Ghost Town Review: An Utterly Engrossing Supernatural VR Adventure

Ghost Town delivers a brilliant supernatural puzzle adventure that you won't want to miss. Read on for our full review.

Mysteries are one of my oldest loves in fiction, and that's only grown through video games. Watching detectives pour over a murder case is one thing, yet user controlled spaces like games can sometimes struggle without the narrative luxury of pre-defined pacing. It's not enough to simply have a great story, you need to make the player an active participant who can feel accomplished without making it too difficult. It's a fine line, one that Ghost Town walks almost flawlessly.

Fireproof Games have supported modern VR since the beginning with Omega Agent, and it wasn't until five years later where the studio truly left its mark with The Room VR: A Dark Matter. The team's flagship puzzle series immediately left an impression in VR with its rich production values and satisfying puzzles, and Ghost Town builds upon these fine foundations well.

Ghost Town takes a supernatural approach that immediately intrigues, only this time we're in the '80s as an Irish witch turned exorcist and ghost hunter, Edith Penrose. Joined by our paranormal detective agency partner, Rina, what follows is a thoroughly gripping narrative that sees us searching for Edith's missing brother. Fireproof's not afraid to have some fun with this story, balancing good humor while effectively building up suspense.

Ghost Town splits each major segment into chapters, set in different locations across the UK as we uncover the wider mystery. I'm enjoying how the game blends its narrative with the gameplay. Understandably, you can't leave an area during an active cutscene without getting a warning flash up, though a particularly striking incident occurs midway through.

My favorite example is when you're receiving crucial information about a suspect, with the information projected around you while placing your hand on an orb. All very atmospheric until I accidentally discovered that removing your hand causes the scene and music to fade, while the other character continues talking. Moments like these add crucial immersive depth, and there's every chance someone unaware of this could miss that entirely.

Edith doesn't spend her entire journey simply chatting away and holding strange orbs. However, I'm hesitant to say too much because half the joy of puzzle solving comes from finding the answers yourself. What I can say is that most of these are well-designed without too much hand holding; the environmental storytelling merges nicely with exploration to provide the answers.

Most puzzles aren't overly challenging, either. There's enough thought required to make you feel accomplished, and I'm impressed at how intuitive solving many of them feels. Whether it's finding the right settings combination for electrical devices or attuning your scanner to the right wavelength, Ghost Town helpfully provides enough information through the environment without simply handing you the answer. I've only been stuck on two occasions, assisted by the optional hint system that provides useful advice in three parts.

These puzzles are only boosted by some great interactivity with good physicality. You can gently feel the haptics as you cast spells with responsive motion controls to help trapped spirits return to the afterlife, achieved by severing their links to key objects from their pasts. Pulling inventory items out of a flat menu that appears when pressing a face button isn't the most immersive method, but it's a minor thing and I still feel like part of this world.

My only major complaint is that I wish there was more here, and Ghost Town takes roughly five hours to complete. Which in itself is fine. The story never feels drawn out, the general pacing works well, and this leads to a satisfying conclusion. It's just that good, and I'd love to see more in a sequel, which I hope happens given the game ends with some open-ended threads. Each level hides a set of collectible magazines, though it's not a big replayability incentive on its own.

Still, Ghost Town's a visual treat for Quest 3 that pushes the limits of this headset. Each environment is great to explore, character models look nice, resolution seems sharp and I never encountered any performance issues. From London apartments to a haunted Scottish lighthouse, there's great atmospheric design that's complemented by a fitting soundtrack. The only downside is that the level of detail isn't always the best, and I can occasionally see textures change in front of me.

I haven't had the chance to check how Ghost Town runs on Quest 2 by comparison right now, and I'm keen to see how the Steam and PlayStation VR2 versions compare when those editions launch later this year. When it's already looking this good in standalone VR, I'm feeling optimistic for higher spec hardware.

Ghost Town Review - Final Verdict

It's not a stretch to say that Ghost Town is one of the best VR games so far this year. Fireproof Games has delivered a worthy spiritual successor to The Room VR: A Dark Matter that employs a similarly strong level of VR interactivity, backed up by great visuals on Quest 3, a thoroughly engrossing supernatural narrative and intuitive puzzles. I do wish the journey lasted just a little longer, but what's here is an essential experience that you won't want to miss.

UploadVR uses a 5-Star rating system for our game reviews – you can read a breakdown of each star rating in our review guidelines.