Michael Hraba

I love this game, and it's coming to VR. This is a cosmic horror Lovecraft inspired walking simulator. TL;DR - it's not *that* short, per some of the more sensible reviews. I don't know if it's a $25 game, but wishlist it and when it's 50% off do NOT hesitate. This is one of the most fun and (weird to say) relaxing games for me in a long time. During the pandemic, horror survival has helped me realize it can always get worse. =) If you are into typical horror survival, this may be too slow or too obscure for you. This won't make a lot of sense, and it's not a AAA style game... this is made by a dedicated, thoughtful, passionate single developer, not some studio, about a universe of cosmic and body horror, which isn't your typical blood and guts torture porn. The concept is more metaphysical and existential. Think a version of Myst with endless philosophical dread. If you get Cosmic Lovecraftian comment, you're going to see so many delightful literary Easter eggs that you will giggle with glee, while being both scared, awed, and amazed by the game. This single dev put his heart and soul into a game, and most importantly after the release is constantly updating it with both patches and new content. I'd seen some of the kneejerj immediate launch gripes that are coloring the aggregate review score.... and it's nonsense. Look at the trend in reviews over time. What's important is the guy cares, seems that he'll keep patching, and that's enough for me. He keeps saying VR will come, and that will be sublime.

From the vocal and creative team of Squanch Games aka Rick and Morty comes a Rate "R" goofy cartoon adventure with a foul mouthed 4-eyed (literal and not derogatory) purple dude to rescue your ADORABLE dogs which happen to be fuzzy and cute Cairn / Westie Terriers which I have so that was cute fun. It is a surrealist, naughty, and so so SO meta It's also just as foul as DC cab with a better plotline. During a pandemic, this sort of absurdist diversion is a delightful departure from the nonsense that is our reality. It's also one of the only games on the planet that I've ever finished, so there's that. The VR controls for the Index work really well. The story is hilarious, but the fighting is actually surprisingly above par and the swordplay and moves are simple to master and fun. Really enjoyed this and will likely go back to get meaningless achievements, more crystal babies, and to hear absurd swearing. Thanks Squanch! You've brought a lot of joy into the world. The end is even surreal and hilarious and I won't spoil it, but worth getting there. Also, I played this for 12 hours, which is likely long, but I am an old man new to gaming like this and well, that's short for me. i think I beat Alien: Isolation in 130 hours and Half-Life:Alyx in about 80. So this is a fun and light hearted game for people that love Harmontown or Adult Swim and random rants about bizarre things.

TL;DR- Alien Isolation in VR is easily one of the greatest media or entertainment experiences I have ever had in my entire life. It is my favorite game of all time, and the most immersive story experience, the scariest thing I've ever enjoyed putting myself through, and the entire design of the game, from sound design to artificial intelligence, other easter eggs and surprises, and the enemies aside from the Xenomorph being just as scary. You get to experience iconic moments from the original film, and the way this fits into the universe is unreal. If you're a fan, stop reading, buy it, and play. ------ This is a review of Alien: Isolation played in Virtual Reality with the MUTHR VR Mod on an HTC Vive Pro with Valve's Index controllers. I literally *just* finished playing this game for the first time in my life. 72 hours in, and killed by the Alien over 100 times before I even got to the 11th mission, I am sad to have finished it, and immediately started replaying it, exploring Survival Mode. Now I know with the learning curve behind me I am going to speed run this game over and over. It's truly one of the greatest games ever made, it is surprisingly not-at-all dated, though it's from 2014. Not really sure how that works. The MUTHR mod is uneal, and it's likely because the game had been devved in some manner to eventually become a VR game (at least it is rumored). This game doesn't have hand tracking or complex yet intuitive controls like Half-Life:Alyx, but I found the entire game and experience far more compelling and grand in scale and experience. The Index Controllers took a LOT of trial and error to figure out the nuances, but I am here to tell you that you can do every single thing in all 19 levels except pull a lever, which is both mouse buttons and S, so easy to do when necessary. The gameplay is just superb, and there were moments of awe, whether being in the space jockey room, and slowly lowered into the egg chamber from the first film, or doing the mechanics of the self-destruct sequence at the end of the first film, to unlatch a ship from the station. You even have the chance to spacewalk a couple times, and the scale and scope is so overwhelming, and overall the game is truly gorgeous. There's so many nods to the original film and entire universe, and the way Ripley's daughter fits into this universe is just perfect. And there are self-contained moments in this game that are as enveloping and unreal that they could rival some of the most important moments in film history, let alone video game history. I am a new gamer, in general. Not since 8-bit or N64 have I really spent time playing video games. Now I am a full-fledged, dyed in the wool gamer forever, namely because of this experience. It's also pretty obvious that video game narratives are the future of immersive entertainment. I am a huge film geek, and I always thought cinema was the perfect marriage of all art forms... writing, sound, music, technicality, stage, production, etc. But it is quickly becoming obvious video games will be taking that throne very soon. Experiences and craftsmanship of games like Alien: Isolation are a very obvious indicator of that fact.

Pre-Rick & Morty, Dan Harmon parades his unfettered genius around this delightful comedy.

This is your hilarious pulp horror sci-fi that you wanted. Absolutely fantastic and underrated film.