So Owlchemy Labs’ Rick andMorty: Virtual Rick-ality making this roundup isn’t that surprising but it’s not all big name titles that VRFocus has chosen to include. The next two on the list are aimed at different ends of the virtual reality (VR) spectrum. Indie developer Funktronic Labs released Cosmic Trip a colourful real-time strategy (RTS) title, while Hammerhead VR’s Syren is a far more intense horror experience that has been split into two episodes.
Cosmic Trip
Cosmic Trip got its full release in May after spending time in Steam Early Access. Designed purely to make the best use of VR, the videogame is an intergalactic adventure where you’ll find yourself stranded on a hostile alien world. To survive you must mine resources and build up an contingent of robots to defend yourself as well as venturing out across the planet.
As with any RTS you’re given a few basic options to begin building with. With a simple to pickup gameplay mechanic and menu options, Cosmic Trip doesn’t over burden you with a dizzying selection of choices, rather a finely tuned selection of base units and robots to build.
But its not just about managing a robot force and resources, you can also get stuck into the action. Gun emplacements can be built that have to be manually manned, while you’re also armed with a shield and a couple of interesting weapons, a bubble gun that traps enemies and a disc that can be charged up to kill them.
If you want to know more checkout VRFocus’review where Cosmic Trip earned five stars, in which we said: “Cosmic Trip is one of those rare little VR treats you come across that suits VR players no matter their skill level. It’s a solidly put together single-player experience that will challenge you to almost controller throwing levels of frustration, but you’ll want to dive back in just to have ‘one more go’.”
Syren
For those that like their VR experiences a lot more atmospheric and spine tingling then there’s Hammerhead VR’s underwater horror Syren. The videogame launched back in Februaryas a stealthy survival experience that places you in an underwater laboratory where some very nasty experiments have gotten lose and run amok.
For the most part these ‘Syrens’ can’t be attacked directly, if they hear or see you they’ll immediately charge and kill you, which you won’t be able to stop. So if you try and charge through levels you’ll find yourself restarting from the last checkpoint until you get it right. It’s one of the reasons VRFocusgave the title four stars in our review.
So why has Syren been included? Well, Hammerhead VR released Episode 2 in May which completely turns the first episodes gameplay on its head going for a far more action orientated experience. It takes place in the same lab but this time you work backwards through the levels, but this time you have guns, lots of them. You’ll need to explore to find weapons, ammo and cash, which can then be spent on more powerful armaments.
It’s because of this – and the fact that the episode 2 DLC is free – that Syren is definitely worth your time.
Reusing assets isn’t something we’d normally encourage a game developer to do. It implies you’re recycling resources to cut corners and make a quick buck. It’s interesting, then, that Syren’s surprise new chapter, released this week, doesn’t feel like that at all. And that’s not just because it’s available for free.
Taking place after the events of the original game, Syren’s second chapter plays a little like a mirror world, running you back through the first game’s levels only in the opposite order. If you’ve already crawled through the game’s dank underwater lab then the idea of working your way back through it might sound tedious, but things are actually very different this time around.
Developer Hammerhead has retooled Syren from survival horror to action shooter with this release. The result is a strikingly different tone; you’ll have a gun with you from the word go, and you can pause the game at any time to head to a shop and use in-game currency to pick up new weapons (as well as see a nod to Hammerhead’s previous work in VR).
It feels almost like a new game set within the same world, as if Hammerhead turned the original game’s surprise boss battle into an experience of its own. You can scavenge your surroundings for extra ammunition and new weapons, and you’ll have a utility belt that allows quick access to weapons and items. The story is a little more direct, too. You play as a CIA agent that has orders relayed to them over comms, though you might learn that your superiors are a little less than trustworthy as you shoot your way through.
One of our major complaints against Syren when it released back in February was that it was a little on the short side, lasting anywhere between one and two hours. The second chapter adds to that initial run time, though, making it less of an issue.
There’s still no update on the PlayStation VR (PSVR) release of Syren, but this new episode is available on the Rift and Vive versions now as part of the original $19.99 package. There’s never been a better time to jump in.
In February, Hammerhead VR launched virtual reality (VR) horror title Syren for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Today the studio has announced the first DLC for the videogame, continuing the story from the first release with Syren Episode 2.
