Great atmospheric game! It doesn't have tracked motion controller support, but for what it sets out to be, it doesn't really need it. The Steam controller integration is flawless.

You play a little boy who goes with his family on a vacation to their secluded, large holiday home. Everything is scaled up, to make you really feel small, which works great. When night falls, you start sneaking out of your room, and scary events unfold...

I haven't progressed very far yet, but so far I can tell that the gameplay mechanics seem to revolve around stealth / hide-and-seek gameplay. In fact, before the scary nightly stuff starts, you literally play hide-and-seek with your little sister to learn the mechanics.

I can't wait to progress further through the story, to learn what my father is hiding...

Update:

I now finished it, and I must say that I really enjoyed it. The story is well-written and the great voice acting enhances it further. There are two or three well-placed jump scares in the game, but most of the suspense is driven in equal parts from the sneak-and-hide gameplay and the captivating story.


If you need a trigger warning for specific phobias, look under the spoiler:

- darkness
- blood
- violence
- rats
- corpses

Played this as a standard game (without VR) and found it to bit a bit more basic and underwhelming than I was hoping for. Graphics and story were just ok, voice acting isn't fantastic, scare level is maybe a 2/10.

I don't want to knock the game too much because I enjoyed the premise and it might be a very good VR game, but if you're playing this as a plain PC game then I'd definitely wait for a sale.

Play time: 4hrs for 100% completion

6.5/10

Had this on my wishlist for a while now and finally bought it when it was on 90% sale.

This game takes around 3 hours to complete and fairly easy to get 100% achievements done in one run -or easy to pick collectibles up after completing the game in the chapter section!

I enjoyed the hide and seek gameplay. The story was interesting and I can imagine that this game must be ten times more fun in VR -but still works well with the keyboard!

This game even tho it's fun -is not worth 20€ when you compare it to other games in the same price class. I suggest to buy it on sale and enjoy it!

This games graphics are amazing from screenshots and the games internal idea itself is amazing, but as soon as I loaded the game I was let down by a major game changer... there isn't any VR controller support! While this is still a new release, I give it respect where it's at right now. However VR controller support would have been awesome...

This game is awesome! Some parts are definitely challenging to figure out but I haven't had this much fun in a long time. My type of stealth and a solid story. Also, those save points are not easy to get to which I love. Little tip - don't rush through the tutorial like I did and REALLY pay attention to the house layout (even though you will have a map it will help immensely). Big thumbs up!

I am sure the game would be fun, but the controls are just bad. I tried playing with a Valve Index using my keyboard and mouse (because no VR controls are supported), and I don't have a controller. So playing with a mouse and keyboard was awful, and probably unsupported because there is 0 explanation what button to press. Therefore I stuck in the garage scene, right after finding the flashlight.

At least make keyboard control supported...

Here's The Thing:
You step into the shoes of Ben Richter, and your family of four are on vacation at a remarkable pad for a week or so! What initially started out as wholesome fun and quality time planned turns into a fight for survival as three strangers intrude on the property looking for something… or someone?


Game supports both VR & standard modes, however, let it be known that I played and finished it exclusively on the keyboard! Thus, this review only takes into consideration the non-VR viewpoint~



Gameplay is pretty much what's expected in the title; hide-and-seek. Although the nature of it changes from an innocent tone to one that screams out “wait, I’m an innocent!” I am in awe of the progression where you first get to live out your fantasy of being rich by exploring the house top to bottom, which serves a dual purpose that’s not all too obvious; building of familiarity with the layout of rooms, but also for learning lore through discovering interestingly colorful personal effects!

Actual hide and seek portions are fairly straightforward, where you’re thrown an objective and have to get to a spot inconspicuously. However, on the off chance that you do arouse suspicion or are flat out detected by one of the three patrolling intruders, that’s when you have to lose them by going into the many available designated hiding locations such as wardrobes, lockers, and the like. In cases where the intruders are hot on your trail, a simple minigame will play out when in hiding where you must calm yourself…!

