PAX East 2016 Preview: ‘Fated: The Silent Oath’

This year can easily be called the year of Virtual Reality, with the Occulus Rift, HTC Vive and Samsung Gear all out in commercial release and The Playstation VR coming later in the year some amazing VR titles are arriving. I tried a very promising title called FATED: The Silent Oath at PAX East and it wowed me with it’s detailed interactions and focus on storytelling.

The demo was unique to the show as I was sitting on a bench holding horse reigns and there are some scents, wind, and fog that hit me as the demo runs, but even without that it would have been a stellar experience.  The game takes place in a Norse mythology infused world, and I was part of a family trying to stay alive during the end of the world – Ragnarok.

The game starts with my family and I on a carriage as I guide the horse using the reigns. It starts calm at first with the wife and daughter chatting with me; my daughter sat next to me as the journey progresses.  As this is VR I could look all around, looking behind as the family talks or all around at the waterfalls, trees, and mountains surrounding me.  At one point two giant ravens landed on the carriage and I found myself jerking away from them, the immersiveness of VR in this
game cannot be understated.  The main character doesn’t speak (part of the story focuses on him losing his voice) but because of head tracking I could nod and shake my head to answer.

Shortly though the game takes a dark turn with a giant showing up and attacking the caravan. I began guiding the horse much faster as we try to escape safely.  The carriage rockets forward and I needed to quickly shift left and right to escape; at one point the carriage is rocked sideways and your daughter almost falls off the bench, I actually shot my hand to the side to grab her; that is how intense the experience was.  I eventually evaded the giant and the demo ended. My heart at this point was pounding and I had a grin on my face from the rush of the experience.

FATED: The Silent Oath is an incredibly satisfying VR experience and one that anyone with a Rift or Vive should be checking out.  In speaking to the developer I learned that Fated will be released episodically and will be an interactive storytelling experience with a developing story featuring magic, mythology, and most of all survival. The art style of the game is very striking with bold colors and a vibrancy that is shockingly immersive in the VR environment.  I have tried numerous VR experiences and few have caused me to reach out in reaction, grin from start to finish, and truly look in awe at the surroundings as FATED: The Silent Oath did.  It is one to keep an eye out for when the first part comes out April 28th.