In this second installment of Syren players take on the role of a CIA agent sent into the underwater station to find out why there has been loss of contact with the secondary science team and Navy Seals, who were previously sent in to investigate. The DLC moves away from the stealth and survival gameplay of the first, becoming a more action packed free-roaming shooter, with players now exploring the structure with an array of weapons at their disposal as they learn the CIA is less interested in the experiments but more the mysterious ‘Anomaly’ that sits at the heart of the ruins.
Syren tells the story of a scientist obsessed with eugenics who builds an underwater research facility named Darwin Station, investigating an ancient lost city beneath the ocean. This lab has been conducting horrific experiments in an attempt to recreate the lost species of ‘Syrens’ – the legendary inhabitants of the civilisation that once existed in the ruins below. But now, the experiments have gotten loose.
The Syren Episode 2 DLC is free to download for anyone who purchased the original. Syren retails on Steam for £14.99 GBP and on Oculus Store for £14.99.
VRFocusreviewed the original title, giving it 4-stars, saying: “Despite some of its flaws on the whole Syren works very well, but because of this there’s not enough. Most players will find the experience too short, easily completed within a couple of hours.” With this additional DLC release Hammerhead VR is likely addressing some of the issues relating to the first release.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Hammerhead VR and Syren, reporting back with any further updates.
Welcome to a new addition of the HTC Vive new releases! This week you’ve got some horror, some virtual tabletop strategy, treehouse basketball, and much more. Our first highlight is VR Home, an Early Access sandbox that is shaping up to be an incredible experience. In it, you build virtual your room or a large home to your liking and watch movies or YouTube videos on one of your televisions or interact in many other ways. Next up is SYREN, a horrific survival game that truly immerses you into the intense experience with its lack of systems as said by our reviewer.
We also have a top list of the absolute best HTC Vive games — which is updated every few months with the latest and greatest options.
TRESPASS – Episode 2, from vROTEIN Inc.
Price: $15.99 (Currently Discounted)
Assist Samuel Rodriguez through a collection of environments and puzzles as you seek clues and complete tasks in TRESPASS – Episode 2. You’ll work through calm moments and exciting scenes as you try to escape your predicament.
Recommendation: An action intense escape experience that improves on the previous episode. A bit pricey, but worth it if you tried Episode 1.
Cubians VR, from IKINA GAMES
Price: $9.99
In Cubians VR, you’ll tap your strategic prowess as you defeat your enemies in this voxel defense virtual boardgame. There are four different factions and over 40 different types of Cubians and even boss Ccubians.
Recommendation: Solid addition to your collection of virtual war boardgames.
Bocce Beach, from Funly, LLC
Price: $6.29 (Currently Discounted)
In Bocce Beach, you can transport yourself to your own island paradise and play a game of Bocce. The game also features real-time commentary of your experience and Bocce rankings.
Recommendation: Unless you just absolutely need that Bocce fix, pass on this one.
A God-Like Backhand!, from Q-Ball Games LLC
Price: $6.99
If you’ve ever needed to retreat into VR to relieve some stress in a bit of violent manner, A God-Like Backhand is here for you. In this game, you take on the role of a god in the world of tiny space cowboys and aliens and you can smack them around and give them the finger in between.
Recommendation: Hilarious premise. Poor execution. Pass on this one.
VR Home, from Dandover
Price: $7.99
VR Home is a next level virtual escape that provides you with a sandbox where you build your home or room to your liking and interact with it. You’ll be able to play games, stream movie files or YouTube, and customize your living space with decor.
Recommendation: Menus are a bit rough in Early Access, but there’s a ton of potential here once you figure out how to manipulate it all.
SYREN, from Hammerhead VR
Price: $19.99
Syren is the debut horror game from a UK studio, offering a brief but brutal campaign of terror. You are alone in an underwater research facility, hunted by twisted monsters with very little to defend yourself with. You’ll need to search for a means of escape as you hide from enemies.
Recommendation: Touch owners with a taste for horror shouldn’t miss out on this one. Here’s our review.
HOMEBOUND, from Quixel
Price: $7.19 (Currently Discounted)
HOMEBOUND puts you into a chaotic and seemingly hopeless situation as you careen through the cold void of space toward Earth. Take on a time-attack across three levels or just enjoy the free-roam mode and take in the sights.
Recommendation: Visually appealing but can be uncomfortable for some. Approach with caution.
