A Wake Inn Reviews

An absolute shame. I was really looking forward to this game. After about an hour I decided enough was enough. Started with a couple issues, Rift S controllers not lining up and hands having to be in awkward positions. interacting with items and drawers are extremely hit and miss. FPS drops are extremely commonplace with awkward load hitches (My PC was able to run day 1 cyberpunk so I promise that's not the issue). Very early I dropped a key and as there is no respawn for items that are misplaced and my torch battery was dead, I couldn't do anything. I tried to reload a save but unfortunately I had saved after I lost the key without realising so I would have to restart the entire game. The worst issue is the VR sickness. I do not get VR sickness anymore. at all. and 1 hour in this and I was ready to blow. In it's current launch state, I cannot recommend this game at all. Game refunded.

It looks good. But the movement is wonky and doesn't jibe well with the gameplay. Enemies are janky, as is detection and pathing. Overall it just wasn't fun.

What an amazing VR game so far! Especially for people who like single player, story-driven horror/suspense and exploration. The game has a (very) dark story, and the environment is truly atmospheric and eerie, including the body of the player. Like other reviewers are saying, the graphics are pure eye candy, even AAA quality, and the sound is really great too. I really love the start menu/interface and also the wheelchair and its extensions like the in-game inventory among other things, it's all very smart and well executed by the game designers/developers. Controls are clearly explained in the beginning, so it's easy to get started right away. The default locomotion using the virtual joystick on the wheelchair can cause a little bit motion weirdness, especially when rotating, even for a seasoned VR gamer, but it's not a big deal and personally I won't be changing the comfort level and I'm going to continue with the default settings. But, it might be a turnoff for people prone to motion sickness or VR gamers that are just starting. Luckily, there are other, more comfortable options. In short : an intriguing and eerie horror game, played in a wheelchair, with amazing graphics. I already know that this is a game that I will simply have to keep playing until the end.

I've really enjoyed this game so far. As others have stated the controls can be a little janky and frustrating but i think this actually adds to the atmosphere and tension. The devs have been really responsive and aaded updates, helped with issues, etc. As others have also stated the game is stunning and has very impressive audio that is very atmospheric. Highly recommeded as it does have a few issies that the devs are working on but still offers an incredible experience as is that will hopefully continue to be improved.

Had to give up on this one. The wheelchair movement was just too much for me and caused a great deal of nausea. Using the wheelchair also made exploration too awkward and unenjoyable. There were also some major frame rate drops when entering a new room and I found the gameplay to be rather dull. Overall, I didn't enjoy my time spent with this game.

This is one of the most atmospheric and immersive games I’ve played in VR. The environments are beautiful, eerie, and richly detailed. The ambient sounds are entrancing. The hotel feels expansive but the environments gently guide you in the right direction as you progress. The level of horror has been just right for me so far. It’s slow and creepy but punctuated by moments of intense action and unsettling discoveries. As other reviewers have mentioned, your experience with this game might be spoiled by the awkwardness of the controls or by motion sickness. My will to progress in this game has often been at odds with my stomach. I settled upon using the joystick mounted on the wheelchair for movement in the game. I found this method to be immersive while allowing me to play short sessions with minimal discomfort. The comfort settings are helpful, but I would prefer that the game include an option for reduced FOV for all movement, not just turning. This game deserves tremendous praise. It outshines the vast majority of VR games in it’s captivating atmosphere and extraordinary attention to detail. A Wake Inn is on track to be one my favorite action-adventure titles in VR. I highly recommend it!

