Travel through time and learn historical facts in a new VR puzzle game.
Do more than just solve puzzles and escape the room, in a new narrative driven adventure.
Oldest Golden Treasure, by Vasil4n (Bank Robbery Gone Wrong) – released Dec. 16 on the Quest series of headsets. It’s also coming soon to PCVR. Like most puzzle games with an escape room twist, you are tasked with solving the puzzles before you as you work to solve the mystery that keeps you pulled in until the end.
“You are stepping into the role of a detective, and you need to continue the work of your colleague that has mysteriously disappeared. As you investigate his office and follow his trail to a remote house in Bulgaria you discover his secret laboratory and the shocking truth – he was building a time machine. You will travel through time exploring environments from different ages, you’ll uncover clues about what happened and piece together the mystery of the treasure itself,” said Vasil Lazarov, creator of the game.
Oldest Golden Treasure (OGT) is similar to a title like Ghost Town, where the story is the biggest focal point for players – and the puzzles are mere obstacles in your path. The game offers up a chance to let your mind do the heavy lifting – and even learn some history along the way (more on this later) – all with very easy to understand mechanics which help with the immersion of the game.
Puzzles here are the right mix of difficult and can be solved by virtual reality (VR) gamers of all ages. Of course, what would an escape room game be without hints; and you can access ones which can help get you out of a sticky situation if you find yourself struggling along the way.
As you make your way through each new level – and time jump – you’ll find random notes around. These historical facts inserted by Lazarov are true and meant to help VR players learn about the history of the real oldest golden treasure.
“The game is based on real history. Currently the oldest gold treasure in the world is found in Bulgaria and throughout the game the players will learn real historical facts about it while searching for “our made up” treasure. I wanted to make a great story, but I also wanted the players to be able to learn something from it. I really like the idea of gamified learning so I have integrated historical information naturally into the gameplay – you’re not just reading facts, you’re discovering them as part of solving the mystery.”
Adding in real facts is unique addition to a game that already has you thinking on your toes, as you step back to see a puzzle from all angles. With all of the subpar and mind-numbing games being released onto VR platforms, it’s nice to see something which can help the average player gain a little more knowledge about the world.
As mentioned the mechanics of the game are very simple: grab with the grip buttons, your triggers are used to activate a distance grab function in conjunction with the grip buttons, you’ll use the ‘B’ or ‘Y’ buttons to open your logbook – here you can track your progress and activate hints if need be – and of course you’ll move with the thumbsticks.
One thing that may pop up as an issue for some is related to the crouch function being tied to pulling the right thumbstick down. In some cases when trying to turn, you might accidentally find yourself crouching.
While a push of the thumbstick might have been the better choice, this isn’t a big deal unless you’re a super impatient gamer.
Beyond these things there isn’t much to the mechanics of the game. As noted, it’s very simple to pickup and play, with controls about as immersive as they can be considering the overall limitations of VR in 2025.
Now let’s talk graphics before we call it a day.
The game looks great in headset, and if you’ve played Bank Robbery Gone Wrong, you’ll notice immediately that OGT has much higher quality graphics. Whereas the first game was very simple in nature and had blockier designs and flatter textures, OGT has a much different atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re in a creepy old house, a dungeon, etc.
The settings here are still less texturally detailed than a game such as Red Matter, but the design work is excellent for those looking for a game that allows you to explore the space and feel like you’re really there. You also can’t interact with all objects in the game; however, you can usually tell what items can be interacted with versus what’s just set dressing.
In these instances, the textures are usually flatter on an armoire with a knob, versus one which may hold valuable information, etc.
Overall, OGT is an excellent puzzle experience for those who are looking for something to keep their mind engaged. If you take the time to explore your surroundings – and look for all of the collectable coins along the way – you’ll find yourself spending upwards of three hours, though it’ll be longer if it takes a minute to solve the puzzles.
The addition of real historical facts are not the only thing which sets this game apart from others notes Lazarov who details his approach to puzzlers.
“Many other escape room games confine you to a position and you can interact with only what is in front of you. I am really not a fan of that. My approach is definitely harder, mostly because of the limited processing power of standalone VR headsets. For example in other games you see a roof in the background and that’s it. In my game you can climb on the roof, try to fall through it, go back inside through the window etc. And I have to make sure all of those interactions with the “background” also work. Not only the immediate objects needed for the puzzles. Plus, OGT has this educational component – you’re learning real history while you play,” he said.
Oldest Golden Treasure was reviewed on the Quest 3 after receiving pre-release access from the developer.