Sky Sanctuary, from Glitchr Studio
Price: $11.04 (Currently Discounted)
Take your virtual escapism into the skies with Sky Sanctuary as you stroll through a peaceful floating village. Discover the secrets of the sanctuary with the company of a robot and become a samurai master of sword and bow & arrow.
Recommendation: A calming collection of mini-games that’s worth the purchase.
Treehouse Basketball, from Treehouse
Price: Free
In this minimalist casual experience, shoot a few free throws or play a time challenge to test your basketball skill.
Recommendation: Disappointing lack of net physics, but otherwise a pretty and free shoot-around.
THOSE DAMN ALIENS! VR, from Deceptive Games Ltd.
Price: $6.39 (Currently Discounted)
Grab your weapons and get ready to fight off the alien invaders of your space ship in THOSE DAMN ALIENS! Take on waves of enemies in either a campaign or survival mode with multiple weapon types and climb up the competitive leaderboards.
Recommendation: Inexpensive wave shooter but there are better options. Pass on this one unless you really want to shoot aliens.
BeefeaterXO, from Future Lighthouse
Price: Free To Play
BeefeaterXO is the abstract journey through a world inspired by chef Dabiz Munoz who’s earned three Michelin stars for his incredible culinary work. The collaboration with Beefeater will have you sailing across the sky to Bangkok, fighting a cyclops in a Muay Thai ring, and more.
Recommendation: Not the best video quality, but a free trippy treat.
Emmerholt: Prologue, from Oneiric Entertainment LLC
Recommendation: Very solid already and free. Worth checking out.
EnterVR, from Charming Game Studio
Price: $8.99 (Currently Discounted)
EnterVR is a bow & arrow tower defense wave shooter with quirky styles and curious creatures. Fight an all-out war as alien creatures move in your position and use environmental elements to your benefit.
Recommendation: Very cool art style but there are better similar tower defense shooters for the price.
SYMMETRY alpha, from DVERSE Inc.
Price: Free To Play
SYMMETRY alpha is for architecture, engineering, and construction professionals who want to convert CAD files into VR with an intuitive and fluid interface that takes advantage of VR input. It’s aiming to make project sharing and communication efficient.
Recommendation: It has a very narrow target audience but, if this fits your desires, it’s a free tool worth trying.
Kung Fu Ping Pong, from BLAZORS
Price: $0.89 (Currently Discounted)
Kung Fu Ping Pong is an arcade game that takes the sport from a simple experience to high tier levels that require a great deal of finesse.
Recommendation: Needs a great deal of polish in early access. Keep an eye on it.
2017 VR, from Tungsten Game
Price: $14.99
Another day of existence on planet Earth means another day with a new VR zombie shooter. This time around, in the case of 2017 VR, you can take the fight to the undead with friends by your side in a cooperative affair with a litany of weapons and a nifty skill system.
Recommendation: If you’re bored of existing coop shooters, or want more zombies, then 2017 VR isn’t a bad bet. It’s also not exactly an original idea at this point.
InMind 2 VR
Price: $4.99 (Currently Discounted)
Have you ever wondered what the inside of a brain looks like? InMind 2 VR isn’t exactly a simulation of a brain’s activity, but it gives a psychedelic glimpse at what that might look like as you witness a teenager’s evolution to adulthood. It’s a charming adventure inspired by Disney Pixar’s Inside Out from the creators of InMind and InCell.
Recommendation: Definitely worth a download for fans of InMind, InCell, or other cerebral adventure games.
The Art of Fight, from Raptor-Lab
Price: $24.99
This one has been around in Early Access for a while but is finally getting the full release treatment this week. It’s a super fast-paced 4v4 shooter with some light parkour and melee combat elements. It channels inspiration from games like Counter-Strike to deliver one of the most intense VR multiplayer shooters around.
Recommendation: If you’re fan of intense VR shooters like Onward and Battle Dome, you should add this to your library.
CuVRball – Unlimited Play DLC, from Hypergolic Games
Price: $14.99
In a strange move, this DLC is priced just as high as the core CuVRball game itself and all it does is allow you to play for as long as you want. The regular game is a decent take on a racquetball-style VR game in Early Access, so it’s not a bad concept in and of itself.
Recommendation: This should have been a free update to the base game, not something that asks players to pay double overall.
Munch VR, from Mostly Harmless Games
Price: $14.99 (Currently Discounted)
The moment you’ve all been waiting for is finally here: you can now finally control a fish in VR as you force it to eat other fish and grow larger over time. Explore the ocean to become as large as possible, but avoid the bigger fish or else you’re someone else’s dinner.
