Quest 3 preview: Silent Slayer is a unique and thrilling VR game
I became a vampire hunter with Quest 3. Here are my first impressions of Silent Slayer.
Silent Slayer is the latest game from VR studio Schell Games, who have made a name for themselves with classic titles such as Until You Fall and the I Expect You To Die trilogy. After my preview, I am convinced that Silent Slayer will achieve cult status among VR gamers similar to those older titles.
Content
An atmospheric introduction
In Silent Slayer, you take on the role of a vampire hunter tasked with eliminating a powerful clan of vampires. You are asked to gather outside their castle at dawn, with the mission to drive a stake through the heart of each sleeping vampire.
This is easier said than done: their coffins are sealed with locks, nails, and magic, and secured with traps. A life-threatening affair to tamper with!
An old book, through which an experienced vampire hunter speaks to you, will help you on your mission. He will guide you step by step through the craft and the various tools of vampire slaying. If you get stuck or forget something, you can flip through the book and learn more about the vampires whose undead lives you are about to breathe out.
The dark setting, your teacher, and the book provide an atmospheric introduction to the game and give you the feeling of being initiated into occult rituals and the dark arts. It gives you goosebumps.
The joy of tactility
In the castle you have to kill nine vampires of the noble Zar clan. You will start with the youngest and lowest vampire and work your way up to the powerful head of the clan. Your first victim is Baron Radovan, whose coffin is weakly secured.
Before taking on each coffin, you must assemble a binding stone from stone fragments. Its ritual power will later turn the coffin's protective magic against the vampire, binding him for a few moments so you can drive the stake through his heart. When the stone is assembled, it will reveal ritual symbols that will play an important role later in the process. Now it's time to unseal the coffin.
In these parts of the game, Silent Slayer shows its uniqueness and strength, which can only be realized with the means of VR and lives from the careful and tactile interaction with virtual objects. Be it the silent removal of crossbars and coffin nails, or the cutting of wires in the coffin to clear the way to the vampire. One move too fast or one mistake and the vampire wakes up and jumps at you. This makes for breathless suspense.
Silent Slayer has a mixed reality mode
With the physical obstacles out of the way, it's time to mark the vampire's heart and lift the invisible magic protecting it. To achieve this, you must use the stake to draw the ritual symbols of the binding stone into the air. If you succeed, the vampire will be trapped for a few moments, and you can finish him off with a solid thrust of the stake.
So far, I have killed five of the nine vampires and the higher the rank of the bloodsuckers, the more complex and challenging the protective devices and tasks become.
Silent Slayer also has a passthrough mode, but I prefer the VR version because the castle is a wonderfully spooky setting. The VR game has entertained me brilliantly so far, and I can't wait to play it with friends and see their reactions.
Silent Slayer doesn't have a release date yet, but is due out later this summer. As soon as it is, I will write a detailed review.
You can pre-order the VR game in the Meta Quest Store and get a small discount by doing so. So far, Silent Slayer has only been announced for Meta Quest.
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