'XING: The Land Beyond' Channels 'Myst' for Puzzling Adventure on PSVR

4 days to go until the launch of PlayStation VR! We’re counting down to the release of Sony’s VR headset on October 13th by highlighting one game a day for its anticipated release. Today we’re raising diving into the mysterious world of XING: The Land Beyond.

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When I attended the PS VR showcase at GDC earlier this year, XING: The Land Beyond from White Lotus Interactive was a bit of a surprise. I hadn’t heard of the game before that event and sitting down to don the PlayStation VR gave me a sneak peek into what could be one of the headset’s most immersive upcoming games.

I was immediately reminded of old-school adventure titles such as Myst and Riven, or even the recent Obduction and upcoming Thunderbird, mixed with a bit of more active puzzle-solving from games like The Legend of Zelda. The entire experience is played from the first-person and you can either use the PlayStation Move motion controllers or the Dualshock 4 gamepad. XING, as noted in the game’s lore, is the land you’re transported to once you’ve died:

Your body may be gone, but your life has just begun. In death, you will find yourself on a journey across a series of mysterious lands, in an afterlife where you must uncover secrets as to who you are and why you are there. In the land of XING you are crossing the threshold between life and death.

The demo I played all those months ago was only a small, brief slice of what’s to come, but it got me excited. The team has claimed that early sessions are taking approximately 7-12 hours to complete. If that’s true, it’s not only one of the prettiest upcoming PS VR games, but also one of the longest and most immersive.

XING: The Land Beyond is currently slated for a Q1 2017 release on PlayStation VR. The game is also scheduled for release on PC with support for the HTC Vive.