Broken Spectre is a cosmic horror narrative game for hand-tracking VR. Players take on the role of Casey Brewer, a strong-headed adventurer haunted by her troubled family history. When she hears news that her father, Dr. Grant Brewer, a renowned biologist long suspected dead in the treacherous wilderness of Northwest Canada, may still be alive, she departs for Coldblood Mountain National Park to begin her search. Tracking Grant's path, the player soon finds evidence of Grant's mutated experiments and clues that lead them to higher and more dangerous elevations to uncover a dark secret.
Reception
Prior to its release, the game received favorable preview coverage from a number of horror genre publications, including Fangoria, which called Broken Spectre "the VR haunted park adventure of your nightmares"[1], and Bloody Disgusting, which cited the untapped potential of "cosmic horror and VR"[2]. Broken Spectre was featured in the 2023 [[UploadVR] Summer Showcase where its release date trailer debuted and June 21, 2023 release date was exclusively announced[3]. The game's announcement and release date trailers were also featured on video game and entertainment media website IGN[4] and its associated YouTube channels[5].
Horror video game website Rely on Horror awarded Broken Spectre a 9/10 and praised the game's cosmic horror narrative, hand-tracking mechanics, and sound design, saying that it "attempts to move the genre forward" and is an experience that VR horror fans "won’t want to pass up."[6]. SVG.com also gave Broken Spectre a 9/10, praised the game's innovative hand-tracking system and stated that it set "a new standard for the genre" while pushing the boundaries of virtual reality horror[7].
Notable VR YouTubers such as BMFVR, OtterWorldly, and A Wolf and VR published Let's Play videos featuring reviews and gameplay from Broken Spectre, with the latter praising the game's horror elements and favorably comparing it to Campo Santo's acclaimed 2016 walking simulatorFirewatch[8].
