Torn – Page 3 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

March 8, 2018

New Details Surface for Sci-Fi Mystery Torn

Last week Aspyr Media revealed the first teasing screenshots for its upcoming virtual reality (VR) title Torn. At the time few details were released regarding the videogame, thankfully today the studio has unveiled the first trailer alongside a story outline.

Torn

Torn is a dark, science-fiction mystery built specifically for VR inspired by The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror, coming to PlayStation VR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift this Spring.

Aspyr Media’s storyline for Torn is as follows:

“In 1953, on the brink of a major scientific breakthrough, the renowned physicist Dr. Lawrence Talbot vanished. For 64 years, his mansion remained hidden, his laboratory and work all but forgotten… Until now.

“Deep in a forgotten forest, video blogger Katherine Patterson discovers an abandoned mansion, littered with strange machines and disturbing experiments. This is the home of the famed Dr. Lawrence Talbot, who went missing more than 64 years ago. This could be worth millions, the story of Patterson’s career…

“But when she meets Dr. Talbot in person — still alive, trapped in another dimension, and missing his body — Patterson realizes she was wrong. This is the story of a lifetime.

“Help Dr. Talbot reactivate his mysterious machines. Uncover the truth about the mansion and the new dimension known as “The Parallel.” Remember everything you see, for in Talbot’s world, truth is nothing more than the invention of the mind.”

Torn- House

The first game developed in-house at Aspyr Studio, Torn was written by Neill Glancy (Stranglehold) and Susan O’Connor (Tomb Raider, BioShock), with an original orchestral score composed by Garry Schyman (BioShock, Middle Earth: Shadow of War).

The house is filled with puzzles for players to solve via use of Dr. Talbot’s Gravity Gun. With this device players can fling piano’s with a flick of the wrist and build towers of objects if they so choose. As shown in the trailer below, Torn flits between real and otherworldly dimensions, with all sorts of strange machines to bring to life.

The studio hasn’t set a concrete date for Torn’s release, when it does VRFocus will let you know.

March 8, 2018

Watch The Debut Trailer For Black Mirror-Inspired VR Game, Torn

When we first broke the news about Torn last week, an upcoming dark sci-fi adventure VR game borrowing inspirations from the likes of Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone, it piqued a lot of people’s interests. The title is in development by Aspyr for Rift, Vive, and PSVR and now today we’ve got a first look at the debut trailer showing bits of the game in action.

In the trailer below you can see a lot of the different environments, including the creepy mansion featured in a lot of the art work and screenshots, as well as the wonderful voice over work. Watch it here:

We still know painfully few details about Torn, but it’s being built from the ground-up specifically for VR — just like many of the medium’s very best games. The trailer is giving me some very strong Gallery-esque steampunk vibes.

Torn was written by Neill Glancy (Stranglehold) and Susan O’Connor (Tomb Raider, BioShock), with an original orchestral score composed by Garry Schyman (BioShock, Middle Earth: Shadow of War), so it’s certainly got the talent to back it up. We’re dying to learn more about this one.

Let us know what you think down in the comments below!

Tagged with: Aspyr, black mirror, Torn, Twilight Zone

February 28, 2018March 1, 2018

Torn Is A Dark Sci-Fi VR Adventure Inspired By Black Mirror (Update)

Update: Aspyr has let us know that despite the PS Blog announcement last year, Torn is actually in development to release for Oculus Rift with Touch and HTC Vive as well.

Original: Through its first year and a half of life, the PSVR has amassed an absolutely stellar content library. Among excellent exclusive and timed-exclusive games like Farpoint, Moss, Resident Evil 7: biohazard, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR, it’s been a good first phase of existence for Sony’s budding VR device.

In October of last year Sony detailed over 60 more PSVR games that would be hitting the headset “through early 2018” and one really stood out among its peers: Torn. At the time we knew very little about the haunting and creepy image of a decrepit, abandoned manor (shown at the top of this article) with nothing but this brief synopsis:

Torn, a mystery inspired by such classics as The Twilight Zone, is set in the Vermont forest where you discover a house full of secrets. What you find in there are numerous experiments, inventions, gear and documentation that reveal a lot about the doctor who lived there–however they’re also remnants of a man who’s been missing for 64 years.

The team at Aspyr is promising us a look at the game’s debut trailer very soon, but to tide us over in the meantime they’ve supplied a gallery of exclusive screenshots you can see above.

Jon Miller, Director of Communications for Aspyr Media, told me in an email that Torn is a “dark, science fiction mystery episode inspired by the likes of Black Mirror and the Twilight Zone,” which has certainly piqued my interest.

And that’s about all we’ve got to go on thus far. I’m getting a very Myst-like vibe from it all, mixed with the aforementioned Black Mirror and Twilight Zone, so I’m eager to learn more.

Let us know what you think so far down in the comments below!

Tagged with: Aspyr, Torn

February 27, 2018

Aspyr Media Tease First Screenshots of Debut VR Title Torn

With the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2018 just around the corner there’s always a gradual influx of videogame announcements and teases. Today is no different, with Aspyr Media teasing a few screenshots from its upcoming title Torn.

Torn

Torn will be the studio’s first foray into virtual reality (VR), and judging by these first images its going to be a good looking title. At present details are thin on the ground, with an official website showcasing a very creepy mansion. The only info reads: “CONDEMNED as dangerous and unsafe. Due to unsafe conditions and illegal experimentation, this house is to remain sealed until further notice.”

By the looks of things Torn is going down the psychological horror route with mad scientists, possible mental asylum weirdness, and some otherworldly goings on. The screenshots showcase a mix of internal locations with massive electrical wiring, pipes, and old fashioned furniture – all very Victorian in style – so there’s surely plenty of hidden secrets to find as well as puzzles to solve.

Then there are the more unusual images like the dream-like wispy trees (some sort hallucination?) and the slightly more terrifying tower of twisted cables attached to a giant contraption that’s emerging behind a mountain range. One things for sure is that there are some bizarre events going on in Torn.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Aspyr Media was founded in 1996 and tends to specialise in publishing Mac videogames, having brought blockbuster gaming franchises including Call of Duty, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Star Wars, Borderlands and SimCity to the platform.

Guess work aside, one piece of info VRFocus does know is that Torn will support PlayStation VR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, with a launch expected in the Spring. As that’s not too far away expect more details in the coming weeks. When VRFocus learns more about Torn we’ll let you know.