I Expect You To Die 3: Cog In The Machine is out now on Quest headsets ahead of Steam release in September.
We're still finishing off our review (IEYTD puzzles are certainly challenging) but in the meantime we've been talking over the intricacies of the game's design with development studio Schell Games as part of our Upload Access series.
Schell Games is one of VR's most experienced studios and we wanted to dive in deep to understand their evolving approach to design. So far, we've looked at how they worked to make Dr. Prism a fully developed villain, we went hands-on with its more expansive environments, and broke down the design of the game's eye-catching opening credits sequence.
For the last piece in our series I wanted to understand the aspirations for potential future I Expect You To Die games. With three successful and comfortable VR puzzling games putting the spy fantasy above all else, where does Schell Games go next?
"We packed it full of all the best stuff we could and we're not even close to out of ideas," said Francisco Souki, Principal Game Designer at Schell Games. "If VR keeps growing like it's growing and if people enjoy them as much as we enjoy making them, I will personally keep making these until people don't want them anymore, I guess. Like there's no shortage of incredible...ideas for this type of game."
Schell Games' homepage pitches the studio as "your games expert" and they've built a reputation as the go-to partner for any big companies looking to test new ideas. After diving deep with Schell Games across multiple IEYTD games, it is apparent the real advantage the studio has is figuring out how to scope out and execute successful interactive games on cutting edge technology. With that reputation, could a future entry in the I Expect You To Die franchise bring you face to face with a villain for an interaction that feels entirely immersive and engaging?
Schell is just waiting for the right time.
"That scene where you're playing blackjack right across from the villain and you're playing the cards and it's right there in your face," said Matthw Mahon, VP of Project Direction at Schell Games. "We just can't meaningfully pull that off yet. Maybe we could, but like it's just not quite there, right? So we know like, we gotta wait till everything catches up and then we can really, really lean into something like that."
I Expect You To Die 3: Cog In The Machine is available on Quest 2 and Quest Pro for $24.99 and you can wishlist it on Steam.
