The Exit 8 makes its jump to VR with this new Meta Quest 3 version and it feels like the game was made for the headset. Wander around in an endless underground passageway and reach Exit 8 but be aware of the anomalies! Is it worth the price? Let me slowly walk you through it.
A walking simulator
The Exit 8 VR is a typical walking simulator without complex gameplay. Its premise is as straightforward as they come, you need to walk around in the underground passageway and reach exit 8 in order to clear the game. If you don’t see something strange or different compared to your previous time in the underground tunnel, you’re free to continue walking. Have you spotted an anomaly? Turn around as fast as possible before something terrible happens! It’s as simple as they come and yet the horror level of the game kicks in from the start. Since the game is based on real underground passageways, it’s extremely realistic and clean. You’re walking around in a white tunnel with some bright light, a couple of posters on your left, and a couple of doors on your right. A random guy is walking in the opposite direction every time you enter that same tunnel. When you first start playing this in VR, an eerie feeling will instantly crawl over your skin. It’s all so clean and the sound design really shines in VR. The game is accessible on non-VR platforms but in my opinion, this is the way to play it. The Meta Quest 3 immediately sucks you into the passageway and walking around in it works best in VR, especially in combination with the sound design. That being said, it’s still a walking simulator here you move around with the left stick and turn the camera with the right stick. Camera movements are rather snappy and if you’re not used to VR gaming you might feel sick playing this game. Spending some time to get used to the snappy camera helps but it won’t be enjoyable for everyone. Personally, I didn’t suffer any motion sickness and enjoyed my stay in the game.
Did you spot the anomalies?
But what’s the point of walking around until you reach exit 8? Well, the difficulty is spotting the anomalies while walking. If you think there’s nothing wrong, you can just continue your walk and after a couple of corners, you’ll spot a sign with a new exit. If you’re playing the second exit, the sign should point out the third so you know you did nothing wrong. Spotted something that was off? You’ll need to turn around and walk in the opposite direction. If you see the sign of the new exit, you know you did it correctly again. Spotting the anomalies can range from extremely easy once, like twins suddenly blocking your way to more subtle ones like the posters slowly increasing in size. I won’t spoil the anomalies here since those are the beating heart of the gameplay and I won’t tell you what happens when you miss one. Just believe me that it’s better to spot them, if you’re rather jumpy watching horror movies.
The anomalies bring their own kind of stress levels with them and sometimes you just feel like something is wrong but don’t spot it immediately. That being said, playing it in VR it is a bit easier to spot the anomalies because you’re literally standing very close to them. It takes away a bit of the horror element because you can stand and inspect as long as you like but there are a couple of unexpected ones that will make you jump from your seat nevertheless. I liked my time with this game but my main issue is the game’s length. I finished my first run in under 15 minutes and although the game shows me how many anomalies are still hidden, I’m not really a completionist so I’m not sure if I’ll spend a lot more time with the game. In total, you can see everything in one hour. It’s not a long game but it’s priced accordingly so it’s still a great experience for its lower price.
Conclusion:
The Exit 8 VR is a short but thrilling game and works extremely well on the Meta Quest 3. It’s an eerie horror experience that’s fun to play during the evening. It’s not a long game but the price is certainly correct, making this a game worth playing on your headset!