Recommendation: Cute and fun, but we’d recommend waiting on a bigger sale.
It’s a healthy week of new releases across both Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear, with a combination of free and premium experiences you shouldn’t pass up. It goes beyond gaming with new comic books, travel experiences and, of course, more horror. Who could live without VR horror?
Technolust Extended Format, from IRIS VR
Price: $24.99 (Rift)
Dive back into the cyberpunk dystopian world of Technolust with this Touch-enhanced update. It adds brand new endings, lots of new content, and support for the Oculus Touch motion controllers, leveling this up to one of the best overall VR adventure titles thus far.
Recommendation: Re-download it if you played it already and definitely buy it if you haven’t yet. More info.
Nanite Fulcrum: Issue One, from The Spiraloid Workshop Company
Price: Free (Rift)
This might be the most ambitious stab at the VR comic book yet. Fulcrum is a Touch-enabled experience in which you can grab moving panels and move them around in an immersive environment. Paying tribute to the comic book fans’ love of collecting there are also 3D statues to pick up and interactive elements too.
Recommendation: Definitely worth checking out if you’re a comic book fan.
EVEREST VR, from Solfar Studios
Price: $14.99 (Rift)
Solfar’s mountain climbing experience finally moves from Vive to Rift, complete with Touch support, a lower price, and new features. EVEREST VR features a story experience in which you’ll witness some of the most crucial parts of climbing the world’s highest mountain. There’s also a Google Earth-style God Mode that allows you to explore every inch of it.
Recommendation: A great showcase of the scale and wonder of VR, but it’s not as deep and interactive as we’d hope. The lower price helps, though.
Syren, from Hammerhead VR
Price: $19.99 (Rift)
Syren is the debut horror game from a UK studio, offering a brief but brutal campaign of terror. You are alone in an underwater research facility, hunted by twisted monsters with very little to defend yourself with. You’ll need to search for a means of escape as you hide from enemies.
Recommendation: Touch owners with a taste for horror shouldn’t miss out on this one. Here’s our review.
The Harbinger Trial, from Wolf & Wood
Price: Free (Gear)
The developer of A Chair in a Room returns with a new episodic horror series on Gear VR, the first episode of which is free. You’ll explore the minds of disturbed mental patients, looking for evidence in criminal cases. It’s a chance for the developer to tell shorter, twisted horror stories that anyone can sample.
Recommendation: This is one developer you should show your support for. More info here.
Mondly Languages VR, from ATi Studios
Price: Free (Gear)
Another look into how VR can be used to help you learn new languages. You’ll have conversations with virtual characters that will correct you on things like pronunciation. There are 28 different languages to learn here including English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese and many more.
Recommendation: Definitely worth a look for those wanting to learn, plus it’s free.
Nuvision, from Retina Inc.
Price: Free (Gear)
The first installment in an intriguing new interactive 360 degree video series, Nuvision tells the tale of a future in which augmented reality has become an essential part of our every day lives. It’s an interesting concept, showing an interaction with futuristic AI.
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of Black Mirror, we recommend checking this out.
2017 VR, from Tungsten Game
Price: $14.99 (Rift)
Another day of existence on planet Earth means another day with a new VR zombie shooter. This time around, in the case of 2017 VR, you can take the fight to the undead with friends by your side in a cooperative affair with a litany of weapons and a nifty skill system.
Recommendation: If you’re bored of existing coop shooters, or want more zombies, then 2017 VR isn’t a bad bet. It’s also not exactly an original idea at this point.
InMind 2 VR
Price: $4.99 (Rift, Currently Discounted)
Have you ever wondered what the inside of a brain looks like? InMind 2 VR isn’t exactly a simulation of a brain’s activity, but it gives a psychedelic glimpse at what that might look like as you witness a teenager’s evolution to adulthood. It’s a charming adventure inspired by Disney Pixar’s Inside Out from the creators of InMind and InCell.
Recommendation: Definitely worth a download for fans of InMind, InCell, or other cerebral adventure games.
The Art of Fight, from Raptor-Lab
Price: $24.99 (Rift)
This one has been around in Early Access for a while but is finally getting the full release treatment this week. It’s a super fast-paced 4v4 shooter with some light parkour and melee combat elements. It channels inspiration from games like Counter-Strike to deliver one of the most intense VR multiplayer shooters around.
