Left-Hand Path Review: VR Horror Meets A Dark RPG

Left-Hand Path Review: VR Horror Meets A Dark RPG

Left-Hand Path is a very dark game. When I say it’s a dark game I mean that both literally and figuratively. Not only are the enemies inspired by the twisted nightmares of medieval-themed fantasy, but from the opening moments you’ll have to quickly become accustomed to pitch black darkness. That is until you get used to using your staff as a flashlight.

The most powerful tool at any VR developers disposal is to force the player to feel things that they wouldn’t otherwise feel outside of VR and in the case of Left-Hand Path it’s a sense of lonely terror.

Left-Hand Path is a VR-only roleplaying game (RPG) that’s been in Early Access for over a year now and it makes full use of tracked motion controllers and room-scale setups for both Rift and Vive as it launched out of Early Access in November. All of your spells are cast by drawing runes in the air, similar to SoulKeeper VR, but you’ll spend most of your time exploring the world, uncovering secrets, and solving puzzles. And dying a lot.

The moment-to-moment gameplay is more visceral and interactive than most other VR games. It doesn’t feature robust melee combat like that in Vanishing Realms, but instead relies on a dense magic system. By tapping the staff in your right hand to your head you can summon your Grimoire, a magical tome full of runes that summon different spells and powers. In one moment I was twisting in a circle to surround myself in magical energy, while in another moment I was frantically painting circles in the air to send fireballs careening towards my enemies. You move by using a mixture of teleportation and smooth locomotion.

Left-Hand Path is far from a AAA-quality VR game and that’s apparent from the very start. It was created by a small team and it lacks a lot of polish, but it partially makes up for that rough-around-the-edges aesthetic with loads of ambition. When it’s all said and done you can easily spend upwards of 15 hours on this adventure, which is much longer than most VR games that cost twice the price of Left-Hand Path.

I’ve played a lot of VR horror games in the past two years from Resident Evil 7’s foreboding sense of horror, Killing Floor: Incursion’s frantic desperation, and even the relentless onslaught of haunted house style jump scares of Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. But none of those are really comparable to Left-Hand Path. In this horror-themed roleplaying game from Strange Company, you’ll be afraid of the dark, afraid of the enemies, afraid of your environment, and afraid to open the next door.

But remember how I said Left-Hand Path was a dark game? Sometimes it’s frustratingly dark. The lighting effects are quite impressive, for the most part, but the darkness textures and light mapping sometimes look more like black smudges and flat boards rather than substantive darkness.

When that sense of dread shines through though, it’s a fear spurred on by not only spooky creatures and sudden startles, but also your impending death. The developers claim a heavy inspiration from Dark Souls, but not in the way you’d think. It’s not an action RPG with bonfire save points and a third-person camera, but is instead a devilishly difficult and unforgiving gauntlet of puzzles and combat.

Pacing in Left-Hand Path is a bit of a problem, as are the difficulty spikes, but it never gets too outrageous on the lower difficulty settings. My main gripe with games that bill themselves as “The Dark Souls of ____” is that they often misinterpret what makes the Souls series so special. It’s not just the brutal difficulty. It’s about how the world building, pacing, gameplay, and enemy design all complement one another so fluidly.

In the case of Left-Hand Path, most of the “Dark Souls inspiration” is unfortunately relegated to a sense of frustrating, sometimes pointless, difficulty spikes. Thankfully it doesn’t detract too drastically from the game as a whole.

If you’re looking for something similar that’s a bit more polished, I’d recommend The Mage’s Tale, or if you’d prefer melee-focused combat, give Vanishing Realms a look.

Final Score: 6/10 – Decent

Left-Hand Path is just as ambitious as it is unpolished. It’s extremely rough around the edges across the board from visuals to sound design, but it packs enough creativity to be worth your while if you’re a sucker for dark-themed RPGs. The rune-based spell system is satisfying to master and the high difficulty level sets it apart from its contemporaries. It’s just a shame that the slightly janky execution holds it back from being even better.

You can find Left-Hand Path on Steam with both Rift and Vive support for $29.99. Read our Game Review Guidelines for more information on how we arrive at our review scores.

Tagged with: , , ,

Review: Left-Hand Path

If videogames like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dark Souls prove anything, it’s that gamers love fantasy role-playing games (RPGs), and especially when it comes to the latter that they’re not too easy either. While PlayStation VR owners will be getting The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR soon, when it comes to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive (reviewed) players have the choice of specifically designed for virtual reality (VR) titles that obviously don’t carry the same weight and prestige as Bethesda’s juggernaut. Hoping to make a mark in the genre is indie studio Strange Company with its Dark Souls inspired horror RPG Left-Hand Path.

Having been through a year of Steam Early Access development some gamers may already be well versed in Strange Company’s magical RPG, which tasks players with mastering the arcane arts, uncovering the sprawling story and hopefully not dying too much.

Left-Hand Path screenshot 3

Remember that inspiration? Well first and foremost Left-Hand Path teaches patience as you will die, and die and die. Certainly at some points it can feel like a proper slog as you try to learn the magic that’s going to help you on your travels, killing enough enemies to earn enough husks to upgrade at the screaming skulls and then moving on. Whilst this won’t be to everyone’s liking these type of difficult videogames definitely have their own reward. If you put the hours into ­Left-Hand Path then you won’t be disappointed.

