Note, this is not a game, per se. This is a walk through discovery adventure title much like Dear Ester. You can't die, there are no weapons, you aren't going to be attacked, creatures aren't going to jump scare you... well except for that one thing (I'll let you worry about that later). The point is there isn't much to this other than the enjoyment of exploration, but to that end the game is exquisite.

Using the LIDAR scanner to reveal the world around you is a visceral form of interaction that for some reason makes it feel more 'real'. The mind is forced to imagine the texture of the rock, imagine the rippling water, imagine the finer details in the models and terrain. In so doing it becomes quite memorable.

The audio is haunting and beautiful. The experience moves seamlessly from calm to tense to overwhelmingly wondrous, like some sort of Disneyland dark ride.

Some artistic license was taken with regard to the way the LIDAR works. Instead of being static data points, the points are sort of "glued" to the objects they hit. So when the object animates, they animate. It's kind of weird but I can understand the reasons for not going with a more realistic system.

The game is not perfect. There are many things I didn't like or feel could use improvement:
* I felt the story was far too simple and I did not care for the ending at all.
* The experience is not bug-free, I ended up inside walls several times and on one occasion I was not able to warp out.
* The grey warp circle is difficult to see at times.
* I did not like the fact that some objects are permanently outlined and can be seen from virtually any distance, I didn't really see the point.
* Near the end of the game in the larger chambers there are serious frame rate issues on the map (I run a 6500+980Ti).
* The fly back at the end of the game features sharp cinematic cuts which are extremely uncomfortable in VR.

Despite these issues I have to give this a thumbs up. The artistic uniqueness, the ambiance, the adventure. I don't believe I would feel as strongly if I wasn't playing it in VR. So if you've got a Rift or Vive, pick this one up. It's a rough cut gem that need some polish, but still a gem!

Note, this is not a game, per se. This is a walk through discovery adventure title much like Dear Ester. You can't die, there are no weapons, you aren't going to be attacked, creatures aren't going to jump scare you... well except for that one thing (I'll let you worry about that later). The point is there isn't much to this other than the enjoyment of exploration, but to that end the game is exquisite. Using the LIDAR scanner to reveal the world around you is a visceral form of interaction that for some reason makes it feel more 'real'. The mind is forced to imagine the texture of the rock, imagine the rippling water, imagine the finer details in the models and terrain. In so doing it becomes quite memorable. The audio is haunting and beautiful. The experience moves seamlessly from calm to tense to overwhelmingly wondrous, like some sort of Disneyland dark ride. Some artistic license was taken with regard to the way the LIDAR works. Instead of being static data points, the points are sort of "glued" to the objects they hit. So when the object animates, they animate. It's kind of weird but I can understand the reasons for not going with a more realistic system. The game is not perfect. There are many things I didn't like or feel could use improvement: * I felt the story was far too simple and I did not care for the ending at all. * The experience is not bug-free, I ended up inside walls several times and on one occasion I was not able to warp out. * The grey warp circle is difficult to see at times. * I did not like the fact that some objects are permanently outlined and can be seen from virtually any distance, I didn't really see the point. * Near the end of the game in the larger chambers there are serious frame rate issues on the map (I run a 6500+980Ti). * The fly back at the end of the game features sharp cinematic cuts which are extremely uncomfortable in VR. Despite these issues I have to give this a thumbs up. The artistic uniqueness, the ambiance, the adventure. I don't believe I would feel as strongly if I wasn't playing it in VR. So if you've got a Rift or Vive, pick this one up. It's a rough cut gem that need some polish, but still a gem!