Guns’n’Stories: Preface VR

Guns’n’Stories: Preface VR is a free-to-play VR action shooter where players dive into the exaggerated memories of their grandfather, a once-infamous bounty hunter, reliving his glory days filled with wild adventures. Set in a steampunk Wild West world brimming with dark humor, cowboys, and bizarre enemies, the game features rapid plot twists, intense battles against deft opponents, and immersive 1st-person gameplay using tracked motion controllers.

Guns’n’Stories: Preface VR: Review

Introduction

Imagine strapping on a VR headset in 2017, the dawn of consumer virtual reality, and being transported into the tall tales of a boastful grandfather—a legendary bounty hunter whose stories start with dusty saloons and six-shooters but spiral into steampunk chaos with robot armies and impossible odds. Guns’n’Stories: Preface VR, released on October 26, 2017, by indie studio MIROWIN, is precisely that wild ride: a free VR shooter demo that serves as a preface to the fuller Guns’n’Stories: Bulletproof VR. With its blend of dark humor, Western tropes, and escalating absurdity, it captures the raw excitement of early VR experimentation. This review argues that while Preface VR shines as an accessible, joyous entry point to VR gunplay—boasting “Very Positive” Steam ratings from 81% of 316 reviewers—its brevity, repetition, and technical quirks mark it as a promising but imperfect artifact of VR’s formative years, deserving rediscovery by modern headset owners.

Development History & Context

MIROWIN, a small Russian indie studio (listed as MiroWin LLC on MobyGames), emerged in the mid-2010s amid the VR gold rush. Founded to capitalize on the 2016 launches of HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, the team self-published Guns’n’Stories: Preface VR on Steam as a free-to-play demo, explicitly teasing their paid flagship Bulletproof VR. This was a savvy move in an era when VR hardware was pricey (headsets cost $500–$1,000) and content scarce—developers faced steep technological hurdles like motion sickness prevention, precise tracking, and performance on mid-range PCs (minimum specs: Intel i5-4590, GTX 970, 8GB RAM).

The 2017 gaming landscape was VR’s “wild west”: blockbusters like Beat Saber were years away, leaving room for niche shooters. MIROWIN’s vision married classic rail shooters (evoking House of the Dead) with room-scale VR, supporting seated, standing, or full room-scale play via tracked motion controllers. As a freeware title (business model: Free-to-play/Public Domain per MobyGames), it lowered barriers, aligning with Steam’s VR push. Constraints like limited dev resources show in its short length (estimated 2.8-hour playthroughs per Steam data) and occasional bugs, but it exemplified indie ingenuity—crafting a steampunk-Western hybrid without AAA budgets. Last updated around 2020 (per MobyGames), it reflects VR’s rapid evolution, now playable on Windows Mixed Reality too.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

At its core, Guns’n’Stories: Preface VR is a meta-tale of unreliable narration. You “dive into your grandfather’s memories,” reliving his bounty hunter exploits in the dusty town of Sintown. What begins as gritty Western fare—cowboys, saloons, revolver duels—quickly devolves into grandfather’s embellishments: “truth be told, he tends to go overboard!” Enemies multiply into “large armies of unbelievable” foes, blending steampunk gears with supernatural absurdity. The plot unfolds in fragmented “intricate memories,” piecing together a chaotic picture where dark humor reigns—expect quips about over-the-top bravado amid bullet hell.

Characters: Grandfather is the star, a bombastic everyman whose voiceover (full English/Russian audio) drips sarcasm, turning linear shootouts into comedic escalation. Antagonists are archetypal: deft bandits, mechanical monstrosities, but exaggerated for laughs—no deep backstories, just fodder for your gunslinging.