Recommendation: If you’re fan of intense VR shooters like Onward and Battle Dome, you should add this to your library.
CuVRball – Unlimited Play DLC, from Hypergolic Games
Price: $14.99 (Rift)
In a strange move, this DLC is priced just as high as the core CuVRball game itself and all it does is allow you to play for as long as you want. The regular game is a decent take on a racquetball-style VR game in Early Access, so it’s not a bad concept in and of itself.
Recommendation: This should have been a free update to the base game, not something that asks players to pay double overall.
Munch VR, from Mostly Harmless Games
Price: $14.99 (Rift, Currently Discounted)
The moment you’ve all been waiting for is finally here: you can now finally control a fish in VR as you force it to eat other fish and grow larger over time. Explore the ocean to become as large as possible, but avoid the bigger fish or else you’re someone else’s dinner.
Recommendation: Cute and fun, but we’d recommend waiting on a bigger sale.
TRESPASS – Episode 2, from vROTEIN Inc.
Price: $15.99 (Rift, Currently Discounted)
Assist Samuel Rodriguez through a collection of environments and puzzles as you seek clues and complete tasks in TRESPASS – Episode 2. You’ll work through calm moments and exciting scenes as you try to escape your predicament.
Recommendation: An action intense escape experience that improves on the previous episode. A bit pricey, but worth it if you tried Episode 1.
Bocce Beach, from Funly, LLC
Price: $6.29 (Currently Discounted)
In Bocce Beach, you can transport yourself to your own island paradise and play a game of Bocce. The game also features real-time commentary of your experience and Bocce rankings.
Recommendation: Unless you just absolutely need that Bocce fix, pass on this one.
HOMEBOUND, from Quixel
Price: $7.19 (Currently Discounted)
HOMEBOUND puts you into a chaotic and seemingly hopeless situation as you careen through the cold void of space toward Earth. Take on a time-attack across three levels or just enjoy the free-roam mode and take in the sights.
Recommendation: Visually appealing but can be uncomfortable for some. Approach with caution.
Treehouse Basketball, from Treehouse
Price: Free
In this minimalist casual experience, shoot a few free throws or play a time challenge to test your basketball skill.
Recommendation: Disappointing lack of net physics, but otherwise a pretty and free shoot-around.
THOSE DAMN ALIENS! VR, from Deceptive Games Ltd.
Price: $6.39 (Currently Discounted)
Grab your weapons and get ready to fight off the alien invaders of your space ship in THOSE DAMN ALIENS! Take on waves of enemies in either a campaign or survival mode with multiple weapon types and climb up the competitive leaderboards.
Recommendation: Inexpensive wave shooter but there are better options. Pass on this one unless you really want to shoot aliens.
Emmerholt: Prologue, from Oneiric Entertainment LLC
If you like a good scare virtual reality (VR) offers some of the best around, from short animations like Sisters and ABE VR, to proper interactive experiences like Resident Evil 7 or Albino Lullaby. If your horror collection isn’t yet full enough, Hammerhead VR’s latest project Syren should offer a tempting prospect, taking you into a dark and dangerous world where making the slightest noise can put you in jeopardy.
Coming from the studio that created ABE VR, Syrenfeatures a classic story of science gone too far, with a deep underwater lab experimenting with eugenics. Intern the scientists have created the Syren’s, creatures that have similarities with mythical mermaids who don’t like their creators and carnage has ensued. Waking up in the medbay you have just one mission, escape with your life, although that’s easier said than done.
Syren isn’t an action title, it’s about being calm, collected and above all silent. Stealth is your most valuable skill as you wander the corridors of the research facility. You’re completely alone as you search areas for a way out, until you hear that first scream. The richly detailed environments – although not as pin sharp as the screenshots would have you believe – allow you to pick up and interact with an assortment of items, but most will make some sort of noise that’ll alert the very creatures you’re trying to avoid.
The experience doesn’t feature any inventory options whatsoever, there’s no pocket or backpack to place useful items in, just what you can hold in your hands. For the most part this shouldn’t be too much of an issue as the videogame isn’t geared towards collecting things, but it can be somewhat tedious having to constantly hold the trigger down on both controllers as you’re teleporting through the labs. As mentioned Syren uses the often used teleport mechanic to move around, which has been well worn into multiple VR titles. While it works well enough, the distance the game allows you to move is relatively short, and from time to time becomes erratic requiring a couple of attempts to work.
