Oculus Rift’s Latest Traumatic Experience
By Julie Morley
[divider]
Begin your journey during the daytime in some type of dreamy landscape. Your origins are unknown.
No, dear god, don’t come after me! This is not okay! I’m in a glass case of emotion!
An open world survival horror game for the Oculus Rift just sounds like an evening full of panic attacks and sobbing in the fetal position. Especially when you’re absolutely defenseless (technically) from what horrors creep about in the dark. Oh, I’m sorry, I may have said too much. My bad.
No, you’re going to hear everything about this game and you will like it, reader!
Explore during the daytime to obtain light tools and uncover some information about why you are here.
There is this Kickstarter campaign that has really caught my attention lately. I fancy myself some lovely horror games but getting scared isn’t always the smoothest of things when it comes to me.
Conceal. Don’t feel. I should probably stop referencing movies before we get sued.
Now combine that with the Oculus Rift: the gateway into virtual reality. There’s no escaping it, you can’t just click that tiny X and leave the game, no regrets. You are stuck in there whether you like it or not. Alone, in an open world where the sources of light are your only savior and offense towards whatever creatures lurk about. That alone is enough to create a bit of anxiety.
And find yourself in isolated, dark places, awaiting the arrival of the creatures.
You’re in some sort of dreamscape (inspired by the artwork of Salvador Dali) without any idea where you came or why you’re there. All we do know is that weaponry does not exist and the only way to protect yourself is to rely on light. Grave is taking what we know about Horror Survival games and giving them a new element: strategy. This game is not about running away and trying to find a place to hide but how to combat your enemies with your limited resources and the small evening timeframe. You’re not going to be trying to build up an inventory by just winging it.
One thousand doses of NOPE. Creatures, everywhere, and all you have is a few sources of light to get rid of them.
But it doesn’t just end there, we have a day and night system. During the day, you’re in a surrealistic landscape with hints to the story, which is separated into acts. Daytime is when you are able to solve this mystery and figure out why you’re even here. Locations that are usually blocked off in the evening become available during the daytime. The player is able to explore.
As for the nighttime, you can expect a different experience every time. The further along you get, the more interesting characters that are going to be screeching and chasing after you.
But luckily, sometime you’ll find some machinery that could help in your fight against the monsters.
Remember that anxiety? Yeah, that’s the cause right there.
When the nighttime comes, the monsters arrive, and holy noodles are they scary. To fend them off, your only options are some matches, flashlights, gasoline, and flashbangs/flares. But the amount you possess is limited and you need to strategize how you’ll use your resources.
But be warned, not every monster reacts the same to the light.
Broken Window Studios is hoping to raise $30,000 for Grave on Kickstarter. The Campaign is expected to end on April 28th. The demo is linked on the Kickstarter page.
[divider][facebook][tweet][Google][pinterest][follow id=”Cliqist” size=”large” count=”true” ]
[author image=”http://cliqist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/julie.jpg” ]Julie Morley is a freelance writer and comic artist from Spring, Texas. She attended the Academy of Art University for two years, studying Animation and Illustration. Whilst here, she learned about writing comic scripts, storyboards, and general storytelling. Since leaving college, she has been working on personal comic projects, stories, and illustrations. She aspires to release a self published comic within two years. For the majority of her life, she has been playing console games, typically being third-person shooters and sandboxes. Her favorite game of existence is Dark Cloud II (Dark Chronicle) and her favorite Indie game is Gone Home.[/author]
