Hauntingly Beautiful VR Game Misses the Mark with Rough Start

by

The Midnight Walk offers a profoundly moving encounter. It’s an experience that encompasses despair, grief, and melancholy, all masterfully portrayed through the game’s exceptional claymation artwork. However, its depth might not be immediately apparent; you must immerse yourself in it first before its genuine greatness starts to unveil itself – a challenge we often struggled with.

On an adventure I embarked upon, known as The Midnight Walk, I, The Burned One (the player), and my loyal companion Pot Boy, set off towards Moon Mountain with the mission of fanning flames to rekindle the sun. However, our path was not without intrigue, for we stumbled upon a series of “stories” that revealed hidden truths about the world around us. These tales ranged from a chilling town where heads were severed, to a heart-wrenching craftsman who yearned for his daughter’s rule, despite her dreams of dancing freely.

Upon initially launching the game, we were struck by its unique artistic flair. The claymation aesthetic is expertly executed, making each screenshot appear as if it was plucked directly from either “A Nightmare Before Christmas” or “The Corpse’s Bride”. Oddly shaped, skewed buildings, wavy mountain ranges, and decaying characters with gravelly voices – it’s all done exceptionally well.

It’s expected that the designs of these creatures will continue to be around for a while. The Grinners are exceptional because their Cheshire cat-like grins are as unsettling as their unwavering eyes. However, what truly brings the residents of The Midnight Walk to life is the animation style, which mimics the clay design beautifully by incorporating jerky movements and crisp sound effects.

Despite its stunning visuals, the game struggles to engage you during its initial stages. It’s quite basic mechanically, featuring basic stealth segments and minimal player interaction beyond ordering Pot Boy to light candles. If you’re like us, you might find these early moments lacking that crucial sense of engagement.

Fortunately, as our initial story concluded, we uncovered a turbulent past between the leaders of Nobodyville and a being known as Molgrim. Despite its chilling aesthetics and atmosphere, The Midnight Walk managed to create something truly captivating through its narrative style, complete with gravelly voiceovers, gradually moving visuals, and a melancholic soundtrack.

After that point, The Midnight Walk really resonated with us, as we stopped focusing on the game’s less polished aspects such as its mechanics and level design. With each new stage, we found ourselves discovering breathtakingly eerie landscapes, immersed in a narrative usually revolving around grief, and moved by the score that rivals Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for best soundtrack of the year.

Although The Midnight Walk can be fully played on a flat screen, a significant portion of its charm unfolds when experienced in Virtual Reality (VR). This game was primarily designed for the PSVR2, and it offers more than just visual immersion. Of course, there are some typical quirks that come with this medium, which we’ll discuss later, but one of its most exciting features is a blink mechanic.

With a simple button press, this device can simulate either listening for concealed items or illuminating glowing eyes that uncover hidden pathways. It offers the option to shut your real eyes, mimicking the experience on Sony’s headset. This feature creates some genuinely spooky situations, such as enticing dreadful creatures towards you and closing your virtual eyes at the right moment when you hear their shrieks. Another thrilling aspect is that your surroundings can change instantly, as if you’ve blinked an eye.

In my gaming experience, navigating through these ominous levels where I have to light up a torch for guidance really gets the adrenaline pumping, adding an extra layer of tension amidst the game’s emotionally charged environment. It may not reach the same level of heart-stopping suspense as some other VR games like Metro Awakening, but I found myself drawn in nonetheless.

Unfortunately, the VR edition of the game experiences some technical flaws. For instance, the graphics can appear quite unpolished, as characters are sometimes characterized by uneven edges. These imperfections tend to stand out more during cutscenes when the focus shifts away from your first-person viewpoint. However, these glitches aren’t usually problematic throughout the game; many of its levels and landscapes are stunning in their unique, distorted charm.

During certain parts of the game, particularly at the beginning, we encountered numerous issues resulting in annoying glitches and forced restarts. For instance, lit matches sometimes got stuck in place, especially when firing from the cannon. Over time, we discovered that the cannon made the matches jiggle before being consumed, but this process felt awkward and was not well-communicated.

In areas where the character Pot Boy needed to light candles, the button for that action wasn’t visible. To fix this issue, we occasionally switched to a flat screen. Fortunately, after the initial hour or so, it didn’t occur again.

If you prefer a more streamlined gameplay, the flat screen variant is available for those who prefer it. We believe that although the flat screen version conveys the emotional essence of the experience, it falls short compared to VR in terms of immersion. The creatures aren’t as intimidating and the landscapes aren’t as breathtaking. However, this difference may not be a major concern for everyone when comparing VR to a flat screen; it’s just part of the comparison. But since visuals play a significant role in defining The Midnight Walk, the flatscreen version might not evoke the same level of emotion.

Read More

2025-05-12 21:12