The Room VR – A Dark Matter review: Escape the real world

(PSVR/PC) ★★★★★ Age: 12+

The Room VR: A Dark Matter

Maeve as she appears in Bleeding Edge

thumbnail: The Room VR: A Dark Matter
thumbnail: Maeve as she appears in Bleeding Edge
Ronan Price

Right now, with our own four walls closing in on us during lockdown, what we need is some escapism. And who better to provide it than Fireproof, producer of the popular iOS escape-room series The Room which was co-founded by Dubliner Barry Meade.

Dark Matter fluidly transposes the intricate puzzle game into a virtual-reality setting, at once broadening its horizons into expansive, evocative locations while introducing VR's distinctive immersion, tactility and scale. Fundamentally, this Room operates on the same principles as its four predecessors on mobile - manipulating and prodding real-world objects to uncover secret cubbyholes, keys and contraptions.

Technically, you're not trapped in the meticulously detailed scenes, instead following a plot about a missing archaeologist and a supernatural mystery. But to advance the investigation, your lone detective must comb through five creepy areas in sequence, from a museum warehouse to a church to a cottage, seeking clues.

Dark Matter monkeys around with scale to inject new brainteasers to the mix - for instance, temporarily miniaturising you to solve clockwork mechanisms within a small object.

The Room VR may be a relatively brief experience but it doesn't skimp on its deliciously spooky atmosphere and puzzle challenges. If the outside world currently seems too overwhelming, pull on your VR headset and escape.

Bleeding Edge

(XO/PC) ★★★ Age: 15+

How many games feature a demented witch-granny from Wicklow called Maeve? You can count the tally on just one finger and its name is Bleeding Edge, the latest brawler from the studio that brought us DmC: Devil May Cry, Hellblade and Heavenly Sword.

Bleeding Edge is a distant cousin of hyper-successful team shooter Overwatch - all luminous colours, outrageous character designs and fast-paced arena battles.

Play it solo and you've bought a ticket to Boresville. But team up carefully, choosing your role (tank, damage or healer) and your strategies deliberately, and Bleeding Edge has something new to offer in its close-quarters brawling, not least its distinctive roster of personalities.

Unfortunately, it's all let down by a very bare-bones range of modes that means Bleeding Edge won't hold the attention for long. Gotta love that Maeve, though.