I’ve loved the idea of virtual reality since I was a little kid. Just like today, there was nobody on Earth I hated more than myself. And just like today, I would’ve done anything to not have to be myself. At the time, the solution in movies like Lawnmower Man was virtual reality.
In the ‘90s, we believed that if you put on a bulky headset, you’d get superpowers or something. It was a stupid era, and all your nostalgia for it is based on missing public spaces. You want to live in the ‘90s again? Have fun looking up all your shit on Encarta.
Fortunately, through a combination of career luck and deciding my genetics should never curse another human being, I’ve been able to play a fair amount of virtual reality over the years and amass a few headsets along the way. Despite my thorough understanding that it’s still a boondoggle made to hustle money from fools, I love virtual reality. So for the love of god, please port Duck Season to the PS VR2.
Duck Season is a deceptive little game. It sells itself as a slightly eerie nostalgia trip - into the early ‘90s no less! - where you play as a child. In it, you’re playing video games in your living room as your mom hangs out in the kitchen behind you. Strewn about the living room are little games and VHS tapes and toys you can pick up. VHS tapes feature fake live-action ads for fake products. The little games can be put into a NES-type system and played using an NES-style zapper.
It’s kind of cute and would be fine on its own. But the eponymous Duck Season is what makes this shit truly special. When you play Duck Season (within Duck Season), the game switches you to a strange little semi-realistic version of Duck Hunt on the NES. Much like Duck Hunt on the NES, a weird dog hangs out to mock you whenever you miss a few shots.
Except the dog in Duck Season is weirdly threatening. Imagine that old Nintendo dog mixed with the animatronics from Five Nights at Freddys. You get it? You got it. You’re good.
Revealing the rest would spoil the rest of shit that happens. It’s one of the few video games to truly frighten me. And unlike a lot of VR horror, it doesn’t rely on jump scares alone. It builds an environment that feels wrong - and it takes its time doing it. By the time the game reaches its peak, you’re afraid to turn around. Not because of what you worry is there but because of what you already know is there.
It’s brilliant. It’s on Steam. They even updated it so you can play it as a regular game without the headset. Although it’s the immersion that makes you slide into a comfortable childhood mindset before chipping away at your sense of safety.
It’s fun. It’s funny. It’s creepy. It’s filled with little Easter eggs and secrets.
And it’s a shame it’s not on Meta Quest 2 or PS VR2. It’s the best experience I’ve ever had in VR and I play a lot of virtual reality. During the pandemic, virtual reality took up a lot of free time - both through Steam, Meta’s cursed marketplace, and sideloading all types of garbage. I’ve played more Virtual Boy through VR emulators than I ever did on the actual Virtual Boy I actually owned.
Hell, Duck Season is perfect for PS VR2. You’re facing one direction most of the time. You’re not going to get twisted in the cable. This isn’t an escape room game. You won’t be running anywhere. You don’t need to flail your arms. It’s just an experience that will freak you the hell out.
Maybe I’m shouting into the wind. Duck Season is on Steam. It’s not like the game doesn’t have a giant marketplace behind it. It’s got the biggest marketplace. But if Sony (or Meta) really want virtual reality to work, they need to pursue more experiences like Duck Season. If not the game itself, the focus on environmental immersion. VR can be more than off-shoot brand expansions. I dunno, man. Play Duck Season.