Space Ghosts: Zero-G Exploration In Adr1ft

IGN has some new footage of Adr1ft [official site], Three One Zero's first person space-explorer aboard a damaged space station. "Damaged" in that it seems to have been ripped to pieces. It's an interesting take on the usual spook-'em-up formula in that, so far at least, all the danger and destruction is non-sentient. It's scary not because of a mysterious force or supernatural element but because everything's fucked.

I love the claustrophobic in-helmet perspective and how the breathing changes as oxygen gets lower. It's very human, taking the usually unassailable, non-reactive player avatar and making them obviously scared and vulnerable. Look at how they react when bumping into objects and, uh, dead bodies - shock, it hurts and it blanks your control for a moment as they blink. Details like that unnerve as good if not better than a face in the mirror or screaming ghost.

The eventual goal is to repair the escape vehicle and make it to the big green and blue one in relative safety. Other details are, as you'd expect from something so focused on discovery, scarce. It's on Oculus naturally and I've an inkling that the infinite oblivion of deep space is going to prove far more terrifying than monsters in VR. Release is scheduled for this year.