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What you may not be aware of is that Rise of Insanity came out first in non-VR and added then received the special VR treatment. So yes, you can play Rise of Insanity in non-VR if you wish, but to fully experience the Developer’s vision, this does need to be experienced in VR and I will say that at the beginning, the jump scares will get you.
We’ve played through Rise of Insanity, an unsettling and tense psychological horror game with VR support. Here’s what we thought!You might have caught in which we played through the entirety of Rise of Insanity, from start to finish, in a single go (embedded below). It was an intense experience rife with plenty of jump scares, an ominous atmosphere, and a twisting story about the decay of the human mind. Overall, I quite enjoyed myself.Rise of Insanity was developed and published by indie team Red Limb Studios. It with optional VR support in 2018 and just with optional PSVR support. Both versions of the game require either a gamepad or keyboard and mouse to play — there is no motion controller support.
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However, I played the game on an Oculus Rift S via SteamVR and was able to use my Touch controllers like a gamepad.In Rise of Insanity you play as a psychologist named Dr. Dowell in the 1970s as you explore fragments of your past looking for answers regarding a fascinating new patient. It’s a story all about mystery, discovery, and a foreboding sense of terror.I can’t really say much else without spoiling things further, but there are some good twists throughout the course of its roughly two hour run-time. It sounds brief, but it’s best experienced in a single sitting much like a movie and the pacing felt good. ComfortI played the entire game seated, as was recommended, using Oculus Touch controllers in place of a gamepad since there is no actual motion controller support.
Positional tracking worked fine and there were options in the menu to adjust rotation speed and enable snap turning. However, that’s about it. I didn’t spot anything to dim the FOV when turning or sprinting and overall the VR support feels a bit like an afterthought. The game is slow-paced so it shouldn’t affect many people negatively, but the comfort options aren’t as robust as they could have been. If you’ve ever played any sort of walking simulator game then you know what to expect here. You explore environments, look at items to pick up and inspect them, read lots of notes and journal entries, and occasionally solve a simple puzzle or walk into a jump scare. It’s very by-the-numbers and doesn’t do anything particularly remarkable.
However, the sense of atmosphere and the dark, foreboding tone are very effective.I can’t speak to what the game feels like outside of VR, but inside the headset it’s quite unsettling. The jump scares were timed well and often made me physically jump in my seat while still feeling relevant and not completely out of place.
Each of them was either expected or explained, which is much better than seemingly random ghosts and creatures popping out for no reason.Near the latter third of the game the environments take a very twisted turn as the designers trade in sterile hospital corridors for other-worldly locales, quaint picnic spots, and greenhouses bathed in autumn light. Visually it’s very nice considering the small team and lack of true, dedicated VR support. Final Verdict:Rise of Insanity isn’t a perfect game, but it doesn’t try to be. The story has some satisfying twists if you’re paying attention and the environments are well-designed with nice vistas and some top-notch jump scares to keep you on your toes. I’d have loved motion controller support or a more fleshed out VR integration, but as it stands as a gamepad-only VR title it certainly delivers good scares wrapped up in a solid story at a brisk two hour pace.Rise of Insanity is currently with optional VR support for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index for $9.99 and with optional support for PSVR for $12.99.
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Love it or hate it, the horror genre has found a natural home on virtual reality (VR) headsets. No other entertainment technology has the ability to put you right in there with the screams and terrifying shadows. Yet horror has its nuances just like all the rest, whether that’s psychological, jump scares, gore, or just plain terror. Indie developer Red Limb Studio first tried its hand at virtual reality (VR) development with horror shooter The Purge Day, a basic scary wave shooter in 2016. The team decided to up the ante with its next project, creating a twisted psychological horror that’s definitely not for the faint hearted.Rise of Insanity is your classic story driven adventure into madness, so it’s linear, very linear.
If you like videogames that give you lots of freedom to figure things out for yourself, rather than being almost handheld then this isn’t the title for you. Rise of Insanity will suit those that do like a good horror style story and don’t mind the fact that exploration is kept to a minimum.What’s notable to begin with is that Rise of Insanity isn’t a pure VR experience, VR support has been added, so it’s purely seated – there’s no crumpling to the floor when something scares you. Because of this it’ll say its best played with a gamepad or keyboard mouse.
While the first is fine (if you have a gamepad) the second is definitely out of the question. Thankfully you don’t have to use either, as you’ll find in the settings menu motion controller options.What this does mean however is that Rise of Insanity only includes smooth locomotion (there’s no teleport), with an option to switch on snap rotation if you need it.
While it was perfectly comfortable with the standard settings some players may find just having smooth movement a little too nauseating, especially when things start turning dark.Rise of Insanity is set in a big old house with you playing as Stephen Dowell a doctor of psychology. In terms of gameplay it’s all about looking for items/clues that can help unravel the mystery of a family tragedy, with a few puzzles on route that really aren’t that difficult – find a key to unlock a door, or look for a code to a padlock. Due to the linearity of the experience there’s not a lot of items to actually interact with, and they’re all easy to spot as a hand indicator appears when you’re nearby.What Rise of Insanity is good at is atmosphere.
You spend the majority of the time alone so hearing the rain and wind rattle the windows, or the TV hissing away are classic techniques that work well. Bear in mind that Rise of Insanity has its fair amount of jump scares, some of which are obvious, others less so. They’re the type that do put people off playing these types of horror experiences but they do work great at getting the heart pumping.Looking great in some scenes and rather basic in others, Rise of Insanity is still a solidly put together experience. The storyline, sound effects and voice acting are all of a decent quality, but the English translation on some of the in-game literature needs some work. Difficulty is virtually none existent so it’s a breeze to play through in around two hours. If you’re looking for a short, digestible horror then Rise of Insanity is a sound bet, just watch out for those rubber ducks.
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