Witching Hour

VR has been fighting to stay relevant in the ever-changing environment of technology for many decades now. We are at a point where it is becoming more accessible to the general public, and this could actually be just what this technology needs to stay afloat. Just as it happens with most things in the entertainment world, telling engaging stories is key to keeping the layers interested. And one of the best ways to get people to be involved in the experience is through haunting games, and that's where games like Witching Hour come into play. But what is this game? Well, let's see.

Now, before we start here, we do have to mention that if you want to try this game out, but don't have access to the VR hardware, you can play it on a PC with your everyday mouse and keyboard. Also, we'll refer to this game mostly as simply Witching Hour from now on to keep it simple

About the game

Witching Hour is a storytelling experience, even though originally intended to be played in VR, you can just go ahead and play it in non-VR since the narrative is what's more important here. Witching Hour transports the player into the little town of Shady Hollow, which has been known for centuries for the dark legend and folklore that revolves around it. The most horrifying was that of the Hollow Creek Witch, but even though a lot of people think these are nothing but legends, that may not be the case. But it won't take us long to find out that the truth behind all of the mysteries in this town is darker and more real than you can imagine.

The story of the game would be distributed in an episodic manner, and these episodes would be delivered through DLC. They all revolve around the mysteries of this town, so if you want to find out the truth, you be prepared to endure a lot of fear.

VR horror, the next step?

VR is the ultimate way to get the player involved in the game world. And perhaps horror games maybe some of the best games to do this. There's something very immersive about being able to feel as if you were there with the character, seeing everything in front of you, feeling every bit of danger that comes your way. With the technology advancing and becoming more accessible, VR horror might be the next big thing in gaming, and Witching Hour is one of the games to set the bar high for this genre. Or at least that was the original goal of the developers.

But if you do a little research, you'll find that now we have some great VR horror games such as FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S: HELP WANTED, and even Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, but both of them are kind of different. Yes, they're also based on VR, but instead of immersing the players, they focus on giving them better control over their actions. So basically, it's the same as playing a regular video game, except that you can look around

A Haunting: Witching Hour didn't live up to the expectations. After all, we also have to consider that it was mainly released as a PlayStation VR game in the earliest days of the system, the same thing for VR on PC. So if you take the VR element out of the game, you realize the game is pretty plain and uninteresting.

Pros:

• Great use of VR technology!
• Good story

Cons:

• Not scary enough
• Feels plain and empty