Ever wonder what it would be like To be stuck in the Land of the Dead forced into the service industry for eternity? Maybe you enjoy hanging out at your local watering hole and like the idea Of an after Life filled with music, drinks, food, and angry, hungry, scary looking ungrateful customers? The idea of working in the afterlife might not seem appealing but if it’s anything like horror bar VR it could be a lot worse.
Horror Bar VR is in the running for VR game of the year and is available on the Oculus and PlayStation platforms. In Horror bar VR the player is the manager of a undead bar and grill. As a budding bartender the player will learn how to mix the underworlds favorite drinks as well as exotic dishes that’ll make every soul hungry for more.
What is the Gameplay like in Horror Bar VR?
As players start off in the game the days start off slow, with a simple drink order, serving one customer at a time. Players use their hands like they would in real life to prepare drinks and food for the customers. It’s important to remember that space can be an issue so make sure the play area is clear from any obstacles. You don’t have to move around physically during HBVR but Players will have to reach to deliver dishes to the customers. Players should Get used to using the spin control switch to turn their bartender around left and right to be able to reach all of the utensils necessary. I highly recommend avoiding twisting your body to reach certain items. It can cause the VR to miss some of the items.
Every customer request has a specific recipe that must be followed exactly as it’s shown on the recipe screen. If the player misses a step, they’ll ruin the drink or dish and they’ll have a unsatisfied customer, not get paid, and no tip. If the player is quick with the order and makes no mistakes they will get paid the full amount of the order, plus a tip! The faster the order is completed the bigger the tip! If the customers are being too demanding the player can “stop time” by pulling the ball lever on the side of the cash register located to their left. This will freeze the timer for all of the customers who come to the bar for a short period of time. This can be helpful when trying to complete the days goals. Every “workday” has goals that the player must meet to move onto the next day. The entire game takes place over a 30 day period. Some of these daily goals are serving a specific amount of dishes successfully or not making a certain amount of mistakes. If the player doesn’t want to stop time but is falling behind, they can strike the skull that is hanging over their right shoulder. After about 5 seconds the skull will produce a card from its mouth. This card can be placed in front of the customer instead of their dish and the player will get the full credit for the cost of the dish or drink, no tip.
As players progress in their bartender skills they will be able to learn new drink and dish recipes. Every new recipe can be practiced before entering the day. Some days are harder than others, just like in the real service industry, but every day ends with a rewarding payout. money earned during the days work can be used to unlock customizable utensils for the players kitchen. The utensils come in basic, skull, or industrial variations. Players can pick a theme for the entire bar or they can mix-and-match the different utensils depending on their preference.
The player must use both their hands to properly mix drinks. In some cases the player has to hold a drink mixer in one hand while scooping eyeball ice cubes with the other, pouring it into the cup. The same action is required for adding blood or spirits into the drink. If the player drops the cup they will have to start over. If items are dropped on the floor they usually respawn within a second or two in their original spot. The player can place the cup on the bar and pour the mixture into it but that can get risky if vermin spawn. Yes, the bar is invested with Vermin from the after life like bats, giant spiders, cockroaches, and an Addams Family style “It”hand. All of these vermin can ruin a dish or steal the half prepared order. The player can dispatch these unwanted guests by smashing them with a hammer or the club which is located just underneath the frying pan.
There were a few times that pouring and mixing drinks was a little buggy but not so often enough to where it was impairing or game stopping.
Players have a variety of cups that go along with the different variety of drinks that they need to make. Players must choose the right cup to mix the drink that the customers requesting. Some drinks require that ingredients be crushed before being mixed. This action is carried out with both hands,again. A circle of little green arrows will form around the rim of the cup when the grinding is complete. Players should make sure that they complete the grinding completely before beginning to mix or the drink won’t come out right and they’ll have an unsatisfied customer.
When it comes to preparing food dishes, different items require different techniques for cooking. Some dishes require that the meat product either liver, heart, or brain be ground up into a patty first. Grinding organs into a patty can be done by grabbing the item and putting it to the meat grinder located on the left of the bar which will automatically form it into a patty and place it on the grill. The player has to watch the patty to make sure it doesn’t burn and must flip it with a spatula at the right time. If the player burns the patty the item will disappear and they will have to start again.
Multitasking is very important in Horror Bar VR if the player wants to serve their customers on time. So while food like patties are cooking, the player can do other things like plate the buns after they have been warmed. I recommend keeping buns toasted and ready so the player doesn’t have to worry about them if one of the vermin in the bar interrupts their order. Buns don’t burn.
