I still cringe when I hear the words “Blair Witch”; partly because I still suffer from the trauma after that midnight screening back in 1999 for the original Blair Witch Project that left me stumbling out of the theater confused and nauseous, and then for several years to follow I had to review the three volume series that made up the Blair Witch PC game collection; at least those were better than the movie but not by much.  When they decided to reignite the movie franchise in 2016 I suspected a video game would spin-off from the cult film and sure enough, Bloober Team released their survival horror adventure in 2019, three years later – too late to take advantage of any theatrical momentum.

Interest in the Blair Witch was non-existent by then and with barely average scores from critics the game was quickly forgotten, which only made it more surprising when the Blair Witch Oculus Quest Edition was announced for the Oculus Quest and released just in time for Halloween 2020.  Now, several months later, that same game has arrived on the Oculus Rift and Rift S, with the hopes that a PC-driven VR experience can create a closer match to the original non-VR game from 2019.

While the Quest Edition left much to be desired when it came to graphics, this new Blair Witch VR Edition comes very close to matching the original screen version of the game, and what the game lacks in overall polish it more than makes up for with immersive 3D graphics and unique controls and interactions with objects using physical movement.  There are also numerous settings for comfort and controls like snap turning and seated or standing gameplay that greatly help to reduce VR sickness.

Taking place in 1996, two years after the events in the film, The Blair Witch (game) definitely delivered on the creepiness factor with some genuine scares and interesting game mechanics that revolved around time manipulation using the RW/FF buttons on your camcorder.  There was also a fun and comforting interaction with your loyal German Shepard, Bullet who could sniff items and track down clues to help you navigate the maze-like forest.  Bullet was also useful in keeping your PTSD in check, and there is something undeniably gratifying about being able to scratch and pet Bullet and see him respond to your affection.

So you’ll be playing as Ellis, a former cop suffering from PTSD, who is volunteering to help look for a missing boy who is lost somewhere in the Black Hills Forest in Maryland.  A large search party is already scouring the woods when you arrive at the scene, but with your trusty K9 companion you definitely have the advantage.  You set off into the woods unprepared for the supernatural events that are about to occur.  Things start off easy enough with you learning how to access and use items like your cell phone, radio, dog whistle, and later and most importantly, the camcorder.

The camcorder is probably the coolest element in Blair Witch as it allows you to view a particular area at a particular time and actually change reality by viewing events on numerous tapes you’ll find in the game.  The first example happens immediately after finding the camera when you view the footage and see a toy police car near a tent.  If you go to that same location while the police car is on the camcorder screen it will also appear in your world.  The implications are staggering and used with expert effect on future puzzles and discovery items.

Bullet is also a useful tool and easily controlled using your whistle and a radial menu of commands.  You can also have him sniff items to track down their owners, and if your PTSD starts to flare up you can always call Bullet to your side for some stress-relieving comfort.  Good doggy!  I was particularly thankful for his neon yellow collar that helped me track him in the darker nighttime sequences.

While a lot of the game relies on mood and atmosphere, all expertly crated through visuals and audio, there are several expertly placed jump scares that are made even more intense through VR.  I play a lot of VR horror games and the only thing scarier than this (for me) was Resident Evil VII.  Even in daylight, the forest is eerily quiet and easy to get lost in.  I also appreciated the game stayed rooted to the timeline with a cellphone and video camera that were suitable to the period.  Text messages and radio chatter play a definitive part of setting up the atmosphere as well as taking the edge off your isolation.

Blair Witch VR Edition relies heavily on exploration, discovery, and puzzle-solving.  There are no weapons and no combat.  Pacing can get slow at times with a lot of aimless wandering about, which can turn a 6-8  hour game into something even longer if you lose focus or miss a clue.  There are multiple endings based on actions taken throughout the game, which does incentivize future replays as long as you know which choices lead to which endings otherwise you risk getting the same ending twice.  The choices aren’t always clear.

