Fans of Capcom’sResident Evilfranchise should consider trying outPropagation: Paradise Hotel, a virtual reality horror game that plays like classicRE, but in a VR space.Propagation: Paradise Hotelfrom WanadevStudiotranslates classic survival-horror gameplay elements with virtual reality, and by many accounts, it has done so with flying colors.
Released earlier this year,Propagation: Paradise Hotelis aVR horror gamethat, as one might guess from its title, is set in a hotel. Players take on the role of a woman named Emily Diaz, who finds herself trapped in the hotel as it’s swarmed with zombies and other horrors. Emily’s goal is to get to her sister on the seventh floor, but doing so requires collecting key items, solving puzzles, and killing monsters.
RELATED:Resident Evil 3 Mod Lets You Play as Nemesis
Propagation: Paradise Hotelplays exactly like what one would expect classicResident Evilwould be like in VR. The puzzles and exploration elements feel like they’re pulled directly fromResident Evil, but the similarities become even more obvious with the combat. LikeclassicResident Evilgames,Propagation: Paradise Hotelplaces a premium on resource management, challenging players to avoid conflict when possible so that they can save their ammo for threats that can’t be avoided.
Ammo scarcity, like classic survival-horror games before it, really enhancesPropagation: Paradise Hotel’s scare factor. There’s nothing more terrifying than beingrunned down by a zombieand having no way to defend oneself besides helplessly smacking them away. Having to reload in the middle of a zombie encounter is incredibly tense, as players have to fumble in their pack for the ammo, physically eject the empty magazine, and manually reload their weapon, all while a monster is trying to tear them to shreds.
There are some other obvious parallels toResident EvilinPropagation: Paradise Hotelthat fans of Capcom’s series will likely appreciate as well. While there are nogreen herbs for healing, the game does have a refillable first-aid spray can, for example. Players are also able to read files that provide backstory on what exactly happened to the residents of the hotel and sometimes contain clues for finding helpful items or solving puzzles.
Propagation: Paradise Hotelbeing a VR game is going to limit the number ofResident Evilfans that can experience it, but those with a Meta Quest 2 or PC VR headset handy should definitely it out. It’s available at a 15% discount at the time of this writing and currently has “Very Positive” overall ratings, for those who remain unconvinced. A PlayStation VR2 version is also in development, but a release date has not been announced at the time of this writing.