What Syren does extremely well is atmosphere. From the design of the gloomy labs to the wailing Syren’s, the tense feeling the experience delivers is excellent, delivering a continual sense of foreboding. That being said, the atmosphere can become somewhat unstuck due to a couple of reasons. Firstly there’s being caught. Should a Syren see or hear you then its pretty much game over, shrieking then rushing towards you for certain death. If this happens you’ll restart the area no matter how far you might have managed to sneak, becoming somewhat repetitive in the process and far less scary. The other issue relates to sound. It plays a massive part in creating the horror experience and hearing the Syren’s screams makes it even more intense. What tends to happen though is if you’re in a room with one of them the positional audio works fine, but head to an adjoining corridor and the wails still sound as if they’re right next to you, which can be disconcerting or just plain annoying.
In terms of actual gameplay it’s all about the sneaking, ducking behind tables or slowly peering around corners to get a glimpse of one is a nerve wracking experience. That’s the core and if you’re not one for stealth then there might not be enough here to entertain you. Every level requires a key card to be found unlocking the lift to the next area, so you do need to explore rather than just running to the exit.
Despite some of its flaws on the whole Syren works very well, but because of this there’s not enough. Most players will find the experience too short, easily completed within a couple of hours depending on restarts. Hammerhead VR has shown it can really do VR horror some justice, but Syren needs some more polish to be a standout experience.
SYREN (2017)is a single-player, survival-horror game that will have you sneaking around corners, hiding under virtual desks, and flailing helplessly as you’re mauled to death by the world’s ghastly “Syrens,” a terrifying amalgamation of human/robot/awfulness. Despite some pretty distracting bugs in the game, it’s safe to say that people with high blood pressure or heart conditions need not apply.
SYREN Details:
Developer: Hammerhead VR Available On: Oculus Touch, HTC Vive (Steam and Oculus Home) Reviewed on: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift Release Date: February 15th, 2017
Gameplay
Much like Alien: Isolation (2014), Syren is an absolutely terrifying game of hide and seek, but this time instead of the clostrophobic world of a spaceship and an acid-spiting Xenomorph, you’re in an underwater research facility placed above an ancient lost city once populated by a species of kind-of-sexy, kind-of-horrific mermaids—at least they were supposed to be, as the creatures you meet are genetically engineered copies called Syrens.
Created by a scientist obsessed with eugenics, your job is to escape the now damaged facility that’s become overwhelmed with the free-roaming Syren, going across a number of levels filled with deceased colleagues and all manner of interactive item that can bring you ever closer to the 5-level facility’s next pressurized door.
Each level is essentially a puzzle with a few different solutions, from nabbing a keycard off a desk and sneaking past a lonely Syren, to all-out shoot-em-up chaos with multiple baddies as you learn the mystery of the madman who created the facility.
The game has a very specific idea of how it wants you to proceed, something I found to be slightly frustrating early on. After getting killed multiple times by the same Syren and getting tossed back to the beginning of the level, I found out that when they lunge at your throat, you can’t simply whack the beast to death with an ax that you collected earlier like you naturally would if someone was coming at you and you had a melee weapon in hand. Rather, the game wants you to physically throw the ax, thereby losing it in the thing’s face so the game can leave you without a weapon for the next trial. The only way you can figure this out is either by having the original thought to toss the ax, or by failing your way to the solution like I did.
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Although there’s a steep learning curve to how you interact with the Syren (mostly by staying far away from them, running and hiding for your life), eventually the game becomes a little more intuitive as you learn the rules that the AI Syren abide by. For example, if a Syren gets close enough to you, it initiates an uninterruptible attack that you have to stomach—a wailing monster screaming in your face and biting your neck—so you learn to avoid these pants-shitting moments as best you can, otherwise you’ll be sent back to the beginning of the level.
You can get away from Syrens by hiding stealthy, teleporting quickly to find cover, or by distracting them by throwing items far away from you to take them off your track. Since the monsters react to noise (and strangely enough not your microphone), they will scream over to where the object landed, only to find no one there, giving you some time to dodge around them. There are however multiple Syrens per level, so this is where it gets tricky.
