A couple weeks ago, I saw an article about a ghost hunter game in VR, just in time for Halloween. VR is plagued by a lot of people throwing together a game trying to cash in on whatever is popular at the time. I didn’t bother reading the article, assuming this was one of those, but I was wrong.
Peer Pressure from the Kid
Like most teens, my son watches plenty of Youtube and Twitch streamers. The game went viral with them, so he started asking me about it. He ended up buying it and had so many good things to say about the scares. With his friends, he also tried the coop and loved it, so I decided to check it out myself.
Ghost Hunter Training
I started out with the training mission to get used to the controls. It started out in a ghost hunter truck you would expect to see in the movies. A night vision camera was already setup showing the outside of the ghost house with notes/research all over the walls. There were even some sound and activity sensor monitors. I loved the truck immediately.
The narrator let me know a tutorial video is setup inside the house to give me the rundown. I grabbed a flashlight and the video camera from the equipment shelf and pressed the keypad to open the back door, then exited the truck.
It was raining outside, of course, which helped set the mood. The front door of the ghost house was locked. I thought I was not using the controls correctly, but it turns out there was a key left for me near the monitor in the truck.
Once I made it inside the house, I saw the glow of the TV and grabbed the remote to start the tutorial. Just then thunder and lightening hit with creeky footsteps. That game me chills. The tutorial was just text on the screen instructing me how to use the equipment, but I had that instant reaction of knowing this game was worth the $15.
Equipment
Video Camera – my first task was to put the video camera in the room with ghost activity, so I put it on the table and went back to the truck to check the feed.
I saw a small ghost orb dancing around as the tutorial said I might, so I put the evidence in the back of my journal (which is located on your right shoulder in VR). Back to the TV.
Ghost Writing Book – the tutorial wanted me grab this next and drop it off in the ghost room. Depending on the ghost type, they may write in it. The ghost I was tracking did not, so on to the next step.
Spirit Box – the next item to use. Like a little radio meant to pick up ghost voices. I was instructed to ask the ghost questions like: “What’s your name?”, “Where are you?”, etc..
This game has voice recognition and it scared the hell out of me when the ghost replied to my question. I Wrote that evidence down. Time for the next step.
Temperature Sensor – I did not have access to this in the tutorial, although I guess later you can get one. If you don’t have a temperature sensor, then you check by looking at your breathe and whether you can see the cold. In my mission, I saw my breath.
UV Torch – this ultraviolet light flashlight allows you to see finger or hand prints from the ghost to track them better. I did see some of these on my first try of a tutorial, but not the 2nd.
EMF Reader – measure the electromagnetic frequency with led lights to show the strength or amplitude or whatever. Just know a lot of light means bad. If all 5 light up, it is considered a level 5 and you put that in evidence.
Walkie Talkie – I kept accidentally hitting the button while writing evidence in the journal, it’s on your left shoulder used for communicating with coop players which I have not tried yet. I don’t think you can take it off of your shoulder.
Journal – over your right shoulder, it tracks evidence you have found and gives you a guide to ghost hunting and ghost types. It’s basically your ghost guide. At the very end of the last page is where you identify the ghost.
Identifying the Ghost
After using each piece of equipment, I should have had all 3 pieces to identify a ghost. Each ghost has a different pattern of evidence associated with it. My tutorial ended without me truly figuring out which ghost it was, so I guessed and was wrong.
I actually played the tutorial twice over 2 days, so I don’t remember what my combinations were for each. My mistake for the first time around was not realizing what a ghost orb looks like and the other not realizing what EMF level 5 meant.
You finish the mission by getting on the truck and closing the door after choosing the ghost in the journal.
I only had time to go through the tutorials over those 2 days I had a chance to play, but I plan on trying the coop missions this weekend with the kid.
My understanding is this game goes even deeper with other equipment like: Ouija boards, fuse boxes, crucifixes, parabolic microphone, motion sensors, etc.. Oh and the ghosts absolutely can get mad and kill you. You have a 5 minute timer before the ghost gets really mad. I look forward to getting scared in my own VR horror movie this Halloween.