The full experience contains 2 outcomes and should occupy about 3-4 hours. I’ll be entirely honest, it’s not a terribly challenging title; in fact it’s a gas! But that’s what I admired most about it- the lack of a learning curve or needlessly annoying mechanics. It kept things minimal, gave you space to maneuver therefore focused on the story and staying true to the role of a person whose house has been invaded~


TIPS:
1) Have your flashlight up whenever possible, it makes the interaction icons visible from afar (up to a point) for some reason.


It can take quite a few to get past the stiff facial expressions, animations and Borderlands-looking villains, so I want to turn your attention to the heavenly interiors of the Richter home. Which by the way, looks like it’s at home on the list of “Top 10 Videogame Houses” or maybe actual cribs on the criteria of beauty but also functionality!

A modern-day architectural Eden that gives you the impression that its 20+ rooms are vastly detailed, individually decorated and it just makes sense; I can’t get over that fact! It’s a home first and a building second! Of course, that notion is turned on its head once the break-in happens… where the house is ransacked and the warm atmosphere grows into hostility and eventually a prison!

At first I thought the sound effects were a little muted but then it hit me, why would the intruders stomp around thunderously? The unceasing downpour drowns out a lot of the noise too and that freaks me out… It’s missing a few tracks to qualify as a full-blown OST, but some really terrific stuff is on there when it’s not overpowered by tense chase music or those of the slow burn variety~
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2890095759


The story is one I’ve seen a hundred times in film format but never a game, so there’s that! It channels the precariousness, in other words, high-stakes cat-and-mouse action mainly from Panic Room (2002), which it even shares with it a sick protagonist and a trio of intruders! But it’s also reminiscent of The Collector (2009), The Neighbor, and See For Me (2021) when it comes to the matter of motives behind the break in!

I must praise the cast as well, particularly Irene and Jane who cranked up the believability and acted as if their lives depended on it- unless… were they!? The villains- not so much, but then again, they were meant to be detested~


You would think that the horror emanates solely from the intruders, but nope; it comes in waves like zombies or COVID. Starting with the enormous terror in having your thought to be impregnable castle stormed.

Then you’re forced to feebly listen as your family gets tortured, but since you cannot see what actually happens as a result of clever camera positioning, you can only feed into the worst of what your imagination has to offer!

Finally, the reasons behind the home invasion is made known, which could drastically lay waste to the dynamics of family interactions… maybe even to the brink of irreparability. I want to end this by pointing out two poignant metaphors; the gorgeous house facade and the jigsaw puzzle of a family picture both of which served as uncanny nods to the plot twist~
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2890094908



Firstly, the gameplay, which I’ve stated earlier to be so basic it could be a turnoff for some; not me though! Visualize the linearity to Perception but without any handicaps to keep you in line… In several instances, you had to hide ONLY because the scripted situation necessitated for them and they were very foreseeable! Besides, what else could you have done?

Secondly, the controls weren’t all too friendly or well thought out. For example, when within a hiding spot, you’re so inhibited in mobility that you can’t even peer out or angle your view despite all that space in there, being a 10-year-old after all… I disliked that it puts you through a ‘lil black screen when trying to enter a hiding spot. And, how the act of going out of a hiding spot was so mechanical and unintuitive! Also, how it didn’t tell you that “holding E” fully pulls/shuts doors whereas “pressing E” partially opens them.

Finally, it suffers from what I call “thriller movie problems” whereby there were countless escape opportunities but they were not entertained because (a) you’re dumb, and (b) it would cut the game’s runtime in half. Theoretically, you could free your mom on two occasions and your dad could have just told you things like three different times. Not a big deal though, it’s just how thrillers be!


x I am at a dilemma for a lot of the reviews mentioned AI-related issues, yet I didn’t find any? It’s possible they may be isolated to the VR version. Just something to keep in mind…
x Some visuals glitch out; light penetrating through walls, doors overlap with objects and etc.


~ Don’t see why I can’t refer to the map when you’re hidden in the designated spots or when in the vent.
~ No closed captions available for the intruders during gameplay, unless there were scripted events…
~ Why is hiding under bed contextually and automatically activated when crouching near beds, but the rest require manual prompting?
~ A fine selection of PARTIAL songs in the gaming room. What gives!?
~ In-game tutorials are biased towards the gamepad.


