VRFocus has covered a few virtual reality (VR) horror titles being released in time for Halloween but there’s been very few for PlayStation VR as it celebrates its first anniversary. Luckily Gattai Games has announced that its highly anticipated videogame, Stifled, will launch on the platform on 31st October.
If you’ve not been following VRFocus’ coverage of Stifled the experience goes for a unique approach to the genre by using sound as a means of seeing the world around you, with a very minimalist, line drawn art style.
Set in a pitch black world, it can only be illuminated by the sounds you make which are picked up by the headset mic. There’s just one small cravat, while sound helps you see it also helps you be seen by the creatures that lurk in the darkness.
In a PlayStation Blog posting, Justin Ng explained the inspiration behind Stifled, which began development three years ago: “The team and I chanced upon an animation of a blind girl finding her way around the world using sound, with the visuals reflecting the mood she was in, an animation that served as a springboard for us develop a “sound-based” game.”
From that idea Gattai Games created Lurking, audio exploration experience, before moving into something a bit scarier after Bryan (Audio Director on both Lurking and Stifled) said: “This is perfect for a horror game.”
VRFocus previewed Stifled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2017 back in June, finding that it: “has a character all of its own. The concept plays with your mind in ways other horror experiences try and fail at.”
Should any further details on Stifled be released prior to launch, VRFocus will let you know.