The movement and inventory/item manipulation is intuitive with great use of the Touch controllers.  I did find the body/vest storage a bit awkward, having to look down and try to take the correct item off my vest.  Actually, it’s all these subtle item and inventory interactions that truly sets the VR edition apart from the original game by putting the player into the game, thus intensifying all of the horror elements.  A journal logs all of your discoveries and story elements, but since the game can be finished in 2-3 sessions you’ll likely never need to reference it.

I was impressed at just how good this game turned out in VR, and if it weren’t for the 2D cinema screen cutscenes one would believe this game was always intended for VR, especially when some monsters can kill you simply by looking at them.  Having to physically turn your body and avert your eyes to stay alive is a chilling concept only achievable in VR.  This new Rift edition is far superior to the Quest Edition in quality and comfort and definitely worth checking out if you enjoy VR horror, are a fan of the Blair Witch franchise, or just want to pet an awesome dog in VR.  Who’s a good boy?

Sniper Elite has always been a fun franchise for me with each installment getting bigger and better than the previous. Sniper Elite 4 was practically an open-world game with a rich sandbox design.  Sniper Elite VR understandably reins things back a bit when it comes to size and scope, using the immersion of VR to tell a more personal and focused story with an emphasis on more realistic interactions with dozens of WWII-era weapons.  It’s a calculated risk, one that I found satisfying and more realistic than any other FPS you would play with a gamepad, but also opens itself up to the pitfalls of VR when trying to merge with mainstream gaming.

Instead of delivering a traditional campaign, Sniper Elite VR goes with the Saving Private Ryan style of storytelling; an elderly veteran looking back at his days serving in WWII as an elite sniper.  Journal in hand, you get to literally turn the pages of history as you relive your days fighting for the Italian Resistance back in 1943.  It’s an interesting way to progress the narrative as well as a fun mechanic for turning back the pages to replay earlier missions to pick-up any missed awards.

I was immediately impressed with the level of immersion, both in your quiet countryside estate hub world and when thrust into the tactical stealth and frantic combat missions.  Splash screens and mission briefs are put on a 2D screen like being at a movie theater before you are placed into a living breathing 3D world that is surprisingly detailed, loaded with wartime clutter and debris, interesting architecture, lush outdoor environment, and claustrophobic interiors.  Obviously, it lacks the pristine shine we’ve come to expect from non-VR shooters like the recently released Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2, but it gets the job done and is one of the better looking VR games I’ve played in over a year.

Sniper Elite VR offers plenty of options for quality and comfort so you can find something that works for you and your system.  My RTX3090 card was able to crank this out at max settings with all the comfort assists turned off, so I could walk and turn smoothly without snap turns or teleporting.  System requirements are fairly modest so lesser systems should be able to do the same.  The game is up on both Oculus and Steam stores, the latter also allowing you to play on other platforms like Vive and Index, but for my review I was focused solely on the Oculus Rift S.

At its core the actual gameplay is not unlike a traditional FPS as far as moving around the levels to reach your next waypoint.  Item interaction is made easy with a Jedi-like magnetic grip system; just get close enough for the hand icon to appear over an object then flick your wrist to acquire the object.  You’re wearing a combat vest that is slotted for your primary sniper rifle, a secondary weapon like a machine gun or shotgun, as well as loops for grenades, and a sidearm holster.  Accessing these items merely requires you to physically pretend to take that item from the location on your body.  Reaching over your right shoulder takes the sniper rifle, left shoulder takes the secondary gun, etc.

Sniper Elite VR can be played seated or standing and there are issues with both.  Playing seated can create some unreliable interactions with your gear like trying to take your pistol off your hip which might be “below” your physical seat.  Conversely, playing standing up creates a disconnect since you still must press the stick to crouch rather than simply crouching yourself, which only changes your viewpoint and not your ability to move silently.  There is also no way to support your weapon to steady your aim either by using an object like a crate or railing or even going prone.

