A work in progress puzzle game that’s off to a good start.

Use your wits – and some mind-bending aids – to make your way through a new creepy puzzle game.

Dark Trip, by iTales VR is one of the latest escape room games built for virtual reality (VR) on the Quest headsets. But what sets this game apart from its kin is the ability to switch your perspective to tackle each situation differently.

For those who have played a few VR entries in this genre, you may want to point out how games like The Room VR, or The House of Da Vinci VR use tools to allow you to see things in a new perspective. And to be fair you would be right; those games give you the ability to see things your eyes cannot, glimpse into the past, and even look inside objects.

Here you’re given the ability to enter a hallucinatory state, where your perspective of the space becomes a whole lot creepier.

Now, the game is already creepy; the overall atmosphere is tense as you’re often surrounded by what seems to be an overwhelming darkness.

Couple that with the ambient sounds, scary cackling and the ever-present feeling that you’re being watched – if you look over your shoulder there’s a good chance you’ll see a figure disappearing into the shadows, as their evil laugh sticks with you – and you’ll come to terms rather fast that this game is probably going to be a little frightening.

While still in early access, Dark Trip’s first episode features 10 rooms with puzzles that range in difficulty and make you stop and think. What’s neat about the setup of this game is that when you choose to hallucinate, the room and the puzzles change as well. This means the game which already has multiple incoming episodes with more rooms to solve, is replayable thanks to a simple shift in perspective.

One thing to note with this though is that you only get about five chances per playthrough to alter the space around you, which means by the time the full game is released, you’ll need to go through a few runs to cover everything.

Aside from solving the puzzles and overcoming your fears, the game has photos scattered around each level – three per to be exact. This little side quest is a way to encourage the completionists to keep coming back but doesn’t do much to alter the overall game if you choose to ignore them.

Now let’s talk about how things look.

The graphics don’t look nearly as good in headset as they do in the game previews. Now, that’s not to say things aren’t detailed, however, things just don’t standout like they appear to do in the game’s marketing.

Things are dark, and there isn’t a setting that allows for you to be able to brighten the world around you. This ends up bringing down the rest of the world because the all-encompassing darkness just seems to be too much. Sure, the game’s able to retain that killer in the shadows vibe, but because it’s so dark so often, you may find yourself lost to that – instead of being able to appreciate everything else.

In the later rooms you’re able to appreciate the graphic quality a little more, however, it’s not going to win a “best in show” award in the graphics department anytime soon; good thing they’re in early access and have time to improve things.

Some other things which need to be improved during the paid testing phase known as early access include all kinds of jank and confusing controller mechanics. This includes getting stuck in certain spots before being flung away, not being able to maneuver because a patch of grass won’t allow you to walk over it, or your hand getting stuck in a puzzle before the game crashes, there’s quite a few things which need to be corrected.

Interactions could also be a little better, though really only when it comes to pulling inventory items out – since this involves holding down one button while using another to cycle through objects, rather than allowing you to simply grab one.

A final downside to this game is that there doesn’t seem to be an apparent hint system within the game. This means if you happen to get stuck at any point in the game, there’s nothing to do beside figure it out yourself – or run to the internet for answers.

Overall, Dark Trip needs some work; guess it’s a good thing then that the developers are going to be working on this game over the course of the next year.

The atmosphere is very believable – if a bit too dark – and the puzzles are engaging, with some requiring players to take a step back and think things through. Everything else could do with a bug squashing in one way or another, but if you can treat small things as hiccups and don’t run into the gamebreakers, chances are you’ll find this an enjoyable experience.

Oh, and if you’re worried about jumpscares, don’t be; the game just wants you to the edge of wetting your pants, not push you over it. As mentioned earlier, there are many moments of tension and you may feel as if you’re going to be attacked, but that’s all just part of the experience.

Dark Trip was reviewed on the Quest 3 after purchasing during early access.