RuneSage

RuneSage is an open-world virtual reality adventure RPG about finding and restoring the crystals that once protected the world. After a great storm shatters and scatters them, the Sacred Grove is left empty. You answer the call to find the crystals before the next storm, though the quest proves more complicated than it first appears.

Explore the world

As a sage from humble beginnings, you search the land for nature’s runes of power and use them to cast spells that solve puzzles. You explore forest mazes filled with wildlife, sail across lakes to distant shores, enter dark ancient caves and search a ruined castle and its dungeons while vultures circle overhead. You can find scrolls of knowledge and more than 80 items across 20 biomes. The adventure includes over 40 quests involving NPCs and takes about 10–15 hours.

RuneSage is designed as a gentle exploration experience: there are no monsters to kill, and you are never in danger. You investigate your surroundings and uncover their secrets at your own pace, seeking the crystals and a way to protect the world from the gathering storm.

Runes and spells

Runes represent natural forces such as wind, water and fire, and you discover their forms as you explore. You draw runes with your hands, then channel their power into spells. Combining runes creates different effects: for example, casting wind after water can blow it into a powerful jet. The game has over 35 spells, which you use to investigate your surroundings and solve puzzles on the quest to complete the shield.

Movement and controls

The game supports room-scale movement for exploring nearby areas, along with configurable options for travelling farther. These include teleportation and dash teleportation, each with left- and right-handed variants; trackpad or thumbstick movement with 12 variants; and armswing movement, also with 12 variants. For trackpad or thumbstick movement, you can configure which hand activates it and whether travel follows the direction of your headset, left hand or right hand. Armswing movement can follow the headset, hands or both. Both systems offer configurable maximum speed, and teleportation can be used to climb over objects.

For turning, Free rotate lets you rotate the in-game view by moving a controller while holding its grip button. Walkabout freezes the game world while you turn in real life, so you can continue moving in the same in-game direction; Roomscale disables rotation through the grip button so you turn by turning in your play space. Rune shapes are drawn by holding the rear trigger and tracing their outlines. To cast, draw one or more runes, hold the rear trigger, move the controller away from your body and release; for projectile spells, the way you throw the spell determines its speed and direction. The options menu is toggled with the menu button on either controller.