The Exorcist: Legion VR was released last year for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, and now it is available on PSVR. Chapters 1 through 3 were released on the 19th June for PSVR, and chapters 4 and 5 have recently been announced. Developed by Wolf & Wood Interactive Limited, the game very much sticks to the film franchise and definitely has the creepy feel that we would expect. Wolf & Wood are a gaming studio based in the Northeast of England that provides immersive adventures through virtual reality. They specialise in story-telling traditions that make experiences full of substance. With their creative history, they have mainly focused on horror when it comes to virtual reality.
The Exorcist: Legion VR is a horror game where you play as a detective. You are based in the homicide department at a Boston precinct, taking on some terrifying cases. At the beginning of the game, you start in your office where you can read case files or letters, as well as drink some coffee and just experience a bit of simple gaming freedom. You can search around and review your detective work in a safe space. It is also through the office that you can launch each chapter or case.
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 is named “First Rites”. You are called to a church to investigate the disappearance of a priest. You can instantly see that something horrible has happened. Blood is everywhere, and there is a large amount of police tape cordoning off the area. As you search through the crime scene, you will find key information and tools to set you up for the chapters ahead. The use of darkness, silence and blood really makes you feel like you are there. You feel like you are constantly waiting for something terrifying to happen, and the suspense is stomach churning. The best part of playing a horror game is the feeling of not being safe, and this game has plenty of that.
Chapter 2
When you gain the confidence to continue the game onto Chapter 2, you arrive in an isolation ward of a psychiatric hospital. This chapter is called “Idle Hands”, and it begins as you follow a corridor to a room at the end. The walk down to the door felt like the longest walk of my life. I was so scared to find out what was behind the door that I kept stopping and repeating, “I really don’t want to go in there”.
When you reach the room, you find a woman inside strapped to a gurney. The woman babbles something that you can’t quite make out, and that’s when, in the words of Flo Rida: “It’s going down for real.” At this point of the game, I swear, I had something in my eye. I was not crying from fear, and I only took off the virtual reality headset to clear my eyes. Towards the end of this chapter, you get the opportunity to use your exorcism kit, and it feels extremely powerful.
Chapter 3
The third chapter is named “Skin Deep”. In this chapter, you will encounter an infertile devil named Abyzou who is blamed for infant mortality through the history of civilization. She is also known by other names from other cultures, such as Medusa in Greek and Lilith in Hebrew. It is your mission, whether you accept it or not, to force her to reveal herself and to exorcise her. When it comes to using the exorcism kit, I can’t help but say those all-powerful words. We all know what they are. At points where I was really feeling the pressure, I would just throw random bottles of holy water around, hoping for the best.
Short and Sweet
The Exorcist: Legion VR is extremely intense. It is gripping, detailed and heart-racing. The great thing about the game is that it is split into chapters. This means that Wolf & Wood have the opportunity to extend the game for as many chapters as they would like.
There are a couple of things that I believe could be improved upon in the game’s future chapters. One of the issues that The Exorcist: Legion VR has is that the chapters are very short. I did spend a lot of time just standing still because I was too scared to move. But taking out that time, the chapters don’t take very long to complete, normally about an average of 45 minutes (if I weren’t that creeped out). The second issue that the game presents is that there isn’t much of a challenge. When you are given puzzles to solve, they are pretty simple, and even though it is scary, you know that you aren’t going to die.
The Exorcist: Legion VR…in a Nutshell
Overall, The Exorcist: Legion VR is a great horror game. It is filled with everything you would expect a game based on a horror film franchise to have. It is definitely one of the scariest games that I have ever played, even though it is quite short. The most terrifying moments in the game were when the background was completely silent and you just don’t know what is going to happen or when. This builds up so much suspense and makes you have a battle with yourself in your mind. One side is saying that you can do it and that you are completely expecting something to happen. The other side of you is saying that you can’t handle it and that no matter when a scary moment comes, you will still scream like a little girl.
Developer: Wolf & Wood Interactive Limited
Publisher: LegionVR, LLC
Platform: PSVR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
Release Date: 19th June 2018 (PSVR), 22nd November 2017(Oculus Rift and HTC Vive)
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