A Nice Surprise! I scrolled past this game many times over the past two-plus years. I am so glad I finally took the plunge (the excellent reviews and the sale price helped). Wow! I am loving this game!! The chilling (literally and figuratively speaking) atmosphere, the story and visuals are all fantastic. I was initially unsure about the comic-book art style, but it immerses you into an other-worldly experience that truly enhances the game. An excellent blend of survival skills combat skills. A must-have for survival horror fans!
Amazing game! This was my first game on VR and I can say this is what VR was made for. I am really looking forward to a part 2. My only improvement comment is that the last title has some minor bugs but the rest was awesome.
This game is wonderful. This game has one of the best atmospheres of any game the game sounds great and I have definitely screamed a lot and it will definitely get your blood pumping and all the areas have little hidden scares this is a must have game for the horror game fanatics
Epic, Terrifying, and I love it! Super cool game. If you want a VR game that steps outside of the arcade genre, this is for you. Cool story, smart progression, and it’s just a blast. Worth every penny.
Too scared to finish. I appreciate this game, I have yet to finish it.
I’m the kind of person that LOVES horror but I’m the first to scream lol.
This game is creepy, the suspense kills me, then I start being chased and it’s over. I’m running and panicking. When I finally kill something, my energy is all depleted lol. Reminds me of the game Amnesia. I would definitely play that game if it was on vr.
As for this, I’ll take my sweet time, maybe ask my buddy to finish it for me while I watch on cast lol.
Lies Beneath. This review covers some of the things that I was worried about when I purchased Lies Beneath.
“Is the combat as clunky as people say it is?” I personally found the combat to be quite enjoyable most of the time. At times slashing and stabbing got a bit janky but it worked great for the majority of the game. Throwing and shooting were superb 99.9% of the time.
“Is it too short?” (Barely even a spoiler in here) Lies beneath is divided into three sections much like Resident Evil 4. Depending on your skill level, play style, and difficulty choice the time it will take you to beat the game will vary. I didn’t think the game was very long but it did feel like a good journey.
“Is it too scary?” (Spoils 2 enemies, neither of which are bosses) I will preface this by saying I don’t get scared by horror games on a non-vr screen but in vr I am a wuss. I also have serious arachnophobia.
There are a few jumpscares and all the enemies a bit creepy. There is one type of enemy that you meet very early on that is similar to the other ones but it crawls around like a giant spider. It didn’t trigger my arachnophobia and I was even able to get close enough to one to stab it without even thinking about it. There is another enemy that acts like a head crab (literally) that scuttles around. That didn’t scare me either. I might have just got lucky but if you’re a wuss like me then you will still probably be able to play.
“Is it replayable?” Short answer, no. Once you beat the game you have 2 options for playing again: try another difficulty, and try to find all the lore items. Of course there is always personal challenges like trying to beat the game without using a certain weapon but those are not presented to you by the game itself.
“Is it worth 30$?” I got this game on sale for $11.99 which I believe is an absolute steal. I personally would not buy this game for $29.99 simply because I do no think there is enough content due to how quickly I beat the game. However that is simply my opinion. If the developers think that this is a $30 game then it is a $30 game.
One of the greatest VR games to date. Wow... honestly, just wow. I don't even know where to start. I'll break it up for you guys into separate sections.
WARNING: LARGE AND DETAILED REVIEW AHEAD.
GAMEPLAY: Astonishing style. I find that the comic style the devs chose to utilise for this game is tremendous, it looks super well done and crisp in the quest 2. The mechanics of the game are original and unique, never-seen-before type of stuff, this also includes the enemies. Fighting is good, some of the weapons you eventually get are really important to survive, especially for the later enemies. Sometimes the melee weapons annoy me but nothing too bad. The boss fights are some of the greatest I've ever seen for VR, and really get adrenaline rushing through your veins.
Rate: 8/10
BUGS: Normally for great games like this, there are always some bugs and issues here and there, but surprisingly, there's not much to be found here. There is this one that is quite annoying, where picking up items without physically touching them doesn't always work as you have to move your hand to a specific position to pick it up, in the end I just move in real life to get it (bend down, reach, what not). That's really the only one that gets in the way of the gameplay, but it can be dealt with pretty easily. Oh another thing, I was playing earlier today, and while I was doing my thing, my game decided to crash on me for some reason, I'm not sure if it was my headset or the game, I wouldn't be totally surprised if it was my headset to be completely honest.