A Wake Inn is a thrilling atmospheric experience developed by VR Bros, an indie studio based in Krakow, Poland. After years of gaining skills by building commercial VR apps (e.g. archviz apps), they decided to develop games focusing on quality of immersion. I can say they succeed on the first try, at least from a technical point of view. Let’s examine their work in detail. A Wake Inn is a soft horror game combining exploration, puzzles, action and storytelling. You wake up as a human sized doll in an abandoned, retro style hotel, where apparently something bad happened in the past. Strange machineries scattered throughout the hotel definetely have something to do with it. You have to understand what happened, solve all the misteries and put an end to the horrors in the inn.You are not alone, the voice of mysterious Doctor Finnegan, owner of the estate, accompanies you through the shortwave transmitter. The hotel is occupied by other dolls similar to you, but they have no friendly intentions; you have to fight and get rid of them (recommended), or try to avoid them (not recommended). Well, it’s not easy to do stealth on a wheelchair! Yes, you sit on a wheelchair! Weird, but very cool! The control system is very realistic, immersive, smooth and refined. You can push the wheels with your hands, like in real wheelchairs, or you can use the on board joystick, like an airplane cloche. The first method is recommended when you have to run on long distances in a straight line; there is a lot of inertia and it’s not easy to turn left or right by moving the hands in opposite verses. It’s not a defect, it’s just a realistic mechanic. The second method is slower but it’s the most accurate for short movements and the one I used the most. I can say A Wake Inn has one of the best implementation of locomotion in VR so far. I had the goosebump when I tried the experience for the first time. So far better than any roller-coaster experience! Let me underline that I’m used to VR since 2017, it’s very hard to surprise me! People more sensitive to motion sickness could not stand it. However this is not a defect, on the contrary this is the proof of how much realistic and refined the locomotion mechanic is. This is NOT motion sickness caused by technical issues (low refresh rate, stuttering, jittering, eyes strain, etc. etc.). This is motion sickness caused by the brain. Thanks to the great technical quality of the experience, the brain is convinced that you’re really on a wheelchair; so, it expects signals from the vestibualry organs, but they don’t come! A sort of sea or car sickness. It gives me the exciting perception that I’m really moving through the virtual world, but some people not used to VR can get sick because of this. I suggest developers to introduce tunable options and several configurations and settings. I want and enjoy the complete uncompromised ultra-realistic experience, but someone could not stand it. E.g. A Wake Inn would need to add locomotion through sticks of the motion controllers and tunable speed and acceleration. I played the game in the last two weeks and the experience was very smooth and with no issues at all. However I read some complaints about issues people experimented in the first weeks after the release. It means that developers in the meanwhile worked hard and solved all the issues. Well, almost all, some negligible bug not affecting the experience is still there. I can assure you that actually A Wake Inn is a very smooth and refined experience. From a technical point of view, the small indie studio has reached and maybe surpassed the results of AAA mainstream studios in VR gaming. I’m always in search of valuable VR experiences; they are very rare lately because of the “meta-questization” of VR aka “casualization” of VR aka “wii-mote syndrome of VR”! 🙂 🙂 🙂 When I tried the demo for the first time, I was surprised, I could not believe it! That was not expected from an indie game! I bought immediately the game. How is it possible that a small development team has reached such a high technical level in the creation of virtual experiences that triple A games like HLA or Lone Echo can only envy? Incredible but true! Developers at VR Bros have the art and technique of VR in their hands! It’s not just a matter of locomotion and mechanics. You can see your virtual body, your hands, your legs, your arms, your abdomen, etc. Every detail and movement is so well defined that you feel totally embodied in the mannequin! When you turn your head, you can see the back of the wheelchair. Obviously you have to play seated. Everything is so smooth and realistic such to fool your brain. On the front bench of your wheelchair there is a box where you can collect items (keys, fuses, batteries, etc.); putting items in the box is very natural and items fall and scatter in the box with very realistic physics and collisions. At your left there is a metallic support where you can store the old-style electric torchlight, weapons (pipe and axe) and films. In this way everything comes in handy and you get rid of traditional inventory pop-ups breaking immersion in VR. Very smart solution! You’re on a wheelchair and your movements are limited; a mechanical prothesis comes in handy to pick up the most distant items. Another smart solution very well made. Not to talk of the realistic gestures for replacing the battery of the torchlight, awesome! There is more! The torchlight, the pipe and all the objects that are close to your eyes, they look “glossy”, like in real life, very well contrasted to the background, with very accurate textures and wonderful reflection and scattering of light. The feeling of realism is very high, the sense of scale and 3D space is huge, the 3D depth is outstanding. When I wear the headset I have the feeling to really enter a big convincing 3D world hidden “beyond the lenses”, it’s like reality gets replaced by the virtual reality. I’m like Alice going beyond the mirror! I enter the matrix! It’s magic! Continues here: https://vgartsite.wordpress.com/2021/12/23/a-wake-inn-short-review/

Edit: Update 2.0 has fixed the hand rotation issue for virtual desktop for me. The game works mostly great with the quest on Virtual Desktop but the hands are in the wrong position, as in they point upwards all the time. Hopefully this can be resolved in a future patch as it makes for awkward controls. I've only played for 20 minutes so far so I can't give a full review but I will update when I have completed the game. So far, the atmosphere is the high point with some of the best VR graphics I've witnessed to date and sound design to match. If you are using a quest like me, then do yourself a favour and plug in some headphones or good earbuds as the default quest speakers won't do the game justice.

Looks good, tense setting, being in a wheelchair compounds that. Interesting start with very original game mechanics. Plays fine on my index controllers.

Shame, I have been following this for some time, but I am going to have to refund and wait until next sale. Does not support index controllers. At all. Greeted by all oculus controller images, and am stuck in the tutorial as my controls are not responsive. Pressing the button on the controller it tells me to and nothing happens. Cannot believe this was not tested on an index. Other point that may be of interest is there is no index finger tracking, controls all involve flipping switches, yet there is not even a way to point a finger. No haptic feedback as well. Dev needs to play half life Alyx and take some design points. See you next time I guess, was very excited for this game.