The Inpatient

Right off the back of their 2016 hit Until Dawn, Supermassive Games treats players with another spooky and mystery filled adventure through the technology of Playstation VR. WIth mind bending elements of psychological horror, this game sends players on a survival mission through a scary sanatorium with no memories of the past.

Patience Is A Virtue

Unlike the developer’s previous smash hit Until Dawn, The Inpatient follows the standard survival horror formula with a first person perspective. Fans of games like Alien Isolation, Outlast, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent will be treated to more running, hiding and surviving from the hidden threat of within the Blackwood Sanatorium.

Players can expect a slow crawl through the nooks and crannies of the game’s central setting. Rooms are dark, spooky and full of atmosphere. Players will have to be brave as they trudge through the game’s many long corridors, with very little light to see what might be lurking in the shadows. Mixed

Your Choices, Your Story

Like Until Dawn, The Inpatient is sold as a choose your own adventure game, with the player having the ability to choose different outcomes that affect the end trajectory of the story. While some choices inevitably end up in the same destination, players can ultimately affect the game’s ending, and even which characters live and die.

The game’s sanatorium is filled to the brim with secrets and the whole building feels incredibly immersive. With the excellent sound design and mid-century aesthetic, players’ feeling of dread will only be amplified by the game’s VR functionality, which puts them directly in the shoes of the protagonist.

The story is somewhat simple, but it works well in the VR format, focusing more on the visual experience of walking through a long-abandoned hospital. The scare-factor in the game isn’t too high either, only dropping a few jumps every now and again, allowing the tension to build up to incredibly uncomfortable heights.

Move The Way You Want To

The controls of the game come in two different camps. One method allows players to use the PS$ Dualshock controller to move around, which is a method of control that players are very much familiar with. However, the somewhat clunkier PS Move option gives the player full control of two moveable arms and hands, giving the game so much more immersion. Each option has its ups and downs, but neither is poor to the point of failure.

Players also have the ability to speak their lines directly, rather than select them manually through the controller. This adds a great sense of fun and allows players to really get into the role and immerse themselves as the game’s protagonist.

All in all, The Inpatient is a fantastic way to experience Sony’s PS VR system. The immersion is top notch and players will not be disappointed with the overall VR experience. While the game has a few flaws, it’s hard to dismiss the genuine scares it achieves in its relatively short runtime. And while it may not be the most interactive game out there, it definitely offers much more than your standard scary movie.

PROS

• Spooky and stylish with tons of atmosphere
• Beautiful graphics and character models
• Great sound design and stripped back soundtrack

CONS

• Could be longer in length
• Requires PS VR to play
• Replaying through early sections of the game can be a chore