An interesting puzzle game that could benefit from some backstory.

Test your mettle – and think fast to survive – in a new horror puzzle game.

Released today (Aug. 1, 2024), Hello Cruel World from Akupara Games throws you headfirst into a vast and mysterious underground lab, as you use all your wits to make it out alive. Inspired from games like Portal and SOMA, the developers say the story of body horror and identity told here, stems mostly from some movies they adore.

The game wastes no time getting you into the thick of things, without much backstory as to who you are or what is going on; but it seems as if you’re a social media streamer who is out investigating some weird rumours at a dilapidated fast food restaurant.

As soon as you exit your van and start making your way into the rundown restaurant for your investigation, the atmosphere around you is chilling. The developers did a great job dialing up your anxiety by making you feel as if there’s something around every dark corner.

In fact, the overall look and feel of this game is one of the best things about it.

Graphics are stellar – and while some elements may look flat and lifeless, the majority of the world around you looks and feels authentic – which only adds to the immersion you would want from a horror game.

Even with your severely underpowered flashlight – and constantly updating stream chat, rooms are dark and there’s a looming sense that something is out there – and waiting for you. This creep factor is only dialed up once you get a little ways in – and experience firsthand the dangers that await you.

You don’t spend long inside the restaurant proper as your short excursion takes you to a place of no return, and the floor collapses. This is the true start to your adventure and the place where puzzles abound.

Speaking of puzzles, they are all fairly straightforward if you take the time to think.

Mostly, you need to find ways to power the doors around you as you search for an exit. This starts off fairly easy with generators and power relays – and an ‘X’ to mark the spot. Quickly, you’ll need to start figuring things out on your own and use all the tools you find along the way to help you make it through.

The puzzle solving aspect seems to be a little underwhelming at times, often leaving you yearning for something more. What would make this game even greater would be if the developers made this more escape room-esque – with puzzles that vary and all tie together, before allowing you to advance.

There’s nothing wrong with the puzzles in their current format, and considering the horror aspect of the game, it actually makes a lot of sense to keep you on your toes as you solve what’s in front of you. But sometimes it felt as if what was needed to be solved was simply too easy and less engaging than other parts.

At its core, this game does so many things well – and is absolutely worth the $25.51 price tag – but even the best games can have a flaw or two. Hello Cruel World seems to falter with its lack of backstory and tutorial(s).

Yes, not really knowing the backstory of who your character is – or what motivates them – can add to the mystery of the game, but it ends up raising more questions as you wonder exactly what brought you and your live stream chat to this place.

As for the lack of tutorials, this could be forgiven early on as there’s not much to do control-wise besides move, teleport and grab things – all of which are fairly standard for those who play VR games regularly. In fact, the only thing which needs to be figured out early on in the game is turning the chat on and off – you may as well turn it off, but more on this later.

It’s later in the game once you pickup new items and abilities, that a lack of a tutorial can be considered a hindrance.

Taking a step back, it’s once again easy to see why the game is presented in this fashion – if you’re really trapped in an underground lab, no one is going to walk you through how to use the tools you find. Immersion aside, trying to figure out how some of the abilities work took much longer than necessary, simply because there was no tutorial to give a quick breakdown.

Another weird element is the constant chat that you can have visible as you make your way through the place. In fact, the chat seems to be a pointless addition which doesn’t add anything to the overall game. Depending on who you are, the mind-numbing and wholly devoid of substance messages that fill the screen, can get annoying really quick.

If this chat added something that actually helped you as you you went through – perhaps like a weird digital sidekick – it might make sense. However, in its current format, it’s just an extra element that showcases why people who sit on the internet watching live streams need better things to do.

Overall, Hello Cruel World is a very intriguing VR entry that knows how to set the stage and amp up an uneasy horror. Akupara Games did a great job of creating something that really thinks outside the box, despite some of the odd elements that are added in.

While different choices could have made things a little easier to follow – and maybe the puzzles a little more engaging – the game in its current form is still a pretty interactive puzzler that does many things right.

Even if you aren’t a fan of horror games, Hello Cruel World is still worthy of playing, simply because it’s an entertaining few hours in VR – and don’t worry, the horror elements are not that terrifying.

Hello Cruel World, was reviewed on the Quest 3 after receiving a test copy from the developers.