Shadows of Isolation Demo

Video games have always been regarded as ways for people to do what they couldn’t do in real life, yet the negative things received more attention than the positive ones. Hence, there are a lot of complaints about Grand Theft Auto and the fact that it allows players to kill people and generally act like psychopaths, but there are beautiful games out there as well, some of which can show you unforgettable worlds.

Shadows of Isolation is a semi-interactive exploration game designed for virtual reality devices, in which you are taken on a trip through a variety of different environments, ranging from outer space, to the depths of the ocean and even the savannah. The semi-interactive element is that you can sometimes walk, swim or even fly while you gaze at these landscapes, which is a great touch.

The demo starts in outer space, where you visit a tiny planet with huge trees and a lot of water. It’s quite a liberating experience to walk around like you could crush entire continents, but you do not seem to weigh anything, thankfully. The planet in question even has a weather system and a day/night cycle, although it only takes a few seconds to run a complete lap around it.

The ocean is quite a fun experience as well, although it feels even emptier than the planet you visit beforehand. There are a few weeds and fish around you, but other than that it’s just a large stretch of blue that kind of hurts your eyes. However, things get much better once the whales make an appearance, because you can truly grasp their size as they swim past you.

There are a couple of other environments later on, although they are significantly shorter and much less polished. Granted, they do not seem to be finished yet, since this is just a preview of the final product. It would be great to see it finished, on the other hand, because exploration games are a must for every virtual reality geek out there, even if they don’t feature any shootings or explosions.

In the end, Shadows of Isolation clearly needs more content, but it does a wonderful job when it comes to helping players relax and experience a different world. On top of it all, the controls are very smooth, which means that nausea shouldn’t be a problem.