Fear and whole new levels of dread come to PSVR…
Here They Lie is one of the PSVR launch games that will make you truly terrified and paranoid, as well as potentially ill thanks to motion sickness. It begins at a train station as a woman says she thought she was over you, but was pleased to see you again and told you to come find her when you’ve made your decision. You enter the train, only for it to suddenly be incredibly dark and creepily atmospheric…a few carriages later and the lights go off and on to reveal 4 figures with pig heads on , before another flash of light makes them vanish…leaving a blood trail and the next carriage sparks a fire monster before finally emerging back at the train station.
That alone was enough to make me delete the game from my system, it was truly terrifying. All seemed well as I walked through the abandoned, creepy train station and I finally hit the streets…where after walking around, I get unexpectedly jumped by this crazy creature/woman before running off. I now feel like I’m being hunted by whatever is going on, which itself made me incredibly paranoid after.
I won’t spoil the rest of the game for you, but it’s truly the stuff of nightmares. The team behind it even claim that the game “focuses on narrative, and the experiences of dread”. So there you have it. Now if you can somehow stomach the terror, you have to stomach the possible VR side-effects. I didn’t feel sick playing it because of the VR, I just felt rough because of the terrifying nature of the game, but know some have.
The game has 2 main issues that hold it back, which are it’s control method of flicking the right stick to change your viewpoint, which can be sick-inducing. The second is that the game is one of the weaker launch titles visually, which is a shame considering just how scary it can be anyway…if it had a small visual upgrade, it could really stand out from the crowd.
The Verdict
Small issues aside, Here They Lie is a true horror game that VR is made for. Stomach-churning worry and dread sets in as soon as you enter the train and never leaves until you finish. I’m still trying to piece together what the story is all about, but it serves as one of the most paranoid inducing games I’ve played in years, if not ever.