Virtual reality has been around for awhile now, hosting all sorts of experiences but none as prolific as the horror genre. NOPE Challenge is the latest attempt to scare VR gamers by digging into your deepest, darkest fears and phobias as you explore, face, and overcome nine progressively more terrifying challenges. More specifically, three challenges in each of three popular phobias; Heights, Clowns, and Spiders, so if these things don’t scare you then move along.
Personally, I’m uncomfortable with all three of these, so I was anxious to try NOPE Challenge. There is a brief introduction where the game tries to figure out what scares you the most and then mixes up all those fears across all the challenges. You’ll also get to meet and hang out with Mr. Peels in special Breather Spaces, a series of islands offering a delightful Zen-like retreat for relaxation. You can do guided deep-breathing exercises on the beach, feed the fish, check out your trophy case, or figure out which unnerving challenge you’re doing next.
I was very methodical in my approach to playing NOPE Challenge, going right down the line of phobias doing the light challenges before returning for a moderate second and extreme third pass. The whole premise is to boost the scare factor and if things get “too scary” you can triple-tap the NOPE button on your virtual wrist to exit the challenge. My only problem was there was never a moment so scary I even considered tapping out; in fact, for a game designed around scaring you, NOPE Challenge just wasn’t that scary.
Perhaps I’ve become desensitized to the exact phobias NOPE Challenge is hoping to address, and mostly due to other VR games. The Heights challenge may have been the only one to “get me”, as there was one section where I was climbing some scaffolding and a board broke and a fell 20ft wildly flailing around trying to grasp something. The overall sense of vertigo was impressive, and the addition of timed traps and crumbling handholds added to the urgency.
The Clown challenges were fun to figure out but not very scary. I’m scared of psycho-killer clowns, and this game is using Five Night at Freddy’s animatronic clowns. I enjoyed the stealth and distraction aspects, but overall, it was as scary as hiding from your Roomba. There were also issues with gears not snapping into position then falling and making a noise triggering your demise.
Sadly, even the Spider challenge wasn’t spooky, and the awkward controls and interface made it frustrating to play. Trying to dual wield stun spray and a spider tracker and the spray seldom worked, so I ended up just letting the spiders bite my hand, grab them with my other hand, drop them in the box and inject myself with antivenom.
One nice touch is how the game blends the phobias in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. When clearing out spiders from the infested house there are plenty of spooky clown photos all over the place. When trying to escape those robot clowns there are cute plush spider toys lying about and spiderwebs are used everywhere. The inclusion of the NOPE button along with the added work of creating such an elaborate Breather Space is another nice addition, and this all feels like it could become a hub to other phobias, either in DLC or perhaps a sequel.
Technically speaking, NOPE Challenge is very polished with clever design aesthetics specific to each of the challenges and your Breather Space. The unique stylized art works nicely with the Quest 3 to delivery smooth framerates and comfort controls should fix any other issues. Controls were responsive and worked best in the climbing sections. The audio was excellent with spooky music, eerie atmospheric effects, and terrifying sounds of skittering spiders, malfunctioning clown robots, or the howl of wind as you circle a skyscraper on plywood and a window cleaner lift.
NOPE Challenge combines elements from the Climb series, the Five Night at Freddy’s series, and the Kill It with Fire series to create a mashup of always-entertaining and sometimes-scary challenges. I enjoyed that the game favored mood and atmosphere over cheap jump scares. This would definitely be a great game to break out at parties and see how these phobias affect different people, but if you’re going into this adventure solo you might want to wait for a sale.
