Another great title from Fireproof Games that leaves you wanting more.

Embark on a quest to find your brother, in Ghost Town.

In the newest virtual reality (VR) game from developers Fireproof Games (The Room VR), you are Edith Penrose; a witch, medium, and amateur detective. As Penrose, you are on a mission to find out what happened to your brother Adam, all while working to solve the puzzles along your path – and helping a few trapped spirits a long the way.

The game is out today (April. 24) on the Quest series of headsets, with an expected release on the PlayStation VR2 (PSVR2) and PCVR later this year.

VR users may be familiar with the escape room-esque game that is The Room VR; the last game to hit headsets from this developer. This puzzle game is a true revelation for the medium, taking a popular real-world concept and adding elements that can only be achieved thanks to the power of VR.

But this new game is something different.

With a high bar to clear, Fireproof Games could have simply created a sequel to their popular puzzle entry. Instead, what the team has created here is an engaging – yet short – adventure, which seamlessly blends a narrative that draws you in, while placing puzzles you must overcome in your path.

And the story is really what sets The Room VR and Ghost Town apart.

In the former, you’re not given a wealth of information on who you are or what motivates you. Instead, you’re thrown rather promptly into a slew of different scenarios which all task you with solving the puzzles to progress. The Room VR is a true escape room experience, as the only thing you know to do is interact with the space around you and solve the puzzles to progress.

In Ghost Town, figuring out the mystery of what happened to Adam is what keeps you going. Of course there are puzzles, and while some of them may seem daunting, they’re not overly complicated. In addition this, you’ll find yourself searching spaces for clues, items to help you sever a ghosts connection to the physical world – more on this later – and even collecting magazines.

Ghost Town is built around its story, and learning about Edith, her history, family and friends. You’ll find that even the core mechanics are different here, with proper locomotion and turning possible here – something not available in The Room VR because that game wasn’t made for it.

The game kicks off with a glimpse into the past. Edith and Adam are in a rundown theatre, looking for a ghost which seems to have haunted the place for quite some time. You’re given a rundown of the mechanics of the game including how to move, interact, access your inventory, and even access hints if required.

Once you’ve gotten a handle of the basics – and solved your first puzzle – you’ll be shown how Edith uses her abilities to help ghosts trapped from moving on. This is an interesting addition to the game that has you place items significant to the spirt on an altar, before moving your hands around to draw a magical shape.

Once this is complete the spirt can move on.

You’ll only come across spirits that need your help, a few times during your playthrough; and it doesn’t seem as if these really add anything to the overall story. It’s fairly easy to find the items you need and there doesn’t seem to be a need to double back or search for anything, so these portions of the game – while engaging – seem to only be there for filler.

The game’s mechanics are fairly simple, with the controller triggers not being utilized at all. You’ll grab things using the ‘R1’ and ‘L1’ buttons, interact and speak with characters using the ‘A’ or ‘X’ buttons, and open your inventory with the ‘B’ or ‘Y’ buttons.

See, simple.

When you open the inventory, you’ll notice that the design is very similar to The Room VR. There are six slots to keep items on you, as well as tabs you can pull down to see a story note as well as a tab for hints. You can also grab your flashlight from the inventory, and you’ll need it a lot through this dark and creepy adventure.

Moving on, the game looks pretty good. Only the Quest version is out and because of the limitations of the hardware, not everything is going to look amazing. Yes the overall settings you venture across are detailed and designed to feel real, but you’ll most definitely notice the low textures and flatness of certain things.

If you’re a stickler for graphics things look fine enough, but the graphical enhancements that will come with the PSVR2 version later this year may be more your speed. Keep in mind, even a game like Batman Arkham Shadow wasn’t perfectly detailed all the time.

Now let’s talk about the most important part of this game: the puzzles.

Puzzles ramp up in difficulty as you progress through the game, however, nothing you experience at any point in the game can be considered difficult. In fact, compared to The Room VR the puzzles here were downright simple. Yes, there may be moments where one may be confused as to how they can progress, but everything in this game can be solved rather easily if you simply think big picture and use simple deductive reasoning.

Not once during the playthrough was there a moment when a hint was needed – this actually means there’s not much info to pass along on the hint system, however, if it’s anything like the aforementioned game, they’ll be plenty helpful.

For those who don’t enjoy horror games – or anything where something is going to jump out at you – Ghost Town is not that kind of game. This is a creepy experience filled with eerie situations and settings, but there is nothing that is going to go bump in the night.

If you’re hesitant on getting this because it might be scary, then fear not, because this game contains none of those cheap jumpscares. There are many situations where you might feel like you’re being watched – or there’s something just around the corner – but these tense settings are just there to keep you on your toes.

This isn’t Shattered and nothing is going to get you. Promise.

Overall, Ghost Town is an excellent game that blends story and escape room action. This may not be a direct follow-up to their previous title, but Fireproof Games show exactly why they are top tier when it comes to puzzle games.

While it may not have been the most difficult to complete, this game, which clocks in around four hours – six if you take the time to wander around and find all of the magazine issues – is a really fun time in VR.

The only downside that one may be left with when it’s over, is the disappointment that the game ends too soon – leaving you wanting more.

Here’s hoping the team is already working on the next VR puzzler they want to create, because Fireproof Games not only left the door open for more in Ghost Town, but there’s a lot more left in The Room series as well.

Ghost Town was reviewed on the Quest 3 after receiving pre-release access.