Shattered Lights

About Shattered Lights

Shattered Lights was made by Team Morbid, students of the International Game Architecture and Design programme at Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, and released free on Steam in June 2019 for PC VR headsets.

It is built entirely around room-scale VR. You never use the controllers to move: non-Euclidean level design folds the facility's corridors into your play area, so that every step in the game is a real step, and you still cover a whole underground complex. The game asks for a space of at least 2 by 2 metres; a smaller 1.5 by 1.5 metre option exists but the makers do not recommend it.

The setting is a seemingly abandoned underground medical facility, and you go down armed with nothing but a flashlight and your sanity. The rooms are dim and cluttered with reel-to-reel recorders, filing boxes and old machines, the corridors are lined with pipes and lit red, and the place does not hold the shape it should.

It is short and free, and suits VR players who want a walk-through horror experience that uses physical movement to unsettle them. Some players report setup problems with certain headsets, so check the Steam discussions if it starts tilted or silent.

How to play Shattered Lights

1. Download Shattered Lights free on Steam and connect a PC VR headset.
2. Clear a play area of at least 2 by 2 metres.
3. Walk with your own feet to move through the facility; there is no controller movement.
4. Use the flashlight to search the dark rooms and corridors.
5. Keep going down until you find what the facility hides.

Tips

• Give yourself the full 2 by 2 metre space; the smaller option makes the illusion less stable.
• Some players report no sound or a tilted world on start; tabbing out and back in, or restarting, may help.

Questions