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2890096411

Last Words?
Effectually paced, but a drawn-out elementary game of hide-and-seek. Don’t let that catch you off guard for it sports impressively shrewd details, personal touches and an alarming home invasion story~

Playing hide and seek just got scary!

I already played through this game on PlayStation VR and now that I have a new gaming PC and a Rift S, I got it again. For me personally it's not too exciting, as the Steam version seems to be pretty much identical to the PSVR one. But for people who have not heard of this game, it's definitely worth playing! One thing which I found especially intriguing is that you play a kid, and so the world scale is different from being a grown-up. An interesting factor, which is only possible in VR! Also "out-sneaking" the criminals who have invaded your home is fun by leaning and peeking in VR!

Great effort from a small team, take a look ... unless you're scared ;-)

Played on the Index, with very good performance, 120fps with everything on ultra and 150% SS on a gtx1080.

On VR you have to play seated with a controller i used a xbox360 controller, and it worked fine.

There are parts where it can get a bit frustrating, but i learnt to pay a bit more attention, and not give the back to the enemies.

Overall the game is well done. creepy atmosphere, i thought it has a good interesting story, very decent voice acting, and there really arent that many stealth games on VR.

It has some issues like, you cant peak around a corner, furniture pushed you back, and the flashlight has very short range, and small ilumination cone. But none where game breaking or unbareable, some made the game more tense.

The ending was really good, at least i liked the dark tone, and in Virtual Reality it was a bit disturbing (in a good way)

I got it with a very good discount during a sale, and im very satisfied with my purchase.

Mechanically speaking, assembling a horror game is easy. Get an intricate level layout, add menacing roaming enemies, a healthy dose of scary ambient music, and dim lighting, and you have a standard horror game. Intruders: Hide and Seek doesn’t deviate from that formula overmuch, but it’s the presentation and attention to detail that make a game interesting, and here we have that in spades. You’re not a driven engineer running away from aliens aboard a rusty ship, or a amnesiac-plagued noble waking up in a crypt, but a little boy in a house in the woods.

You have two parents and a little sister with a medical condition that sees her wracked by coughing fits, and after the quaint introductory missions are done to give you a sense of the houses layout and the stealth mechanics - all of which is peppered with foreshadowing, from reports of recent break ins in the area, to your father discussing his secretive science project, to discovering a hidden safe room with cameras wired over the house - then, disaster strikes. Three intruders attack, capturing your parents and holding them in the basement. Your sister is safe in the panic room, so the responsibility of freeing your parents and getting help falls to you: though of course, nothing goes according to plan.

I reviewed this game on the PC without a VR headset, as it was intended to be played, but it’s still plenty frightening. Playing as a child emphasizes a particular sense of helplessness - you approach the world from a childs height, peeking over most chest-high edges and walls, and have no ability to fight - only to run and hide from the Intruders. The three adults patrol the house separately, and move rather quietly - it’s easy to get caught, which necessitates careful pathing and deliberate movement. I learned the layout of the three floor house after trial and error, and used the basement or third floor to navigate the house whenever possible, avoiding the open spaces of the living room and kitchen. Every decision carries risk, and lingering too long near light sources can invite unwanted attention.

The game drives up tension effectively. The phones are cut off, the wifi has been hacked, and your sister is coughing terribly - she needs her meds. Every element of the world and story are used to further the tension and make this a truly terrifying home invasion. Ignore that the enemies have jankily animated faces, or that they’re a little blockish - these details are quickly glossed over in the face of effective voice acting and a tight, no-nonsense script that firmly establishes the intruders as dangerous people to be absolutely feared. It was also, keyly, not too frustrating - while I was caught and beaten/kicked/stabbed many, many times, I was always able to work past the pathing or find a way to my objective. The game is challenging but rewarding, and absolutely scary: with VR enabled, this game would be terrifying. I really enjoyed it, which is something to be said for someone who usually can’t finish horror games!