When Oculus Rift first announced it was bringing virtual reality back into the ether of human consciousness, I immediately thought of the survival horror possibilities. The genre had just been given fresh legs thanks to indie hits like Amnesia and Outlast, and I knew VR could take it to the next level.
While people at home eagerly wait for Oculus to become available, Cardboard is ready to give the masses a taste of what virtual reality will feel like. Amongst the few games released for the device is Otherworld’s Sisters.
The game takes place sitting on the right side of a couch, which is surprisingly effective given I was testing the game in that very position in my home. The room looks like something straight out of the original Resident Evil mansion. In front of you is a television and to the right is a fireplace with some sinister looking dolls draped upon it. A news reporter announces there’s a storm coming and suddenly everything starts going wrong.
The typical horror elements are here and everything starts to get creepier as the demo goes on. With headphones in the noises from little girls becomes very unsettling. A sense of morbid curiosity might cause you to look behind you, but you’ll be surely punished if you do.
Most of the events are triggered by looking at specific things around the room. When a window opened to unleash a twister of crows into the room, I got the neat effect of actually following a specific bird by moving my head.
The end of the game is the most frightening. A menacing ghost behind you provides an effective jump scare until the sisters finally deliver the grim finale.
While unfortunately very short, Sisters is a great demonstration of how the immersion of VR can make horror games even more frightening. The sound design is excellent, and the setting does of a great job of keeping you in suspense as to what will happen next.
It’s like being trapped in a room with the Olsen twins of your nightmares… actually on second thought just the regular Olsen twins.