Rate: 8/10
HORROR: I decided to make a whole section for just this topic, as it is a VR horror game in the end. There aren't any unnecessary or cheap jump scares in the entire game, and as a horror game enthusiast, there were some scares that actually made me shout in fright mainly through perfect timing. Even though the game supplies you weapons, it is still scary as hell at most times, you'll never feel safe and anything could happen at any time, you have been warned.
Rate: 10/10
STORY: I'll try not to spoil much story-wise, as it would ruin the experience for you if you do choose to purchase this game in the end. Okay, so the protagonist, known as Mae, is driving home with her dad, who gives her a lighter that has apparently been passed down her family for generations, until out of nowhere, you see a hooded figure walking across the road directly in front of you. To avoid hitting them, you try swerving around but manage to fall off the hill on which the road was on. You fall out of the car and straight into the deep, cold, icy water, but somehow survive. After somewhat calming down, you realise something, dad's still in the car... You race over to the car but find nothing but a trail of blood, you follow this trail with the help of your new lighter in search of where your father has gone. The entire story line is pretty much you trying to find your dad whilst surviving all the crazy and dangerous monsters that try to kill you along your journey. Only thing I'm confused about is why Mae (you) doesn't seem to take much care about the monsters, why they're here and where they came from. Overall a pretty interesting plot.
Rate: 9/10
If you love horror games with some action and adventure in them, I would highly recommend you check this game out, you can quite honestly really tell that heart and soul was put into this game. Remember, if you don't like it you can refund it as long as you've played it for less than 2 hours and it's been within a week since purchase. The gameplay, style, mechanics, and horror elements really hold this game up and make it as enjoyable as it is. It took me roughly around 6 hours to beat (I died a lot lol) and I will be going back through it in hard mode (yeah there are 3 different modes). To sum my review up, I highly recommend you play this game if you find horror and action games fun to play, the only reason this game isn't a 5/5 in stars in my opinion is because I found that the game was quite challenging even in normal mode, and I had to go though certain areas multiple times to finally progress. Also, if you do get this game, I recommend waiting for it to be on sale, as the game is fairly short for the price of $46.99, although it is full of content and is somewhat repeatable with the different difficulty modes and lore to objects.
Make another ....pretty please. Like many others, no shortage of VR gaming experience on PCVR or Quest but only a few games stand out for just the polish, immersion and satisfaction. And this is on that top tier.
With its own style and sense of horror (which is superb), everything feels eerie but very satisfying (combat, puzzle elements).
I'd really like to see another in the same comic-book style
Half Life Alyx of the Quest. Tl,dr: Buy it now. Stop wasting time reading these reviews. You already know. Buy now 🤯
LONG BREAKDOWN POST: I was compelled to review. No Spoilers. I won’t even tell you what color the sky is!
This game has showed me, these devs are finally understanding the hardware.
What they can do with these shaders given the system limitations - is insane. Talent 🙏
This game revealed to me.. a whole new generation of *getting us hooked* games are on the way.
“Lies Beneath” in my eyes is the Half Life Alyx for Quest. (As in a groundbreaking game for this limited, constrained, hardware)
What I am saying... the cohesiveness of the mechanics & design make some fluid in-game systems, and because of that, its ground breaking.
Lies Beneath has sent out warning shots 💥⚠️ 💥 to all other game studios.
This title, is going to force all other game devs to step their game up, now that we consumers know what’s possible on this hardware.
Before the review.. Let’s get the ugly bugs out the way 1st.
Drifter studios is reading and they move swift! See updates below.
- - - - BUGS OR DESIGN OVERSIGHT - - -
BLACK SCREEN BUG [FIXED] Appears when we are within the invisible colliders of an object. It seems way off, I am no where near said object and black screen triggers. This really needs to be addressed. Happens a lot.
*UPDATE 1* April 2nd - Dev responded fix will be incoming soon via update! 👍 Fast response. They are on it!
*UPDATE 2* April 3rd - Devs released TWO micro updates in the last two days. WOW! I am happy to report BLACK SCREEN is now fixed! Player will no longer experience an “abrupt screen blackout” instead.. your screen will granularly fade to black. Non intrusive, non ajarring. Very natural and gentle.
Basically the further you move into a solid object (wall, table, chair.. etc) the game slowly blackens out your screen. This is letting you know, back away.