Several times I found myself hiding under a desk, or behind a dead body for cover, all the while hearing the banshee screams and heavy breathing of the genetically engineered monster coming my way. And if it weren’t enough of a fright, no matter where they find you, cowering in a corner or halfway outside of a locker, they always grab you by the face and scream a horrifying noise into your ears.
Immersion
The Syrens make a lot of noise, which should be a good thing on principle so you can avoid them efficiently, but the noise wasn’t at all muffled by objects like walls or barriers like in real life. If you find yourself sandwiched in a side room with two Syrens slinking around and breathing all scary-like, you won’t have a good idea of realistically where they are. Instead, a Syren will sound like they’re right on top of you even though you have a concrete wall between you.
Whether you’re using Oculus Touch or the Vive’s Lighthouse controllers, hands simply aren’t 1:1, making them seem a full three inches away from where your hands naturally rest on the controllers. While it’s not game-breaking, it certainly hampers immersion. In the end, this isn’t something dramatic to fix, but how such a critical error got through on launch, I’m just not sure.
On the note of controllers, Oculus Touch support could be a lot better. The game requires you to push down and click on the joystick to teleport, which proves to be just about as awkward as can be. Teleporting is much more intuitive on the Vive, requiring you to simply rest your thumb on the touchpad and engage a quick click, but Rift users beware.
Firing guns in the game unfortunately never felt natural on either Touch or Vive controller, as your trigger is used to pick up and hold items and a regular button press is used to activate or fire it. This made it feel more like changing the channel on a remote control than firing a gun.
And this is the part of the article where I make my biggest confession. I am a dirty, no good, wall-hacking cheater.
Because the game is room-scale, it means you can teleport close to walls and actually walk through them. Some games like Budget Cuts or Onward (2016) don’t allow you to do this, either by making it impossible to see or leaving your body behind to be ravaged by enemies, but not so with Syren. When a screaming water-banshee is running you down, and you can walk straight through a wall and escape, the natural choice is to flee anyway the game will let you. While I know I’m a weak and shameful person for using this cheat to get away, it really shouldn’t even be an option in the first place.
There, I feel better now.
Comfort
While you’ll never be truly comfortable with genetically modified mermaid-beasts skulking around, nuts and bolts-wise Syren is a supremely comfortable experience because it lets you explore the world using teleportation and 45 degree snap-turning—two common locomotion schemes that most everyone shouldn’t have a problem in the nausea department.
Even though at times I honestly wish I could sit down and mash a joystick forward on a gamepad instead of frantically selecting teleport sites—because it’s not only faster, but easier—the standing room-scale aspect of the game lends to overall comfort and immersion. And somehow it’s always scarier that way, as you’re on your hands and knees hoping the monster doesn’t see you.
As positively terrifying as it is, Resident Evil 7 played it safe. It’s easily one of our favorite VR games thus far, but it’s also essentially an enhanced version of the game you can play on standard screens with a standard controller. But how do you make a horror game with the full capabilities of VR tech? What does it mean if you bring your hands into the experience? How do you handle enemy encounters?
These are just some of the questions that Hammerhead VR’s Syren tackles, and it has some interesting answers, though they could do with a little polish.
Syren is set in a dark, dank underwater research facility, where a team of scientists have been carrying out brutal experiments on the titular mythical creatures, discovered in an ancient city lost to the oceans thousands of years ago. As you can probably guess those tests go awry and you, a member of that team, find yourself searching for a means of escape as twisted mechanical monsters stalk the creaky halls and linger in the shadows.
It’s more Tales of Terror than it is Resident Evil, though, and that feels intentional. Exploring the facility itself has an atmosphere akin to BioShock, largely thanks to the wonderfully detailed, cramped and claustrophobic environments, but game’s brand of fear is more about jump scares that make you chuckle afterwards rather than making you want to rip your headset off. There are moments that will get your heart pumping, but this is a more enjoyable sort of horror than what you’ll see in other games.
There isn’t any set mechanic to survival in Syren, no repetitive combat systems to defend yourself with or stealth meters to aid your sneaking. Each encounter with an enemy is a multi-threaded scenario with a number of different solutions that can play out organically. Early on, I found myself making great use of VR’s positional tracking to peek out behind corners and wait for an enemy to pass, biting my lip in hope they’d take a left instead of a right to clear the way. I’d then teleport like crazy (the game only lets you move so far) in a mad rush for safety.
