Until Dawn: Rush of Blood

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood puts the player in the seat of a roller-coaster cart riding through a dark amusement park and the surrounding woods, with the player shooting from a first-person perspective at monsters and other threats emerging on either side of the track. It is a so-called rail shooter, where movement happens automatically along a predetermined track and the player focuses purely on aiming and survival, a concept that proved to be exceptionally well suited to early VR hardware thanks to minimizing the risk of motion sickness. The player shoots using Move controllers, and besides regular weapons can also collect upgrades and unlock alternative paths for the cart by managing to hit hidden targets placed along the track, which gives even this linear rail shooter a reason for repeat playthroughs.

The game loosely follows on from the atmosphere of the survival horror Until Dawn, borrowing its dark setting, masks of deranged clowns, and horror motifs, but instead of a branching story with decision-making it offers a purely action-driven, adrenaline-fueled ride full of sudden jump-outs and jump-scare moments. Sound design and the play of light and shadow are key to building tension, with spatial audio in the headset heightening the sense that danger can appear from any direction. The individual sections of track gradually move from an abandoned fairground into dark forests and underground spaces, so the game's atmosphere keeps sharpening as the ride progresses.

At the time of release, Rush of Blood was among the most frequently recommended titles for new PSVR owners who wanted to show the headset off to friends, since the combination of short, intense segments and simple controls made the game an ideal showcase experience. Even today it is cited as one of the best examples of how effectively a rail shooter can use VR to build a horror atmosphere without needing a complex movement system.

Why play: Thanks to short, intense segments and simple controls, it was a favorite choice for showing off PSVR to friends, and it remains one of the best rail shooters at building a horror atmosphere.