| Wilson's Heart | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Twisted Pixel Games |
| Publisher(s) | Oculus |
| Director(s) | Josh Bear |
| Producer(s) | William Muehl |
| Designer(s) | Sean Conway |
| Artist(s) | David Leung |
| Writer(s) |
|
| Composer(s) | Christopher Young |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | April 25, 2017 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Wilson's Heart is a virtual reality horror adventure video game by Twisted Pixel Games, released on April 25, 2017. The game is compatible with the Oculus Rift virtual reality platform. [1] [2]
Wilson's Heart is a virtual reality horror adventure played in the first person perspective and in black and white. [2] The player must use motion controllers to interact with objects in the game world and to teleport between certain, predetermined places in the world which are indicated by ghostly images of the player character. [3] The player can open doors and drawers, pick up and manipulate certain objects and combine certain objects. The game contains a rudimentary inventory system which allows the player to store certain objects. The game will then present the objects to the player automatically when they can be used. [3]
During the game, the player obtains several abilities which allow them to manipulate objects from a distance: they can turn on lamps, draw metallic objects to them using magnetism and use a throwing weapon which automatically returns to them after usage. [4]
Several times during the game the player is attacked by enemies and must fight them. Each fight consists of the player repeating a certain pattern of action to defend from the enemy's attack and then attacking themselves, e.g. blocking punches with their arms and then punching the enemy when he is exhausted. [4]
Robert Wilson (Peter Weller), a middle aged man, awakes in a seemingly abandoned, damaged hospital wearing nothing but a hospital gown. While stumbling through the hospital looking for help, he encounters a living murderous teddy bear and the body of a Dr. Harcourt, who seemed to be an important figure in the hospital. Then Wilson finds a book which seems to contain depictions of supernatural phenomena. He then encounters a group of survivors: Bela Blasco (Alfred Molina), who claims to be a surgeon in the hospital; Elsa Wolcott (Rosario Dawson), a young woman; Kurt Mosby (Michael B. Jordan), who claims to be a visitor in the hospital; and Lucy Holmes, a prepubescent 9 year old girl. Elsa explains that Dr. Harcourt was researching supernatural phenomena and the book contains the result of his research. Bela then notices that Wilson has in his chest, in place of his heart, a strange orb containing moving parts. The group then surmises that the orb must have something to do with the strange phenomena in the hospital and that the book could help fight those phenomena and return Wilson's heart to him. Unfortunately, several pages of the book are missing, having been torn recently.
Shortly after, Wilson loses contact to the others by Shadow Beings and is on his own again. But he notices that he can take the device out of his chest and perform tasks with it, like turning on failing light sources. He also finds more and more missing pages from the book and notices that the more pages he finds, the more tasks his orb is able to perform.
He meets the group again later but shortly after loses contact again. When he later meets Kurt again, Kurt admits that he was a patient in the hospital and is a werewolf, before fleeing again. When Wilson meets Elsa again, she is taken away by a large humanoid monster (That resembles that of Frankenstein's Monster). When Wilson meets Lucy again, he realizes, to his utter shock, that she is a vampire when she murders and drinks the blood of a hospital orderly. She wants the book to no longer look like a young girl, Wilson manages to chase her away.
After stumbling through the hospital and encountering and defeating several creatures like a tentacle monster, the teddy bear, a zombie soldier, a human-fly hybrid, Mutant Fishmen and animated wooden dummies, Wilson is knocked out by the humanoid monster which took away Elsa earlier and wakes up shackled in a large laboratory. There he encounters Elsa who explains that she was the wife and scientific partner of Dr. Harcourt, and that the humanoid monster is in fact her young son named Andy, whose original body had been irreparably damaged by an accident for which Dr. Harcourt was responsible. She had put Andy's brain in a monstrous body to preserve it and now needs Wilson's orb as a new power source for his body, and the book to perform a procedure which will install the orb in Andy's body.
While she is preparing the procedure, Kurt sneaks into the laboratory and tries to free Wilson, but he is prevented from doing so by the full moon, which appears in the window and transforms him into his werewolf form, and he is attacked by Andy. While the two are fighting, Bela sneaks in and tries to free Wilson, just when Lucy in vampire-form flies in. Andy defeats and incapacitates Kurt in werewolf-form and then fights with Lucy, who in turn defeats and incapacitates Andy, just as Bela manages to free Wilson. Wilson manages to stake and kill Lucy before she can bite him. He then manages to reach the book and burn it, just when Andy wakes up. In the chaos, Wilson manages to give Andy an electric shock which overloads his brain, leading him to throw Elsa out of the window. Wilson then manages to stun Andy and puts his orb inside his brain, where it electrocutes Andy.
