System: HTC Vive Only
Price at Time Of Review: £5.99
Comfort Rating: Yellow (Mild Movement)
Genre: Horror
Input: Tracked Motion Controllers
Best Playing Position: Sitting
Multi-Player: No
Age Rating: 18+
Description: During development, we found that by removing clumsy VR mechanics and obstructive gaming tropes, such as finding a key or solving a puzzle to progress, the player is left to be completely immersed in our world. Keeping game mechanics to a minimum also enables players with no gaming background to fully enjoy our experience, meaning anybody will be able to play “AFFECTED: The Manor”.
While many horror games were played during the development of “AFFECTED: The Manor”, the team also visited a number of Live Action Horror Walk-throughs which we felt were nearer to the VR experience that we wanted to create. We learned quickly that having no control over what was happening only heightened the player’s anxiety and fear of what was to come next.
Review: Having played a demo of Affected a while ago I have to admit that my own self-hype of this experience is already at fever pitch. This is apparently the first of 3 chapters of an on-rails horror experience that also now supports the Oculus Touch controllers. You start off outside the manor and wonder in at your own accord. Each room has something creepy in it and some are filled to the rafters with jump scares. While there are a few control methods, sticking to the classic dual touch controls is best. That way you have one hand for the torch (when it eventually comes on) and the other for moving around. There is nothing to interactive with here, just venture through the manor, jumping at every little thing.
Sadly Affected: The Manor is not perfect and very short indeed. With some very predictable jump scares, distracting music, visuals that are at times a little too dark and a un-natural touch controller holding. Yes, there are indeed some problems with this experience. But the beautifully dark atmosphere and the scarily deep immersion more than makes up for those flaws. Make no bones about it, this is as scary as VR experiences get. Yes, you will be screaming, you will feel your heart racing and at times you will want it all to stop. But at least you only have to hang in there a short amount of time. Definitely one to troll your friends and family with.
