Gondoloco

About

A love letter to Venice, with sharks

Gondoloco is an independent virtual reality game about the joy of steering a boat well, and the chaos of doing it while everything tries to go wrong.

The idea

Gondoloco started with a simple question: what if being a gondolier was the most stressful taxi job in the world? The answer is a forgiving, arcade-style boat you can pick up in seconds, passengers with ridiculous requests, and a lagoon full of creatures with opinions.

The city is a maze of canals wide enough for two gondolas side by side, lined with more than two hundred hand-placed buildings in warm ochre, faded terracotta and patina green. Everything is painted in soft, poster-like light so it reads clearly in the headset.

Gondoloco is in active development. Features and visuals on this site reflect the current build and will keep improving.

View from the gondola bow down a sunny canal as a dolphin surfaces

Get the game

Meta Quest

Gondoloco launches first on Meta Quest as a standalone game. No PC, no cables, just you and the canals.

Coming soon

SteamVR

A PC VR version for SteamVR-compatible headsets is planned after the Quest release.

Coming later

Questions

Which headsets will Gondoloco support?

Gondoloco is being built for Meta Quest first. A SteamVR version for PC headsets is planned for later.

Can I play seated?

Yes. You steer with the thumbstick, the gondola stays level, and a quick recenter puts your view back over the stern whether you sit or stand.

Is it comfortable for VR newcomers?

Comfort is a design priority: no forced camera rotation, no artificial head bobbing and gentle, predictable acceleration. The water rocks the hull, never your head.

When is it out?

Gondoloco is in active development. The store buttons on this site will light up as soon as the game is available.

Do I need to know how to row a real gondola?

Not at all. Handling is arcade-friendly: forward, reverse, brake and a satisfying drift through the corners. Docking takes a little finesse, and that is half the fun.

Painted in the colours of the lagoon

The game’s “Laguna Dipinta” palette, which this website borrows too.

  • Lagoon#426F70
  • Limestone#E5D8BD
  • Ochre plaster#C7A16B
  • Faded terracotta#B57560
  • Patina green#4F6256
  • Ink lacquer#242D31
  • Oxblood#713F45
  • Aged brass#B49A62
  • Venetian sky#B3C3C4
  • Boarding amber#D9A64C
  • Arrival ivory#F4E8CD
  • Lagoon mint#4F6E5F