Blair Witch Reviews
If you’re a fan of horror games and especially ones in virtual reality then I would recommend Blair Witch VR to you. I enjoyed playing it VR more than I did when I played it on the TV back when that version released. It still has some issues like some predictable plot points as well as some navigation issues but there is stuff to like about it too. Playing it in VR made me feel like I was in this forest more so than before and some great audio and solid visuals helped make me feel more immersed in it. Bullet is really the star of the show though and being able to reach out and actually pet him to build our bond never got old.
I’m fairly disappointed Blair Witch: VR Edition. Yes, it is definitely more immersive than Blair Witch, but a lot of that immersion is frequently broken by the horrendous pop-ins, clunky controls, and ridiculously short chapters. Regardless of playing it on hardware that is definitely showing its age, that still doesn’t stop the game from being boring most of the time.
Overall, Blair Witch VR is a solid horror experience with some super scares. The excellent audio and your dog, Bullet, elevate what would be a pretty standard experience. Dog lovers take note. Bullet is a great companion, and the game has some deft touches where you can reach out and pet him or scratch his ears. A little thing but one that really connects you to the world.
As a regular game, this title would likely have underwhelmed me somewhat with its basic gameplay and simplistic puzzle-exploration nature. The story is intriguing and hits its stride in the second half, but follows some usual tropes, doesn’t land all of its more complex themes and is relatively predictable. As a VR title though, the atmosphere of the forest, the foreboding sense of dread and the feeling of unease is ever present and amplified from the immersion of the headset and excellent audio design. It’s a great experience in VR and worth having a go with if you love all things horror or psychological thriller, just don’t expect to be scared to death or for anything deep gameplay-wise.
Blair Witch VR Edition is an effective transposition into virtual reality of an horror game that is certainly not essential but has a nice dark and evil atmosphere.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Blair Witch: Oculus Quest Edition is a bit of an enigma. The use of VR adds so much in terms of tension, immersion and interactivity, that makes it feels both awesome and terrifying. Then, the removal of certain sections and the addition of very basic scares makes it feel a bit rushed as the scares don’t really pay off from the tension that’d been building. It’s only really the crazy ending that feels truly spooky while the simplistic wandering through the woods picking stuff up feels like a limited experience. If you’ve never played the original Flat version, I still think that’s the best version to play, but it’s worth jumping into the VR edition if you’re a fan of immersive psychological horror games or the original release and want to experience some of the thrills up close and personal. Bonus: You can pet Bullet in VR – so if all else fails, at least the game has that.
This feels like the way you’re supposed to experience Blair Witch from Bloober Team.
Blair Witch takes place in the year 1996, two years after the events of the first movie and stands as its own story not connected to the sequels.
Blair Witch for the Quest is a good game at its core, but one which sadly took a turn for the worse in going virtual. Graphics, gameplay and execution shortcomings make the original version of the game a better option.
Blair Witch VR should have been the definitive way to play this interesting psychological horror title, but the new limitations overshadow the increased immersion. Admittedly, this is compared to my experience original release, but exploring the woods feels more on-rails than before. Some changes do suit the format, but I would have liked to see more ambition and confidence in the players. As a result, this is an interesting but not essential version of a flawed original.
Blair Witch is probably best played on other platforms, where the pop-in is not so atrocious, and where the game won't break. The atmosphere during the day time is diminished thanks to the low level detail that generates only a couple of meters away. These glaring flaws hurt Blair Witch from becoming immersive, and the obtuse path to the good ending won't be figured out without a guide. There is potential here, since the foundation is solid, but this version is not easily recommended.
The arrival of Blair Witch on the Nintendo Switch can still be analyzed as a successful operation, albeit more on a conceptual level than on a technical level. The product, which still gives its best on the other consoles on which it’s available, also brings to the hybrid one of the Kyoto’s software house all its baggage of anxiety and fear, even if very weakened by the limits imposed by a port that greatly penalizes the graphics sector. It's weird to carry the Black Hills forest on Switch so simply in your pocket, as if its monstrosities are tamed. But don't make the mistake of underestimating its darkness on Nintendo Switch: Blair Witch is always ready to make you disappear.
Review in Italian | Read full review
What the game does borrow from, and contribute to, the Blair Witch mythos is exactly what made the movie such an effective piece of horror. For the overwhelming majority of it, there are no jump scares or cheap tricks. What you get instead is the terrifying sensation of being very lost, and very hunted in a forest that seemingly gets darker by the second, as you slowly start to question Ellis’ (and your own) sanity. For psychological horror fans like me, that alone is worth the price of admission. For video game fans, well, I’ll leave that to the experts.
Blair Witch has some issues but I do think it is worth playing at some point.
Blair Witch is not a totally horrible game, but it is far from good enough to be strongly recommended. Which is a shame, because there are strong points in the title, which in the end ended up being buried by long and repetitive sessions of looking for collectibles and puzzles with little logical sense.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
If you are looking for something to whet your horror appetite, and you only have a Switch, then you can’t go wrong with Blair Switch. However, if you have an Xbox, PC or PS4, then you’re better off experiencing it on something with a bit more technical capability.
Blair Witch Nintendo Switch delivers the full creepy experience, while having some visual and performance drawbacks.
Wanting to bring something new to the Blair Witch lore, the game took a giant swing at a story it had no business trying to tell. Though it has some decent scares and mechanics, strip the "yikes" of a story away and you're left with a basic linear game full up with bugs.
Blair Witch nails the feeling of the original movie, producing the same paranoia and terror as many felt in the cinemas back in 1999. An essential experience for any horror fan. [OpenCritic note: Gary Bailey separately reviewed the console [9] and Switch [8] versions. Their scores have been averaged.]
In the end, the story ends up being incredibly cliche and uninteresting, the setting is not all that fun or even all that frightening to walk around in, and the graphical downgrade is just another unfortunate brick in the wall that kept me from really enjoying my time with the game. If these things don't sound like deal breakers to you, Blair Witch may still be worth your time to at least try out. Even then I don't think I'd recommend the Switch be where you do so.