Sniping is the reason to play this game and it’s handled brilliantly with a working sniper scope that you must hold up to your eye and look through.  Squeezing the left trigger holds your breath and zooms in a bit closer, also revealing key red targets like explosives and even grenades on your enemy’s belt.  Fuel cans, ammo crates, and event TNT you can toss into the battle are all ready to go BOOM with just one precision shot.  You can toss grenades after pulling the pin, use bottles as distractions or sabotage a generator to make loud noises to mask your shots and even toss landmines into the patrol path of an enemy soldier.  You’ve even got a grenade launcher you can use to take out groups of soldiers and technical targets.

The real joy of the gameplay is in the somewhat realistic handling of these weapons; certainly more realistic than pushing a button on a gamepad to reload.  In Sniper Elite VR you must perform all the moves like taking out the empty mag, grabbing a fresh one from your ammo belt and inserting it before working the bolt to chamber a fresh round.  This process varies among weapons.  To add even more authenticity every bullet counts, so you can’t simply reload in mid-combat and preserve the ammo you had left in the previous clip.  If your MP40 had 5 rounds left you just tossed them.  This even carries over to looting enemy soldiers, as their guns will only have the bullets in them that they didn’t already shoot at you.  Even firing your weapons is going to require some realism that traditional games seldom demand.  You’ll need to grip most weapons with two hands; sure you can fire that machine gun with only one hand or even wield two at once, but your bullet spray will be wild and worthless.

There are a variety of mission types that have you moving around complex levels engaging in a lot of stealth, while other times you might be surrounded and need to unload a few mags into nearby approaching soldiers.  The AI is shockingly good with soldiers locking in on your position, repositioning, flanking, taking cover while reloading, and even seeking elevated sniping positions of their own.  I truly missed having a spotter, as I would often have some sneaky bastard shoot me from behind while lining up my next shot, although if you have a landmine you can protect your six that way…at least once.  One of my favorite missions was having to clear out a cliff-side sniper nest then using that location to defend against waves of incoming enemies trying to loot a crashed plane.  That mission singlehandedly used just about every game element Sniper Elite VR has to offer.  I even got to hit one guy on the head with a hammer while he was taking a piss on a wall.

In addition to all the fighting and killing there are some collectibles in each level to remind you that you’re playing a game.  You can shoot glowing eagle statues, find Lost Letters, and collect a bunch of scarves.  Each mission also offers up a few challenges that will reward you with gold stars like getting so many headshots or killing soldiers with explosions, etc.  All of this is documented in your journal, so you know what needs to be done if you are trying for perfect completion.

For those of you who are aspiring med students or just fans of anatomy you’ll be sure to enjoy the infamous kill-cams this franchise is known for, now 10x as visceral thanks to their updated 3D graphics in VR.  You now get to see bones shatter, lungs deflate, kidneys rupture, eyeballs implode, and gallons of blood spray from your precision shots, all complemented with horrific sound effects.  You can dial down the frequency of these kill-cams and even toggle a camera that follows the bullet.  Despite these momentary interruptions to the game flow I still find these kill-cams highly rewarding.

Expect a solid 10-15 hours knocking out the 18 missions that make up the campaign, and add a few more if you are going for all the gold stars.  There is plenty of death and retrying; sometimes due to player incompetence and other times to weird stuff that just happens in VR.  Most missions have at least one radio that serves as a checkpoint, so you seldom have to replay too much of a level.  It’s worth noting that collectibles aren’t saved as you get them, so they must be collected again if restarting from a checkpoint.

I had a real good time with Sniper Elite VR.  As a fan of the series and a career military sniper I found this to be an interesting attempt to add some much-needed realism to the genre, and VR is the perfect way to do that with the physicality of the Touch controls and the added immersion of actually being placed into this virtual recreation of WWII.  There is still room for improvement, but this is a great step in the right direction and totally worth your time and money.