THE PERSISTENCE
At home, everyone can hear you scream…
Good horror relies on fear of the unknown. When you know what’s around the corner, the terror subsides. But what if the corner itself isn’t where it was before? The genius of The Persistence is that the layout of the titular ship is rejigged after every death. So while the shocks might not make you jump quite as high on your 14th time round as your first, you’ll still be a bundle of nerves as you step back on deck. As an ominous opening cutscene makes clear, all is not well aboard The Persistence. As security officer Zimri Eder, you’re charged with fixing it. Except security officer Zimri Eder is dead; you are, in fact, a clone, and your first job is to extract DNA from your own corpse. Charming. But this allows her memories and personality to be imprinted on another clone if (or, rather, when) the current one dies. By collecting stem cells, and harvesting those of the mutants patrolling the decks – the result of a 3D printer having thrown out a set of wonky clones – you’ll be able to create more powerful Zimris for subsequent attempts. Or you can suck up cell samples from other dead crewmates for different perks.
JUMP-SCHLOCK
Developer Firesprite uses every classic horror trick in the book, from hissing pipes to metallic groaning to distant clattering, to unsettle you even before you’ve encountered your first enemy. It might sound corny, but in VR this stuff works a treat, thanks mainly to the creepily effective sound design. Those generic grunts you’ll meet early on shouldn’t present much trouble, and yet you can’t afford to let them hit you more than a couple of times. An energy shield lets you block their attacks; a well-timed parry will spin them around, letting you gorily extract their genetic code by hitting r. But hold it for too long and you’ll have to wait for it to recharge, the accompanying warning alarm causing panicked fumbles as you awkwardly bash away at your attackers with your deliberately clunky, chunky stem cell harvester.
Stealth is advisable for a while, then. Luckily, you’ve got a short-range teleporter for quickly zipping between cover positions, and a scanner which lets you ping the local area, briefly highlighting nearby enemies – handy when even your torch doesn’t let you see more than a few metres ahead. Scour each room thoroughly and soon you’ll amass enough chips to feed into the weapon fabricators scattered across the maps, which offer everything from gravity grenades to police batons, old-fashioned revolvers and more experimental options, like a teleporter that essentially lets you jump through an enemy, ripping them instantly
“IT BECOMES MORE ALIENS THAN ALIEN, LEANING INTO ITS EXTENDED ARSENAL.”
in two. You can also get hold of a serum that can convince a single mutant to swap sides: inject it into a musclebound Berserker or a whimpering Weeper (a teleporting witch with a freeze ray, basically) and you’re laughing.
TUNNEL VISION
As such, after the first deck – and a hair-raising set-piece that involves you crawling through dark maintenance tunnels while being stalked by a new enemy type – The Persistence becomes more Aliens than Alien, leaning into its extended arsenal and ramping up the threat level accordingly. It’s a natural escalation in line with the way roguelikes work, and yet the tension remains, because you know you can’t ever afford to be complacent. Even with a hulking chaperone and a gravity gun that lets you smash enemies between walls simply by shaking your head, you need to watch your step: literally, on one occasion, as I blithely walk off the edge of a platform to my death.
And whether you’re finding it too tough in the early going, or too light on surprises later on, a companion app allows a co-op partner to make the difference. Via a map overview, they can highlight nearby medical supplies and open doors, or turn the lights out and spawn fresh nasties – with score rewards to boost their abilities (and their involvement) further. It’s another inventive flourish in a game which serves as a thrilling reminder that immersive experiences with genuine substance really are possible in VR.
VERDICT
Stuffed with clever, creative ideas and brilliant weapons, this challenging sci-fi horror is structured perfectly for PS VR. If you’ve got the nerve – and the stomach to match – it’s a must. Chris Schilling