QUAINT ROOM CHAPTER BLACK SCREEN BUG [FIXED] Fixed via second update. See above^
THROWING WEAPON BUG: Game thinks we are throwing or releasing melee weapon sometimes, grip button was never released, therefore Axe, Knife.. etc gets stuck onto the object we strike with weapon.
CROUCHING HEIGHT BUG: Physically crouching in the game makes you taller, thanyour real world height.
CONTINUE QUAINT ROOM BUG: (extra lite spoiler) Without spoiling exactly what’s going on, for players that are reading, let me be as vague as possible.
When you die, and restart.. *Players will be spawned back in mid battle*
with barely any ammo, none of the *setups* you put in place, when you died, no longer there when you spawn back in.
Players if you encounter this bug, here’s what you do to bypass it. To start over without being spawned inside mid battle:
go to main menu/ choose your save/ choose quaint room chapter/ and you will start at the beginning of quaint room pre-battle.
PAUSING GAME OR ENTERING MENUS BUG: When player pauses game, then resumes.. player looses orientation, they resume game facing an entirely different perspective. Extremely jarring. Creates confusion.
REVIEW TIME..
-INTUITIVE SMART DESIGN & MECHANICS-
NATURAL HUMAN PERCEPTION & SENSATIONS: All of these are activated when in the act of doing something. Many games on the Quest fail at triggering these immersive receptors as significantly and dramatically as Lies Beneath does. (I own about 70% of the top selling quest games)
Let me explain...
I’m chopping wood in the game, the haptics are so perfectly aligned with my swings, it communicates with my mind and says.. HEY! this is the “end point” of your axe downward swing don’t you feel it? So go ahead pull it out and chop down again.
The haptics do an amazing job conveying the realistic physics into the mind, thus, letting the mental’s create the rest of the illusion for your body to feel.
This is NOT easy to speak onto a players mind in VR and as I am saying this.. do keep in mind they are doing this on 2-3 year old snapdragon chipset and with limited hardware capabilities. They are within constraints.
Lies Beneath has done what you would call “Art of Code” this is some Picasso type of code levels. When it’s all said and done - Drifter needs to place this code block on a art gallery and frame it 🖼 👩🎨 This is that good.
Lot of games, do not provide this kind of physical organics feedback because of it’s difficulty. Hence, most games feel as if you’re swinging at air, gliding across the ground or just not quite in tune with reality’s version, of said sensation, to that action you are committing. Basically.. uncanny.
The only other games that I feel come close in this regard is Simulator Series, Red Matter and the recently released The Room to name a few.
Drifter, I bend the knee, and pledge fealty you killed it here.
3D AUDIO You will pull up an ear muff because you think it’s in your house.
FEAR FACTOR Legit! All those franchises you recall when going down memory lane:
H.P. Lovecraft Cthulhu, Resident Evil, Alien Isolation, Dead Space, Amnesia the Dark, Outlast, Five Nights at Freddy’s... whatever is your cup of tea;
best believe Lies Beneath will be sharing that same shelf alongside those titles.
PACING Man oh man! I have always said pacing in VR is wicked important.
Stick close to the human perception and familiarity when it comes to the physics of pacing/movement and watch how quick the human mind dips itself into your lake of immersion.
This game oozes with perfect pacing. There are some splashes of above normal speeds every here and there, but that’s ok. You want to sprinkle Intensity around to keep the cadence fresh and spontaneous.
SOUND - ATMOSPHERE - MOOD Take your time.. don’t rush, take in the scenery, the sounds and watch how this world will *absorb you*
They did such an amazing job with the atmosphere, mood. Don’t waste your *1st contact experience* by speeding through.
Good job here Drifter. Give your level designer, 3D Artist and Sound Crew “MAD PROPS”
They set the stage!
This symphony of audio & visuals - grabs everyone upon first contact.
You’re immediately hypnotized. No hype. Just excitement from being on the ride.
Look at the overwhelming response by most.
You got a few haters.. but that’s everywhere. What matters is the ratio. This game has pleased the “majority” of those that invested into it.
That’s a good sign and they deserve it!
When you play, you can tell a lot of soul, passion and labor went into getting this developed for us to enjoy this gift... of a vision.
SURVIVAL They nailed this one. For all you survival heads (play this on hard) that’s where I started and still in there. It’s perfect. Especially if you have 10x10ft or more. A wonderful, engaging, surreal experience.
