The Exit 8 Review

While playing on VR is in and of itself a terrifying experience for me because I hate puking and nausea, I've tried it for long enough that I wanted to dabble in one of my favourite genres: psychological horror. It’s one of the few that gives me that shot of adrenaline since I’ve become so good at avoiding it after over a decade of League of Legends!

The Exit 8 is a walking simulator where you are trapped in a seemingly endless underground passageway, and it's your job to figure out a way to escape it by observing your surroundings. While that might sound like you'll need to solve puzzles and hone your memory, it's not quite so — it's a bit simpler than that, though still creepy.

Throughout the entire game — which, according to user reviews on Steam, might be as long as an hour or more — you'll see the same areas over and over, and there is only one rule: if you see an anomaly, turn back; if you don't, continue walking. Since the game doesn't offer much of an explanation about what the anomaly entails, I spent a good chunk of my time trying to learn what the posters look like and how the room is set up overall. Considering the game's screenshots don't show any of the anomalies — and I won't mention more than one to not spoil the fun, either — I expected altered writing or subtle hints here and there. Instead, a lot of them are quite evident (and terrifying) or eerie "happenings" that will be very hard to miss. A good example of this is when the only other person inside the passageway aside from you starts behaving... oddly, to say the least. You'll know to run when he does.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't pay close attention to the smaller details, as some of them aren't so evident. But, unfortunately, this is where I bring the bad news: nothing really happens if you don't go back, and, depending on how good you are, the game might be done with you before you're done with it. While I had expected an hour or maybe two of gameplay, I got to the exit in a mere 10ish minutes, and I say "ish" because I didn't time them; I might be being generous. 

The Exit 8 is an interesting experience, though probably more so for those who are trying out their VR for the first time. Depending on how you feel about the absence of gameplay, the very evident anomalies, and the lack of consequence will be what makes or breaks the money you spent. Personally, I'm disgruntled that I didn't try it when I was still new to virtual reality, as I'm a bit disappointed with the experience.