MADiSON VR [PlayStation VR 2] | REVIEW

The original release was already very, VERY scary, so the idea of playing MADiSON VR terrified me. And, surprise, surprise, it’s even MORE spine-chilling in virtual reality, with the added immersion making each fright all the more shuddering.

Check out some screenshots down below:

I reviewed MADiSON back in 2022, where I had the following to say:

“MADiSON is a great horror experience that’ll keep players engrossed with its clever puzzle design, impressive visuals, and frightening atmosphere. I genuinely found myself on the edge of my seat when playing, and whilst it does rely on a few typical horror tropes here and there, it still managed to make me jump on PLENTY of occasions.”

That still stands with MADiSON VR, which is essentially just the original game but with the extra added immersion of virtual reality. That means that players will once again find themselves in the role of Luca, who awakens in a room covered with blood and his father pounding at the door as a means to get to him. It turns out you MAY have murdered your family, but with no recollection of the event and nothing on hand to clear your name, you make a getaway in order to get to the bottom of the disturbing mystery. This means venturing through the home of your grandfather to try and discover the truth, but with a demonic presence causing disturbances across the house, it won’t be an easy night.

What makes the experience all the more compelling is the puzzle design, which revolves around interacting with the environment in a myriad of ways and using your camera to discover hidden secrets that are lurking in the shadows. A lot of objects in the environment might seem ordinary to the naked eye, but actually hide secrets that can only be seen by taking a photograph of them. Of course, these photographs can also unleash some of the evils found across the house, so don’t be surprised to find yourself caught off-guard and hit by a jump scare when taking what SHOULD be a fairly normal photograph. Using the camera feels so much more immersive thanks to the motion controls offered by PlayStation VR 2, with it adding an extra layer of depth to the puzzle-solving where you’ll really feel like you’re right there in the moment taking that photograph. Lining up each shot and then shaking the photograph to develop it ALWAYS feels satisfying, whilst the clever environment-based puzzles are complemented by the motion controls.

“However, it was simply exploring the house in virtual reality that creeped me out the most, with every wayward sound or peculiar sight all the more sinister in the PlayStation VR 2 headset.”

And, of course, the scares are BETTER than ever in virtual reality, with each horrifying fright a million times more terrifying when you’re fully immersed in the world. However, it was simply exploring the house in virtual reality that creeped me out the most, with every wayward sound or peculiar sight all the more sinister in the PlayStation VR 2 headset. I’ve already beaten MADiSON in the past, so I was prepared for some of the scares that were coming my way (even if they did still make me jump this time around). Simply being in the eerie house and taking in its haunting atmosphere though? It was one of the most unnerving experiences that I’ve had in virtual reality, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Whilst MADiSON VR makes the experience all the more terrifying to play, it does bring with it some flaws that weren’t present in the base game. For one, the character movement speed can feel slow, with no way to customise this in-game. Whilst I can appreciate that not all gamers are comfortable enough with virtual reality to handle fast movement, it would have been nice if there were some options in place to fine-tune the setting for veterans of the hardware.

Interacting with objects could feel a little fiddly at times too, and whilst it’s something you will get used to as you play, it could be immersion-breaking simply struggling to grab an item you need to progress or carefully adjusting your position to reach an object. In fairness, there were only a handful of occasions where it felt like a real problem, but it’s a shame that an issue that wasn’t present in the original game has cropped up here.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Despite this, I have no doubt that MADiSON VR is the best way to experience the horror adventure. Playing in virtual reality just makes the scares of the game so much more effective, whilst the clever implementation of haptic feedback on the headset and controllers adds an extra ounce of tension to each unsettling moment. It looks fantastic too, with the impressive visuals of the original game making the shift over to virtual reality. I also expect to see some of the aforementioned flaws fixed sooner rather than later – a patch was already released during the review period that significantly improved the controls, whilst I have no doubt that a movement speed slider could be patched in too.

Developer: Bloodious Games
Publisher: Bloodious Games, Perp Games
Platform(s): PlayStation VR 2 (Reviewed), PC VR
Website: https://perpgames.com/game/madison-vr/