Supermassive Video games has a fame for crafting spooky choose-your-own-adventure-style horror video games. Till Daybreak and The Quarry had been each bonafide hits, and The Darkish Footage anthology collection has a devoted viewers. So it’s greater than a bit of stunning that the studio’s first PlayStation VR2 sport is a Darkish Footage title that ditches the established slow-moving dramatics and character-driven plotlines, and replaces them with an on-rails shooter that takes place on a curler coaster. The Darkish Footage: Switchback VR ($39.99) shares some DNA with its predecessors, using choice-driven eventualities, puzzles, and quite a few bounce scares. Nonetheless, Switchback VR doesn’t carry something recent to the desk, and its Home of the Useless-style motion rapidly grows stale.
Switchback VR Gameplay
Switchback doesn’t comply with the narrative beats that followers of The Darkish Footage have come to count on. The truth is, Switchback employs little story. You start the sport on a practice with a number of characters from different Darkish Footage installments. A number of moments later, you awake in a fiery practice wreck with the collection’ omnipresent antagonist, The Curator, gazing you. You are quickly strapped onto a curler coaster to journey via the locales featured within the anthology’s first season (Man of Medan, Little Hope, Home of Ashes, and The Satan in Me).
The gameplay consists of taking pictures numerous monsters and different targets whereas barreling down the coaster observe. Switchback might not share a lot of the Anthology’s beat-by-beat gameplay, however that is largely as a result of it is a non secular sequel to Till Daybreak: Rush of Blood, Supermassive’s VR shooter for the PlayStation 4.
On the floor, not a lot has modified, although Switchback VR leverages the PlayStation VR2’s many options, tapping haptic suggestions, eye monitoring, and rumble to drag you into its world. Aiming and taking pictures felt good in testing, and my abdomen dropped as it might on an actual curler coaster. The truth is, I set free an audible yelp on multiple event.
Switchback VR desires to scare you, however it doesn’t essentially care the way it goes about doing that. The sport is decided to swing at nearly any low-hanging fruit from the horror style. Zombies, gargoyles, murderous surgeons, rat swarms, and creepy child dolls all pop up sooner or later or different.
There is a schlocky bounty of horror cliches that give the sport a carnival journey vibe—intentional or not. Typically you’ll come throughout a fork within the street, which provides replayability to the sport’s temporary, three-hour run time. Every stage is damaged up into two elements, with a boss struggle on the finish.
Once you’re not taking pictures or dodging, the sport stops to drop a puzzle. Greater than as soon as, I used to be grabbed by a ghoul or by chance killed an harmless particular person as a result of I merely didn’t know what the sport needed me to do. Though I admire the tried gameplay combine, the puzzles come throughout as complicated set items that finish in loss of life in the event you do not act quick sufficient.
Not Sufficient Grease on the Wheels
Visually, Switchback VR is everywhere. Though it has spectacular lighting, the sport options texture pop-in and janky animations. Some results, akin to blood and water, resemble flat, shiny objects. The sport’s efficiency fares higher, although there’s noticeable hitching on the transition factors between stage sections.
The truth is, other than the menus, the sport’s general presentation is shoddy. Character fashions look adequate, however they’ve a sheen that makes it appear to be they had been smeared with Vaseline. The 3D audio, nonetheless, is superb, using creepy sounds that add to the sport’s spooky ambiance.
Sadly, Switchback VR doesn’t do something new with the style or the digital actuality medium. Just like the Home of the Useless Remake that shambled onto the Nintendo Change final yr, Switchback VR feels dated regardless of the brand new tech—and much more boring to play than Sega’s sport, which has campy nostalgia in its nook. $39.99 is a steep asking value for what quantities to a digital haunted hayride that rapidly overstays its welcome.
Search Thrills Elsewhere
The Darkish Footage: Switchback VR is entertaining in brief bursts, however except you’re a dedicated fan of the anthology collection it’s primarily based on (otherwise you’re determined to point out off your new VR headset), it in all probability will not be rather more than a quick diversion. For those who’re thirsty for PlayStation VR2 horror, it’s best to try Resident Evil 8’s just lately added (and free!) VR mode.
For extra digital actuality video games, try The Finest VR Video games. And for in-depth online game speak, go to PCMag’s Pop-Off YouTube channel. Desirous to see the brand new titles on the horizon? Go to The Finest Video Video games Coming Out in 2023.
