I’m familiar with modern-day Doctor Who, but I don’t watch it. In fact, I haven’t properly watched a Doctor Who episode since the days when Sylvester McCoy and Ace went head-to-head with a man made out of Liquorice Allsorts.
Back then Doctor Who still felt like a sci-fi horror show for kids, featuring a healthy dose of mortal peril in each episode, but in my minds eye, the episodes were always rather colourful and a touch psychedelic. That’s why I was a bit taken aback by how gloomy Doctor Who: The Edge of Time was. Are the newer series really this poorly lit?
If you want to see what I’m on about, check out this week’s episode of Ian’s VR Corner in the video player below. I took a trip to developer Maze Theory’s offices to record an exclusive Let’s Play of a portion of one of the game’s five levels and this snippet shows off just how murky the visuals in the game can actually get.
Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time VR Gameplay Is Surprisingly Spooky! – (Let’s Play Doctor Who VR) Watch on YouTube
The level I played in the video is set in a creepy forest on an alien world and it unfolds a bit like Myst by the way of Slenderman. After leaving the safety of the TARDIS, I had to fumble my way through a dark, twisting forest with only a torch for comfort, all whilst being stalked by aggressive dog-like creatures with glowing red faces.
Then, after a couple of well executed jump-scares, I had to solve a random wire puzzle hidden in a cave, in order to activate an old lift and make my escape.
It all worked nicely and I was suitably immersed in the experience, even if a few graphical glitches threatened to shatter the illusion along the way. My main issue however, was just how incredibly dark and monochromatic in tone it was and this forest level isn’t an exception. One earlier level I played that was set in a London alleyway was bathed entirely in varying shades of dark red, which made it rather hard to distinguish between pieces of scenery and props I could interact with.