’ll unlock new buildings that benefit both you and the townsfolk. The progression here is well-paced, and it’s satisfying to see the town grow and become more populated. A happiness system also tracks how happy the townspeople are, and by completing quests, providing them with everyday amenities, or expanding the town’s infrastructure, you can keep them all in a joyous mood. However, whilst this sounds like a neat idea on paper, the execution was just a little underwhelming. Simply playing the game and progressing naturally kept everyone happy, with no real balancing act required that encourages players to change up how they play. It’s something that could have done with a bit of fine-tuning, if only to add additional stakes to Mythic Realms’ core gameplay loop.

It’s clear that Mythic Realms has some fantastic ideas, and honestly, I’ve had an absolute blast playing the game. It should be noted that it can feel a little slim on content to keep players hooked in for the long-term like similar rogue-lite adventures though, with a limited selection of biomes to explore and challenges to complete towards the backend of the game. However, the developer has noted that additional content will be coming to the game in the future, so I’m excited to see how they build upon the strong foundation that they have already set.

Developer: Petricore
Publisher: Petricore
Platform(s): Meta Quest 3 (Reviewed), Meta Quest 2
Website: https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/mythic-realms/8364993590228690/