This is one of the games I’ve been talking about wanting to play ever since VR headsets finally released into consumer’s hands. Space combat shooters are great, killing zombies is fine and dandy, but I’ve been wanting to play a real, fully-realized, VR stealth game for some time. Basically, give me Thief or Dishonored in VR and I’ll be happy. Since neither of those brands are getting VR support anytime soon, Thorrows – Beneath the Shadows from Barkland Games will do just fine.
It’s still in a super early stage of development but what’s already there is very promising. In the video below, you can see some early gameplay footage that already looks more polished than most VR games that release on Steam these days.
Notably you’ll see that Thorrows does not rely on teleportation movement. As you can imagine, that would break the entire game. If you could teleport magically out of the way then there is very little challenge with trying to stay hidden. Instead, the development team adapted an arm-swinging locomotion system. I haven’t tried this game for myself yet, but it looks to work very well with surprising ease.
There is also a visibility meter on your left hand that shows you how easily detectable you are based on where you’re standing. Obviously, hiding in the shadows is the best call. They’ve even taken care to make sure different surfaces you walk on project different sounds and volumes, encouraging you to be as sneaky as possible. There’s a climbing mechanic crammed in there, too.
When I play other non- VR stealth video games hiding behind a wall or crouching behind a box always feels boring, like I’m waiting to get to the good part, but in VR when you’re the one physically ducking and tip-toeing around, it’s a different story.
Finally, Barkland are also claiming to make sure Thorrows is more than just a series of gameplay encounters and instead want to craft a compelling narrative as well.
“Initially, the goal of the protagonist is to provide for himself, but he soon steps into a struggle for power fueled by dark and ancient forces,” states a press release emailed to UploadVR by Barkland Games. “Secrets and mysterious events presented by a nonlinear storytelling make the player feel like he takes part in a breathtaking adventure. Here as well, the focus is pointed on a sneaky behavior. Hidden notes and overheard conversations form another layer of narration besides an interactive dialogue system.”
It’s all very ambitious for a game in development by such a small team, but everything we’ve seen so far looks very promising. Currently, development is focused on supporting the HTC Vive. Keep an eye on Thorrows’ official website for more details.
