Can PSVR horror be more than just jump scares?
Weeping Doll is more of a psychological thriller than a horror game, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have it’s fair share of scares. Not jump scares per se, but more mind-blowing terror. You play with the DualShock controller as your character who appears to be a nanny or maid is walking through the house to find out what happened to the family who lived there.
Each room reveals more about the family who had 2 twin girls, one with a birth mark that made her parents hide her away. It gets a lot darker than that with a bone-chilling twist at the end, but the overall feeling is so much worse. As a parent myself, I can’t imagine ever doing what these so-called parents did, but as with all stories like this…comes vengeance, which is even more creepy. I won’t spoil the ending, but it left me cheering on the little girl…
The downside to Weeping Doll is how short it is. It has some great puzzles that I found worked really well in the VR setting, despite what others critics have been saying. You’ll have it finished in around an hour, which isn’t massively long…but the game itself is only £8 or £6.39 if you have PlayStation Plus. I found it a memorable, albeit brief experience…and despite a lack of a Platinum trophy, has a really easy list to obtain. The only downside is that the game lacks a real ending, instead leading you back to the starting room with just credits in framed photos…I also couldn’t exit the house after and was left with a random key, maybe it unlocks something I don’t know about?
Visually, it’s not the strongest PSVR game out there…but it’s not the worst either. It runs at a solid framerate and is nicely detailed, while the voice-acting is a mixed bag of creepy, sickly sweet and perhaps unintentionally funny.
The Verdict
Weeping Doll may be short on content and has no replay value after completion, but it is truly memorable with a chilling story and shows how PSVR can show off the tale. Well worth a look.