Gameplay in Blair Witch VR is pretty standard. As you wander through the forest, you’ll be doing lots of… well, wandering. It’s common for a horror title, especially those about personal psyches, to be dark, gloomy and somewhat nihilistic, but coupling this with the way Ellis’ PTSD is presented didn’t quite work for me. Unfortunately, it doesn’t exactly tackle PTSD or trauma in a comprehensive way due to the game’s available conclusions. The conclusion and overarching story can vary depending on your choices and how you play Blair Witch, so it provides some replayability value. The game has been rebuilt for VR to offer a uniquely immersive and horrifying VR experience. It’s not a perfect or even ideal representation of these elements at times, but it’s incorporated well enough to generate interest and motivation for the story to progress, and to unearth the underlying mystery. The approach to Ellis’ PTSD inspires uses of flashbacks, lucid trigger experiences and visions or hallucinations relating to trauma and combat stress. Some are used more effectively than others and in VR the transitions can be effective at generating disorientation and confusion, helping place you into Ellis’ warping mindset.
There’s plenty of the usual psychological horror tropes happening. Time suddenly shifting, waking up from trances, locations abruptly changing, noises seemingly occurring from nowhere and everywhere. The story is worth experiencing without having anything spoiled, but suffice to say that the mystery develops pretty slowly, with the second half of the game ramping up the pacing, while the first half drip-feeds some strange goings on and odd phenomena. The set up is straightforward enough and there’s some subtle clues that all isn’t quite dandy with Ellis from the reactions of the other search party members and some… reassurance… from the local Sheriff, all delivered via walkie talkie, of course. Set two years after the events of the film, Ellis and Bullet arrive to start the search and promptly enter the woods to investigate. These cursed woods will awaken your darkest fears. As we the audience already know, these forests certainly never hold anything pleasant in store. Ellis’ recent history has led to some pretty dark events occurring, leading him to join a search party for a missing boy in Maryland’s Burkittsville Woods.
Along for the ride with him is the trusty canine companion, Bullet – easily the best (and maybe frustrating) horror game buddy you could have. A past soldier and police officer, Ellis is suffering severely from PTSD, combat stress and other unresolved trauma. The story centers around our protagonist, Ellis Lynch.
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