Themes: Unreliable memory critiques tall-tale folklore, mirroring Big Fish or Borderlands‘ cel-shaded insanity. Steampunk-Western fusion explores industrialization clashing with frontier myths, while VR immersion amplifies the “going overboard” motif—drastic event shifts can “fail at any time,” punishing complacency. Dialogue sparkles with wit (“hang on to your pantaloons!”), but brevity limits depth; it’s vignette-driven, prioritizing action over epic arcs. Subtle satire on grandfatherly exaggeration resonates in VR’s subjective “presence,” making players question reality amid the mayhem.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Preface VR is a pure VR shooter: 1st-person, motion-controlled gunplay in wave-based arenas. Core loop: grab dual-wielded firearms (revolvers to steampunk blasters), practice aim/reload in tutorials, then survive enemy hordes in Sintown skirmishes. Innovation lies in tactile feedback—tracked controllers simulate realistic drawing, fanning hammers, and spins, with leaderboards tracking “gunslinger” scores.

Combat: Fast-paced, deft opponents demand precision; dodge rolls and cover use heighten tension. Weapon variety shines (per user tags/reviews), from six-shooters to explosive contraptions, but waves grow repetitive—praise for “fun gameplay” (10% of Steam sentiments) tempers critiques of monotony (3%).

Progression & UI: Light RPG elements: skill via practice ranges, score-based unlocks. UI is minimalist—HUD-free for immersion, with radial menus via controller grips. Flaws emerge: “poor controls” frustrate (2% negative), tracking glitches on older rigs, and short length (60% players finish in 13m–2h) lacks replay beyond high scores.

Innovations/Flaws: VR-first mechanics like physical reloading innovate for 2017, but no multiplayer or deep customization feels dated. Room-scale shines in duels, yet seated mode suffices. Overall, accessible for VR newbies (2% praise), but repetition and crashes (4% complaints) hinder mastery.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Sintown pulses with atmospheric flair: a steampunk Wild West where brass gears grind against tumbleweeds, saloons glow with gas lamps, and skies churn with airship shadows. Visuals are stylized cartoon—vibrant cel-shading evokes Cuphead meets BioShock Infinite‘s Columbia—optimized for VR’s low-res displays (no aliasing woes). Enemy designs escalate whimsy: bandits morph into clockwork horrors, contributing to “charming presentation” (3% reviews).

Atmosphere: Dark humor permeates—bullet-riddled pianos, exploding barrels—building escalating dread. Art direction prioritizes readability: bold colors, exaggerated animations prevent motion sickness.

Sound Design: Punchy gunshots, twangy banjos, and grandfather’s gravelly narration (English/Russian full audio; subtitles in 8 languages) immerse deeply. SFX feedback (revolver clicks, enemy grunts) enhances tactility, though non-English audio lacks full subtitles. Collectively, these forge a cohesive, joyous chaos, elevating simple arenas to memorable dioramas.

Reception & Legacy

Launched free on Steam, Preface VR garnered “Very Positive” user scores (81% positive from 316 reviews as of 2025), with peaks in 2017–2018. No Metacritic/MobyGames critic reviews exist—typical for indie VR demos—but Steam curators (5 endorsements) and user tags (VR/Shooter/Western) highlight appeal. Positives: “fun,” “good for newcomers,” weapon variety; negatives: short (4%), repetitive (3%), bugs/controls (6%).

Commercially, zero sales (all “purchased elsewhere” per Steam) underscore freeware success, collected by 24 MobyGames users. Reputation holds steady (minimal review decay), boosted by bundles like MiroWin’s 4-VR-shooter pack. Influence: Paved for Bulletproof VR, inspiring VR Westerns (Pistol Whip kin) and demo models. In VR history, it’s a milestone—early room-scale shooter democratizing genre via free access, amid 2017’s VR drought (pre-Half-Life: Alyx). Not revolutionary, but fondly remembered in indie VR lore.

Conclusion

Guns’n’Stories: Preface VR endures as a delightful VR curio: MIROWIN’s free demo masterfully weds grandfatherly yarns to kinetic shooting, its steampunk-Western flair and motion controls capturing early VR magic despite brevity and jank. In video game history, it claims a niche as an accessible gateway—ideal for 2017 adopters, still fun today on Quest/SteamVR links—earning a solid 8/10. Grab it free, holster up, and indulge the absurdity; it’s a testament to indies fueling VR’s frontier spirit. For deeper dives, upgrade to Bulletproof VR.