Here They Lie

This game excels in creating a freaky atmosphere and filling it with authentically terrifying imagery, but it fails to tell a sound, logical story. The sights players see range from bizarre to truly horrific and are likely to stay with them for a long time, in large part because of the immersive nature of virtual reality. You will feel as though you're in the room with people being beaten, tortured, and killed. Sometimes the game's supremely unsettling nonplayer characters seem to be hovering only inches from your face. One scene where a naked woman wearing a horned mask moves a knife up, down, and around your avatar's body is likely to make you want to flinch. It can be terrifying, which will either be an endorsement or a deterrent, depending on how scary you want your games to be.

Regardless of how you feel about frightening situations and imagery, the real problem is that there seems to be no rhyme or reason to most of the things players see. Perhaps they exist solely to make us think, wow, that's super creepy and kind of unsettling. Once you reach the end of the game, you're likely to be left scratching your head and wondering what all the apparent symbolism and metaphors meant, if, indeed, they meant anything all. You're also likely to feel at least a little bit sick, thanks to the way the game was designed. Players can look around freely by moving their heads -- one of the strengths of VR – but also can adjust the camera with one of the control sticks. The result is a dizzying effect that will almost certainly result in nausea for some players. It also makes for slow and clumsy control over movement. The game pauses and recommends that you take a break after each chapter, and it's probably a good idea to do so. That's assuming you play at all. It might be worth it if all you're looking for is a good, adult-oriented frightfest, but if you want something more substantial, you should probably keep looking.