As Engadget’s chief The Final of Us correspondent, I used to be fairly pumped to search out out throughout Sony’s CES 2025 press convention that season two of the HBO present would come out in April. However Naughty Canine head Neil Druckmann additionally teased an “location-based expertise exhibit” that will transport contributors into the tunnels of Seattle crammed with Contaminated. That is an space straight out of The Final of Us Half II, and in the present day I received an opportunity to strive the proof-of-concept expertise. It was quick, minimal, and a bit tough, but it surely was additionally one other good instance of how Sony is making an attempt to take its tentpole franchises from PlayStation and put them in completely completely different experiences.
Sadly, Sony had a strict “no cameras or movies” coverage for this expertise, so you may must depend on my phrases and a bit video the corporate confirmed in regards to the tech behind it.
I entered the expertise with three different contributors after a fast run-down of the gear we might use: two of us received shotguns, and two received flashlights (sadly I used to be caught with a flashlight). Each have a bunch of small sensors connected to the entrance in order that they may work together with the atmosphere we entered; the flashlight felt like an actual flashlight with some sensors on the tip, however the weapons have been crude tubes with a deal with and set off; the set off felt fairly good from my fast take a look at of it earlier than we received began. There are additionally sensors on the barrel of the gun that detect a “pump” movement to reload it.
As soon as we have been outfitted, an actor enjoying a member of an unnamed militia briefed us on the mission: a few of our fellow mercenaries disappeared within the Seattle subways — maybe kidnapped by the WLF, maybe taken down by Contaminated. Our job was to search out him… what might go flawed?
Our information directed me and the opposite flashlight-holder to start out lighting up the subway station — which was created by three large screens surrounding us. The partitions of the room have been made from LED panels, and the sensors on the flashlights interacted with them to trace my second. I wanted to be fairly near the screens for it to acknowledge my flashlight, but it surely was fairly cool to be lighting up a digital atmosphere in actual time.
Then, in fact, a clicker scream places the group on excessive alert — and on condition that it got here from a selected location all of us swing our flashlights in that route to determine the menace. Simply as within the sport, although, the disgusting contaminated creature shambled nearer to us, set free one other scream and got here charging ahead, at which level the shotgunners blasted away with abandon. That noise introduced extra Contaminated charging into the area; I’d mild them up with the flashlight and my associate shot them down.
Issues calmed down, momentarily — then an enormous subway automotive began sliding out of its precarious place, which trigged one of many demo’s coolest results. The ground was rigged for haptic suggestions, and whereas we had felt it rumble at varied disturbances, this was by far the most important affect. The combo of the visuals, audio and haptics all made it really feel, effectively, immersive. I actually did not overlook I used to be in a demo, but it surely was cool nonetheless. Past the ground haptics, Sony says that there are even scents pumped into the room to additional the ambiance, however I wasn’t in a position to detect something myself.
Then we received the compulsory cameo from The Final of Us Half II co-protagonist Ellie and her companion Dina, as they scrambled away from Contaminated who begin chasing them down. One knocked Ellie down and began ripping at her throat till Dina caught up and pulled it off her, at which level they sprinted away. Sadly, the disturbance introduced an enormous swarm of monsters coming at us, which introduced on the massive battle of the expertise. I began illuminating the hordes and my companion blasted them down, however then dozens began overwhelming the screens and the screams received increasingly more intense till the whole lot minimize to black as our crew was overrun. That is that!
I am not judging the expertise too harshly, as a result of Sony was clear each in its press convention and earlier than we tried it that this can be a very early proof of idea. The primary factor that pulled me out of it was that the area we have been in is static — there is not any method to run away or transfer past the boundaries of what we have been introduced with. After which, as I discussed, you wanted to be comparatively near the “partitions” for them to acknowledge the flashlight or gun, which meant that if you happen to backed up to soak up the scope of the area you gear won’t work.
The opposite factor is that I feel the barrier to it being really scary or extra immersive is that I could not ignore the truth that the menace was on a display relatively than within the room with me. There is not any doubt that having full management in an atmosphere like this may be a wild method to play a sport like this, but it surely was all just a bit too on the rails and faraway from the area I used to be in.
I am making an attempt to trace down anybody from Sony who can inform me extra in regards to the genesis for this concept in addition to the place they see it going sooner or later. However Sony and Naughty Canine have already introduced The Final of Us to quite a lot of different media, and this appears like a extra high-tech imaginative and prescient of what Sony did together with Common Studios when it introduced the franchise to the Halloween Horror Nights that occurs on the theme parks. Whether or not this can be a one-off curiosity or one thing we see down the road in a extra full trend, although, stays to be seen.
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