The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR PSVR2 PlayStation VR 2

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, a rails shooter with many memorable moments, was one of the unsung heroes of the PSVR’s software roster – and pseudo sequel The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR looks set to build on that legacy. While it will offer a similar experience to its predecessor – you’re riding a rollercoaster through increasingly unnerving environments – it does have some horrifying ideas that will take advantage of the hardware.

One feature that’s been teased previously but described in more detail by EDGE magazine is its implementation of eye-tracking. As you may know, PSVR2 can detect where you’re looking, and it can use this technology in a number of ways. For many, it’ll likely be leveraged for foveated rendering, which is used to enhance the detail of objects you’re specifically looking at, cutting back on computational cost – but there are gameplay possibilities, too.

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In Firewall Ultra, for example, you’ll use your eyes to select your weapons – and in the aforementioned horror spin-off, well, developer Suppermassive Games has something particularly horrific in mind. EDGE explains: “A door painted with the instruction ‘don’t blink’ opens up into a room of blood-smeared mannequins in harlequin masks, their bodies twisted into unnatural poses. Eventually we can’t help it anymore, and let our eyelids flutter closed. When they open again, the mannequins have been rearranged – or have rearranged themselves.”

The magazine continues that it learned to use its blinking tactically, only closing its eyes once its weapons were reloaded and ready. While it is obviously a gimmick – and one that’s likely to be copied by countless other developers over the course of PSVR2’s lifespan – it sounds particularly harrowing, doesn’t it? Pair all of this with the headset’s haptic feedback and life-like visuals, and we imagine this is going to be a pretty heart-pounding experience.

[source gamesradar.com, via mp1st.com]