Pilot the TARDIS through time and space in the new VR adventure game Doctor Who: The Edge of Time. Solve puzzles and face off against aliens, old and new, as you team up with the Thirteenth Doctor. Jodie Whittaker voices the same incarnation of The Doctor she portrays in the TV show.
Throughout the game, players will visit alien planets, Victorian England, a space station, and ancient-Egyptian-style ruins.
Doctor Who: The Edge of Time is being developed by Maze Theory, and published by Playstack. It will be Maze Theory’s first major release as a fresh face in game development. Playstack is also a fairly recent addition to video game publishing.
Watch the trailer below:
The Doctor Who franchise includes a small number of licensed video games of varying popularity. PC titles include Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors (1997), Doctor Who: The Adventure Games (2010-11), and Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock (2012). Due to a lack of resources and popularity, Doctor Who video games have largely been unsuccessful.
Whether or not The Edge of Time ends up being successful will likely have a huge bearing on the future of Maze Theory, Playstack, and the Doctor Who franchise.
Using newer virtual reality technology with immersive gameplay and graphics, can Playstack and Maze Theory succeed in giving the Doctor Who franchise a solid video gaming presence?
Fans of the TV show may notice familiar scenes and enemies in the newest trailer. Earlier shots of the TARDIS show it parked in what appears to be 76 Totter’s Lane – a location from the very first TV episode An Unearthly Child (1963). The TARDIS interior matches the one introduced in TV episode Ghost Monument (2018).
It is unknown where in the timeline of the Thirteenth Doctor the game takes place; none of the companions from the TV show appear in present media.
Iconic enemies from the TV show make a return in The Edge of Time, including The Weeping Angels and The Daleks. The Weeping Angels are a predatory species that send people back in time to feed off time energy. When viewed by any living creature, they become indestructible stone, only able to move when unobserved. The Daleks are a genetically-modified species with only one objective: Dalek supremacy. They are ruthless in their aims and will enslave or exterminate all other species.
Armed only with The Doctor’s sonic screwdriver, the player will need to use cunning means to evade foes. The player will need to keep their gaze on Weeping Angels and use stealth to avoid Dalek attacks, though players can throw objects to distract a Dalek guard. And there is a segment where the player controls a Dalek shell.
Several new enemies appear in the trailer. Firstly, an unidentified quadrupedal creature with dark grey skin and glowing facial features. Another are Hydrorks, a tar-like blob-shaped carnivorous species taking up residence inside a laundromat.
Doctor Who: The Edge of Time will be available on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR.
The release date remains to be confirmed, though Maze Theory hope to communicate a launch date in the next week.