Later on, I would stumble across elements in a room that I could use against Syrens, like a gas leak in a kitchen, items I could throw to distract them, or lockers I could hide in. The latter is a particularly heart-thumping use of VR, as I slowly twisted my head to follow one enemy’s movement, watching through a grate and not daring to make the slightest sound. It was as if I was really there in that locker, aware that the slightest knock could end my life, even if the game might not register the collision of hand and metal.
One of my favorite aspects of the game is that lack of systems. Syren simply asks what it would be like if you were really dropped into this situation. There’s no inventory system to store items, for example, you physically have to hold onto them. If you drop an object or hit it against a surface, you’ll probably alert the enemy. You don’t take the game’s mechanics into consideration, you take your physical presence into consideration. That’s something horror games really need to capitalize on going forward.
If a Syren does spot you then it’ll quickly give chase and more than likely end up gnawing on your face. They’ll kill you instantly, and you’ll have to start the level over. It can be frustrating, until you figure out how to get around an encounter. It’s very much a game of trial and error; spend four or five attempts working out what to do, then making your way to the next room, and then repeating the process. It does artificially extend the one to two hour length (you could probably run through the game in less than 30 minutes on a second playthrough), and I would have liked to have seen more than the handful of levels on offer here, even if the later stages bring some unexpected twists to the formula.
Ultimately, though, the game’s main enemy is polish. Though it’s visually arresting, I encountered a handful of bugs and a lack of sound effects that took the impact out what could have been some of the game’s more effective moments. Scripted sequences are not VR’s strong point, and Syren proves that in one or two places. On the other hand, there are times when it sounds like the enemy’s footsteps are right next to you, when they’re really in another room entirely, and I sometimes saw them stop right in front of me, confused by a door I might have walked through or table in their path.
It’s not enough to spoil the overall experience, though I’d have gladly seen Hammerhead spend an extra month fine tuning the game to keep the immersion intact right the way through.
Final Score: 7.5/10 – Good
Though brief, Syren proves itself to be a worthwhile taster of what VR can really do for horror games. While never fully capitalizing on that potential, there are some revelatory moments for the genre here, making you painfully aware of your own self as you hide behind crates and freeze on the spot. That alone helps overlook the short length and handful of bugs and blemishes, and makes Hammerhead VR itself a developer well worth watching.
Syren releases on February 15th on HTC Vive and Oculus Rift for $19.99. A PlayStation VR version is coming in March. Check out these official review guidelines to find out more about our process.
Last week Hammerhead VR announced the launch date for its next virtual reality (VR) project Syren, as 15th February. Initially supporting Oculus Rift and HTC Vive with a PlayStation VR release due later, Syren is a horror title that takes gamers into the ocean depths. With only a few days to go until launch Hammerhead VR has released a second trailer, teasing what’s in store.
Set inside an underwater research facility reminiscent of 80’s thriller The Abyss, the story invloves a eugenics obsessed scientist attempting to recreate a lost species called ‘Syrens’, a civilisation that bears similarities to mermaids of folklore. The facility is located directly on top of their ancient city and naturally things don’t go according to plan.
While the first trailer showcased a few of the laboratory’s areas, with brief glimpses of the Syrens, this second video takes on a more cinematic role. The trailer starts off very jovial with some music playing on a record player. Then it slowly begins to pan out and across the room revealing the blood bath that has stricken the researchers. Nearby screams and gunshots can be heard before falling silent.
VRFocus will keep you updated with any further Syren news as launch day approaches.
Today Hammerhead VR, the studio behind virtual reality (VR) projects like ABE VR and Thunderhead, has announced the release date for its next project, horror video game Syren.
The announcement came by way of a new dark and moody image inside the underwater research facility. Syren will support Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. The launch, scheduled for 15th February, will just be for the first two headsets. PlayStation VR owners will have to wait a little longer, Syren will be available for Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) head-mounted display (HMD) in March.
“Syren is the first game in our new series of sci-fi fantasy titles currently in development. It follows the amazing response we had to ABE VR and continues our focus on unique, high quality experiences created specifically for VR. Syren is great as it draws on myths of monsters in the deep and mad scientists, so we had plenty of fun making the game and hope people enjoy it,” said joint managing director, Simon Windsor.
First unveiled in November with Hammerhead VR releasing a teaser trailer, Syren is part stealth, part survival with puzzles to be solved alongside dealing with the creatures the facilities scientist has created.
As further details are released, VRFocus will bring you the latest updates.