Later Wilson wakes up in the restored hospital, his heart having been implanted back into his chest. He talks to Bela, who says that the orb and Kurt are missing and that Elsa and Andy's brain have died. Wilson explains that he had been in the hospital to donate his heart to his little brother, who has a family. He makes Bela promise that his brother will never know who had donated the heart.
The game ends with Wilson breathing in the narcotic for the heart transplant operation and falling unconscious.
A post-credits scene shows Kurt meeting a mysterious figure who seems to be part of a group who fights supernatural beings. Kurt hands over the orb to the figure, and requests as a price that the person help him lose his lycanthropy.
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PC) 79/100 [5] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 9/10 [3] |
| Game Informer | 6.75/10 [4] |
| Polygon | 8.5/10 [6] |
| PC World |   [7] |
| Road to VR | 7/10 [8] |
The game received generally favorable reviews. Reviewers commended the black-and-white graphics, [6] [3] campy horror atmosphere [4] and voice acting, [7] but they criticized the trivial puzzles, [2] limited and arbitrary interactivity, [8] illogical story [2] and repetitive and frustrating fight sequences. [9]
The game was nominated for "Best VR Game" in Destructoid 's Game of the Year Awards 2017. [10]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Game Critics Awards | Best VR Game | Nominated | [11] |
| Gamescom 2016 | Best Virtual Reality Game | Won | [12] | |
| 2017 | Golden Joystick Awards | Best VR Game | Nominated | [13] |
| 2018 | New York Game Awards 2018 | Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best Virtual Reality Game | Nominated | [14] |
| 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Immersive Reality Game of the Year | Nominated | [15] | |
| Immersive Reality Technical Achievement | Nominated |
Superhot is an independent first-person shooter (FPS) video game developed and published by Superhot Team. Though the game follows traditional first-person shooter gameplay mechanics, with the player attempting to take out enemy targets using guns and other weapons, time within the game progresses at normal speed only when the player moves; this creates the opportunity for the player to assess their situation in slow motion and respond appropriately, making the gameplay similar to strategy video games. The game is presented in a minimalist art style, with enemies in red and weapons in black, in contrast to the otherwise white and grey environment.
Reality Labs, formerly Oculus VR, is a business and research unit of Meta Platforms that produces virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software, including virtual reality headsets such as the Quest, and online platforms such as Horizon Worlds. In June 2022, several artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives that were previously a part of Meta AI were transitioned to Reality Labs. This also includes Meta's fundamental AI Research laboratory FAIR which is now part of the Reality Labs - Research (RLR) division.
Thumper is a rhythm game developed and published by Drool and released in October 2016 on Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4, with optional virtual reality (VR) support for the Oculus, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR headsets. It was later released on the Nintendo Switch in May 2017, the Xbox One in August 2017, iOS in January 2018, Oculus Go in September 2018, Android in February 2019, Oculus Quest in May 2019, and Stadia in November 2019. The game was shown at the Experimental Game Workshop during the 2015 Game Developers Conference.
Edge of Nowhere is an action-adventure virtual reality video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Oculus Studios. The player controls adventurer Victor Howard as he ventures into Antarctica in order to find his fiancée's lost expedition while encountering unworldly beasts. Edge of Nowhere is based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness. The game released on June 6, 2016, exclusively for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset on Microsoft Windows.
Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is a virtual reality adventure game developed and published by Double Fine Productions. It was released for the PlayStation 4 through PlayStation VR in February 2017 and on Microsoft Windows in April 2018. The game's story bridges the events between Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a 2017 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. The player controls Ethan Winters as he searches for his long-missing wife in a derelict plantation occupied by an infected family, solving puzzles and fighting enemies. Resident Evil 7 diverges from the more action-oriented Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, returning to the franchise's survival horror roots, emphasizing exploration. It is the first main Resident Evil game to use a first-person view.
Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality is a virtual reality game compatible with HTC Vive, PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift developed by Owlchemy Labs and published by Adult Swim Games for Microsoft Windows on April 20, 2017. It is based on the American animated series Rick and Morty, whose series co-creator Justin Roiland aided in the development. A port for the PlayStation 4 was released on April 10, 2018.
Robo Recall is a virtual reality first-person shooter game developed and published by Epic Games for Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest platforms. The game was released for the Oculus Rift on March 1, 2017, and an Oculus Quest version titled Robo Recall: Unplugged was released on May 21, 2019. Players that activate their Oculus Touch virtual reality controllers with its software are able to download the game for free.
Arizona Sunshine is a zombie survival first-person shooter video game released on December 6, 2016. The game is compatible with the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, Valve Index and PlayStation VR virtual reality headsets. A sequel, Arizona Sunshine 2, was released in 2023.
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is a rail shooter developed by Supermassive Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, released on 13 October 2016 worldwide for PlayStation VR headset on PlayStation 4. It is a direct spin-off from Until Dawn and features the player riding a horror-themed roller coaster while shooting at inanimate objects and live enemies.
Robinson: The Journey is a virtual reality video game developed and published by Crytek. The game released for the PlayStation 4 in November 2016, and for Microsoft Windows in February 2017. The game uses the PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift or SteamVR Compatible virtual reality headsets respectively on each platform.
Lone Echo is a 2017 virtual reality adventure game developed by Ready At Dawn, and published by Oculus Studios. Set aboard a space station orbiting Saturn, it allows players to move in zero-gravity by grabbing and pushing off of the environment. In addition to the narrative single-player game, the title includes a team-based multiplayer sports mode called Echo Arena, which was also released as a stand-alone game. A sequel, Lone Echo II, was announced in 2018 and released on October 12, 2021.
Time Machine VR is an adventure, indie, simulation video game developed by Minority Media. It was released for Early Access on August 28, 2015, through Steam. and the full game was released through Steam on May 19, 2016. It was released for PlayStation VR on the PlayStation 4 on November 15, 2016, and in Australia and Europe, three days later.
Ghost Giant is a virtual reality puzzle game developed and published by Zoink for the PlayStation 4 through PlayStation VR and Oculus Quest. It was released for PlayStation VR in April 2019 and Oculus Quest in February 2020.
Creeping Terror is a 2D survival horror video game developed by Nikkatsu Corporation and Mebius for the Nintendo 3DS eShop and Steam. It was released in Japan on January 8, 2017, and it was published in western regions by Aksys Games where it was released on October 31, 2017. Inspired by traditional horror, the story follows a group of teenage friends who journey into an abandoned mansion with the intent of recording their experiences for an online video, and soon find themselves on the run from a terrifying figure. Players control Arisa, a Japanese exchange student, who must use only her wits and what's around her to find her friends and escape with her life.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle is a beat 'em up video game based on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television series, developed by Peruvian studio Bamtang Games. It was first announced in October 2016. It was released on January 17, 2017. The game never received a physical release and is only available via digital download. The game and Tommy Oliver DLC has since been delisted from all digital storefronts.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted is a 2019 virtual reality (VR) survival horror game developed by Steel Wool Studios and Scott Cawthon. It is an anthology of minigames based on the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise; the player must complete tasks without being attacked and killed by homicidal animatronic characters. These minigames include VR adaptations of the main Five Nights at Freddy's games, from the original game to Sister Location, and several new experiences. Hidden inside the levels are coins that unlock collectible objects and cassette tapes that provide insight into a metafictional narrative.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is a virtual reality first-person shooter survival horror game for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2, and Oculus Rift, developed by Skydance Interactive in partnership with Skybound Entertainment. It is based on the comic book series The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman. Initially released on Steam and Oculus platform on January 23, 2020, it was released on PlayStation VR in May 2020. Additionally, the title was ported to Oculus Quest in October 2020, alongside PICO 4 in January 2023.
Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife is a virtual reality survival horror video game developed and published by Swedish studio Fast Travel Games, released in 2021. It is based on White Wolf Publishing's 1994 tabletop role-playing game Wraith: The Oblivion, and is part of the larger World of Darkness series. The game was released for Oculus Quest & Rift, Steam VR, PICO 4 and PlayStation VR, with support for the VR headsets HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR, and Valve Index.