No part of the title is easy going, from getting to grips with the movement to accurately performing the correct spell with its gesture system. Players are equipped with a staff in one hand – from which all your magic emanates – whilst the other activates said magic. In a similar fashion to The Wizards, you need to draw symbols in the air using your free hand to fire projectiles, illuminate surroundings, cast defensive barriers, and more, much more. There’s a significant amount of spells to learn, some of which are more intuitive than others. You’ll soon find a particular roster of spells to use in combat or for certain foes. Whilst making for immersive gameplay – you do feel like a powerful mage – the mechanics don’t work as well when a battle gets particularly fraught. Thankfully you have your trusty Grimoire spell book which automatically updates when you learn a new spell so remembering everything isn’t required.

For intense battles you need to learn to move and there are a couple of options available. As standard, Left-Hand Path features teleportation which is activated on the HTC Vive’s touchpad. While this is fine, seasoned VR players will want to active trackpad smooth movement, the direction of which is controlled with your magical staff. Unlike other VR titles where you have to choose one system, Left-Hand Path allows you to use both – one on each controller – mainly due to how the levels are laid out. Some areas are only accessible via teleportation, whereas being able to strafe or quickly move backwards is very handy in combat.

Left-Hand Path screenshot 2

There are a few little issues here and there. Collision detection can be a bit hit and miss when dealing with simple things like opening doors, or if you pick up a book it can drop under a bed, seemingly lost forever. The same goes for melee combat, with staff swings never really feeling or looking like they connect, so it descends into wild flailing until an enemy dies – or you do again. Another gripe would have to be enemy AI. Monsters aren’t generally highly tactical in most videogames but something more than seeing you and running straight at you would be nice.

At points Left-Hand Path is a little rough around the edges, it’s not as polished as The Mage’s Tale for example. But that doesn’t mean it can’t have a charm of its own. Strange Company has created a massive world that you can spend far too many hours in – the studio claims around 15, depending on deaths it’s going to be more. If you’re an RPG fanatic who wants to head out on a brutal adventure then Left-Hand Path is the videogame for you.

80%
Awesome
  • Verdict

‘Dark Souls’-inspired VR Adventure ‘Left-Hand Path’ Exits Steam Early Access on November 10th

Left-Hand Path is a Dark Souls-inspired single-player VR adventure developed by Strange Company. The studio recently announced that the spell-casting RPG, which promises 15+ hours of content, is heading out of Early Access November 10th.

Launching out of a year-long stint on Steam Early Access next month for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, players must learn a host of arcane gestures to cast powerful demon-killing spells, perform ancient rituals, and learn the terrible truths behind the ‘Well of All Rewards’.

Turning up the difficulty in classic Dark Souls fashion, Left-Hand Path provides few save points, no regenerating health, respawning enemies when you die, and all in the dark and dank world filled with monsters that look torn straight out of a D&D monster manual.

“Dark Souls changed everything in game design, and I felt strongly that VR needed an experience that captured the ‘Souls-like’ essence. Fans will recognize the atmospheric environment, subtle storytelling, and the ever punishing gameplay of the genre in Left-Hand Path,” said Hugh Hancock, indie developer behind the game.

Because Left-Hand Path makes uses of Vive and Rift’s room-scale capabilities, you’ll have to actually duck, dodge, outmaneuver as you cast powerful spells like acid missiles, lightning, meteors, flaming boulders, and even conjure an army of screaming skulls.

We haven’t had a chance to dive into Left-Hand Path, but the Steam reviews look promising, currently sitting at an 86% positive score and retaining a ‘Very Positive’ rating.

The post ‘Dark Souls’-inspired VR Adventure ‘Left-Hand Path’ Exits Steam Early Access on November 10th appeared first on Road to VR.

Dark Souls-Inspired Left-Hand Path Leaving Steam Early Access Next Month

In what seems to be a running trend of early access titles from 2016 seeing full releases recently – both Raw Data and Space Pirate Trainer have had 1.0 updates, today Strange Company has announced that its Dark Souls-inspired, spell casting videogame Left-Hand Path is due for its full release next month.

Left-Hand Path is a role playing game (RPG) designed to maximise roomscale virtual reality (VR) gameplay, with hours of single-player campaign, dangerous monsters to fight, and complex ritual magic system based on historical Hermetic magic to master

“Dark Souls changed everything in game design, and I felt strongly that VR needed an experience that captured the ‘Souls-like’ essence. Fans will recognize the atmospheric environment, subtle storytelling, and the ever punishing gameplay of the genre in Left-Hand Path.”

Left-Hand Path screenshot 2

“Isaac Newton said ‘If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ I agree with that,” said Hugh Hancock, indie developer behind Left-Hand Path in a statement. “In the case of Left-Hand Path, those giants turn into horrific pus-monsters when you get them to half health.”

The storyline revolves around players awakening in a cursed darkened castle with a tragic history full of never-before-seen creatures that are after your skin. Armed with arcane powers and a thirst for exploration, players must wield their newly-found powers and explore to find even more powerful spells and rituals, while trying to stay alive long enough to solve the mysteries of Well of All Rewards.

“Left-Hand Path is not your traditional VR experience. This is a full 15 hour video game with immersive storyline written to sink you further into the game. This is not your grandma’s VR and this is not a seated experience. You will need room to cast spells, avoid enemies and their weapons, peak into secret passages, and bring hidden items into view. This is a room-scale game only. Prepare to die and try not to soil yourself,” said Hancock.

Supporting both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift with Touch, Left-Hand Path will launch on 10th November for $29.99 USD/€27.99 EUR/£23.79 GBP.

For any further updates, keep reading VRFocus.