Oculus’ trailers are getting weird. They’re no longer just your average early look at a game, like we got for things like Edge of Nowhere. Now that we’re theoretically getting closer to the release of Oculus Touch, Oculus really wants to emphasize the physicality and transportive properties of everything you can play with its motion controllers, a bit like HTC is doing with the Vive’s mixed reality setup. And with the newly announced Wilson’s Heart (developed by ’Splosion Man and Gunstringer studio Twisted Pixel), it’s taking things into full-on science fiction territory.
Oculus’ game trailers are now basically The 13th Floor
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Wilson’s Heart is described as a psychological thriller about a man named Robert Wilson, whose heart has been replaced by a “mysterious device.” Its cast includes Daredevil’s Rosario Dawson, Spider-Man 2’s Alfred Molina, and legendary science fiction actor Peter Weller. Its visual style is Hitchcock by way of BioShock, with a surprise appearance from the Creature from the Black Lagoon, for reasons we don’t totally understand.
This could be cool, but the trailer feels even more like something else: the spate of noir-ish ‘90s virtual reality movies from the late 1990s, like The 13th Floor and Existenz and arguably Dark City. An ordinary person puts on a VR headset and... the world is suddenly black and white! And you’re staring at your hands in disbelief! And a mysterious beautiful woman is talking to you! Hopefully this breaking of the fourth wall is in the actual game, but since we have no idea when the average person might be able to get Oculus Touch controllers to try it, it’s probably best to just enjoy the trailer as it is.
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