ARAYA

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A dead friend's text, a derelict Thai hospital and the ghost inside it.

Platforms: PC, VR
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Mostly Positive on Steam (77% of 858 reviews); players praise its sound and VR scares, and some find switching between the three characters confusing
Players: 1
Controls: Keyboard and mouse or Xbox controller; Oculus Rift and HTC Vive supported
Made by: MAD Virtual Reality Studio
Released: 2016

Not on Linux. ARAYA is on Steam, PC and VR. It is not in the Linux part of the site you came from.

What frightens Three people go into a derelict Thai hospital at night, a young woman answering a mysterious text from her dead best friend Araya, a security guard and a man paying off a gambling debt, and you switch between them to piece together Araya's murder while a ghostly woman stalks the dark, blood-stained wards and chases you through them.
Content: jumpscares, chase sequences, blood.

ARAYA is a first-person horror game by MAD Virtual Reality Studio, released in 2016 and playable with or without a VR headset. Three characters enter an abandoned Thai hospital at night to solve the murder of a young woman named Araya, while her ghost stalks the wards.

About ARAYA

ARAYA was made by MAD Virtual Reality Studio, a small studio of horror fans who say the view outside their window is a cemetery, and released on Steam in November 2016 in English and Thai. It was built for VR, supporting Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, but plays just as well on a monitor.

The story is told from the perspectives of three characters who enter a derelict hospital in Bangkok: Marisa, Araya's best friend, who comes after a mysterious text from her; Rama, the hospital's security guard; and Boon, who goes in to pay off a gambling debt. The game switches between them as each explores different areas of the hospital, and together their nights piece together the circumstances of Araya's murder.

The hospital does most of the frightening: checkered corridors smeared with blood, dark wards and offices lit by single tubes, and a ghostly woman who appears and hunts you, with chases that players single out. Most of the play is walking, searching rooms with a flashlight and finding clues. Players praise its sound and its scares in VR; some find the switching between characters confusing.

It suits players who like Asian ghost stories and first-person hospital horror, especially with a headset.

How to play ARAYA

Buy ARAYA on Steam; play on a monitor or with a PC VR headset.
Explore the hospital in first person with your flashlight, searching rooms for clues.
Follow each of the three characters as the game switches between them.
Run when the ghost comes for you.
Piece together how Araya died.

Screenshots

ARAYA: the gated entrance of the hospital at night under large old trees, with a sign in Thai

ARAYA: an empty ward with metal bed frames and a blood-stained red tiled floor under yellow light

ARAYA: a dim hospital waiting area with notice boards and rows of seats

ARAYA: a cluttered office with a notice board and a single fluorescent tube

Tips

Play with headphones; the sound tells you when something is near.
Keep track of which character you are and what they are looking for; the story jumps between them.