The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR Review (PS5 / PSVR2) | Push Square

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Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, a rails shooter with a rollercoaster theme, was one of the surprise highlights of PSVR’s catalogue, so there was understandable enthusiasm surrounding the announcement of Supermassive’s spiritual successor, The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR. Unfortunately, this is a dour shadow of a follow-up, let-down by overly long levels, boring combat encounters, and some pretty poor visuals.

The positives are few, but not entirely non-existent. The UK developer makes good use of the PSVR2 Sense Controllers, for example, arming each of your hands with a pistol that can be upgraded with weapon pick-ups at select moments in the game. The tracking throughout is flawless, and the handling is enhanced by delicate use of haptic feedback and the adaptive triggers; you can even feel the clatter of your minecart travelling over the rails, which is a lovely little touch.

The campaign has its moments, too: one sequence will see you pass through a tunnel filled with the animated flesh of corpses, and you’ll physically feel appendages brush against your face through the headset’s built-in rumble motor. Another uses the device’s eye-tracking to detect each time you blink, meaning that the scene changes every time you close your eyes. These are harrowing moments, for sure – but that’s part of the release’s intended appeal.

Unfortunately, these standout examples are flanked by four or so hours of lousy lightgun shooting. Inspired by locations from games like Man of Medan and Little Hope, you’ll find yourself blasting away at poorly animated enemies for much of your playthrough here, with minimal visual feedback. Sure, you’ll see the odd cranium collapse, but most foes will shrug off your bullets like nothing’s happening –