Hard difficulty is not hard because they just made the Ai more difficult. What Lies Beneath hard difficulty, is hard because resources are truly scarce. Doesn’t handicap you. Makes you rely on “all you’ve learned”
Having to use your mind and manage resources... while in the middle of fear! In case you haven’t survived in real life.. This is exactly what it feels like! Managing while in fear!
That said.. scarcity is the mother of all skill & invention, which leads to my next bit...
ORGANIC LEVELING No, there is no progress and gaining abilities. The skills come from when you “gain” understanding of the mechanics they put in place. One of those, easy to learn but hard to master type deals. Yea, that’s in here.
You will find yourself at first **kind of ** understanding what’s going on because the simplicity of the mechanics is so well done, it touches your minds spectrum of familiarity.. so.. yea you get it.
You’ll quickly recognize the weapons, a little while after you’ll gain insight on enemy attack patterns, a little while after you’ll come to realize not all the eerie music means something is going to creep up on you.
Then eventually you’ll attain techniques on holding more weapons than the slot limit allows. 2 on hand, 2 in the slots. You then learn to throw those melee weapons and create combos, even learning how to get assassination instant kills.
About 2-3 hours in, all these systems creep into your minds crevice and your body eventually grabs on to that knowledge.
You’ll find yourself *on reaction* start performing all these physical actions you learned, that they built you up for slowly as you progressed. Again - on reaction, straight gangsta!
And it’s at this point, though in fear, you will recognize your skills and you will confidently rely on them, because yea.. you just found out - you are about that life.
Just don’t get “arrogant” these monsters will lay you out. So many patterns to look out for, when they start arriving in groups.
Within 4 solid hours of me playing. I started feeling like a demon hunter (still scared asf) for I knew, it could be over at any moment.
COMBAT Has a “splash” of Dark Souls, Bloodborne or if you play iOS games - Pascals Wager. It’s in here with combat. So yea, gear up!
Look for patterns, get yo combo strings together.
Plant those axes & wood daggers onto neighboring tress or wood surfaces. They’ll stay there.
Use them as grab and throw combo tactics or keep nearby while in middle of combat in case you need to grab something real quick because out of ammo.
Don’t forget, that weapon you threw at enemy.. that got stuck in their body, you can retrieve from them when they die aft
A Stylish Must Buy Nightmare Shooter. This game has surpassed my expectations in terms of graphics, sound and value for money with regards to play length and challenge. I’m 68% through the game on normal and that’s taking me 4 hours. It’s a beautifully twisted experience. The gunplay combined with cool melee attacks will stay in memory for quite some time. I love Duel wielding 2 axes, seeing a nightmare creature in the distance, throwing them at a hideous monster which by the way make a really satisfying stabbing noise!! then pulling a pistol from your hip for the follow up finishing headshot feels very very cool. Oh! And the pump action shotgun dude! Oh and the machete man. All very very cool. Quite a few weapons can be found in the game along with secrets too. The Comic book cel shaded graphics not only suits the quest, but separates it from all other FPS games and drifter entertainment have really delivered one of the best nightmarish survival shooters in VR. All this VR goodness and more can be found on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Twitch just by searching ‘Gamertag VR’ 👊 Good Hunting..
BUY THIS GAME NOW! 🙌. What do I have to say about "LIES BENEATH" ?
*This game is absolutely mind blowing!😱 *My favorite Quest game so far.
Quiet and suspenseful! + Loud and terrifying!
*SILENT HILL\MEETS/RESIDENT EVIL*
*A truly chilling experience
Its like if Stephen King & M. Night Shyamalan Had a kid, and that kid wrote a story, Straight out of a "Creep Show" comic book, That takes place in a "Silent Hill" nightmare, That's twisted into the Further from "Insidious"
*Get lost in this mysterious slaughter fest sure to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand at attention! 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
I HAVE A FEW REQUESTS, TO IMPROVE THE GAME EVEN BETTER.
1. Change liquor bottles to molotov cocktails, that can be lit using your lighter!
Best and favorite game on quest but... This game is absolutely amazing, the looks, gameplays, and thinking about saving ammo. The story is magnificent and interesting and has me drawn in the whole time. Although I would like to see a pushing or blocking physics. There was so many times I ran out of ammo and died because I threw my axe and could not get it back.
Quest
Rift
1815人