Another item that can be prepared early, or at least started, are the French finger fries. The deep fryer bin can be placed underneath the meat grinder where finger fries will fall. The basket can be left there until it’s needed.
Some drinks and dishes require accents like ketchup, mustard, claws, worms, ears, and noses. The player has to pay close attention the many recipes that are on the menu and what dish requires special ingredients or garnish.
What’s on The Menu of Horror Bar VR?
The taste buds of the undead can be a bit…particular. You’re not going to find a BLT or anything vegan on this menu!
Ingredients (we can’t say where or how these organs were obtained) :
- Brains
- Liver
- Heart
Mixes:
- Blood
- Poison
- Spirits
- Bile
- Arsenic
Toppings:
- Fried Skin
- Moldy Cheese
- Yellow Mustard
- Ketchup
Drinks
- Acidic Ooze- this bile infused drink is sure to leave a hole in your throat!
- Red Dead- poison served over eyeballs
- Zombie Spirit- a spirit mix to wake the dead.
- Poison Ivy Rash- this isn’t the only rash you can get in Horror Bar VR
- Vampires Lair- a bloodsuckers favorite
- Wormy Germs- for those with a more earthy palette
- Virgin Mary- for the rare good souls
- Sweet Ear O’Mine- what? What?
Hamburgers
- Heart attack burger- a single heart patty on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Liver transplant burger- a single Liver patty on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Brain burger- a single brain patty on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Double heart attack burger- two hearts are better than one on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Double Liver Transplant Burger- two livers means double the fun on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Double Brain Burger- two brains Patties never tasted better on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Double Heart Attack cheeseburger- two hearts are better than one w/Cheese on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Double Liver Cheeseburger- two liver Pattie’s w/Cheese means double the fun on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Double heart Skinburger- two hearts are better than one with fries skin on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- double heart skincheeseburger- two hearts are better than one and even better with Cheese and skin on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Double liver skinburger- two liver Pattie’s with fried skin means double the fun on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Double liver skincheeseburger- two liver Pattie’s with fried skin and cheese means double the fun on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Double brain cheeseburger- two brains Patties never tasted better with moldy cheese on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- double brain skinburger- two brains Patties with fried skin never tasted better on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Double brain skincheeseburger- two brains Patties with fried skin and moldy cheese never tasted better on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Heart attack cheeseburger- a single heart patty with moldy cheese on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Heart attack skincheeseburger- a single heart patty with fried skin and moldy cheese on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Heart attack skinburger- a single heart patty with fried skin on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Liver transplant cheeseburger a single Liver patty with moldy cheese on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Liver transplant skincheeseburger a single Liver patty with fried skin and moldy cheese on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Liver transplant skinburger a single Liver patty with fried skin on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Brain cheeseburger a single Brain patty with moldy cheese on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Brain skinburger a single Brain patty with fried skin on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
- Brain skincheeseburger a single Brain patty with moldy cheese and fried skin on a toasted moldy sesame seed bun!
Exotic food and sides
- French fingers- fresh cut fingers of the French
- Toothy Grin Piranha-a freshly clubbed fishy delight.
- Fried Tentacles- chopped octopus fried and served hot!
- Skinned Crab Alive- boiled alive so you can hear it’s screams and taste the freshness!
- Rat from the dead- it was dead, now it’s alive so you can make it dead again!
- Bloody steak- its meat, fried, don’t ask where it comes from because we don’t know.
Can the Bar be customized in Horror Bar VR?
The bar has many items that can be upgraded for a little bit of money. These items can be mixed and matched or players can go for a theme.
- Spatula-used for flipping burgers
- aquarium net-you don’t want to grab a piranha with your bare hands.
- frying pan-for frying silly
- cutting knife-chopping octopus arms like they owe you money!
- electric paddles-no better way to bring back dead rats!
- serving Plates-even monsters have manners
- tumbler-for big drinks
- Drinking glass-classy and functional
- Mug-good for mugging
- Mixer-duh?
- Grinder-it grinds items
- Hammer-when you need to knock out fish, or vermin
- Tongs-it’s a way to get crabs
- Pot-not the smoking kind, the boiling one
- Deep frying basket-transfats? Who cares! All the customers are already dead!
- French finger holder-a plate to put the fingers of French
- Club-every bartender is part therapist part bouncer.
Overall Horror Bar VR is a lot of fun for all ages. Although the replayability leaves a bit to be desired, after the 30 days that’s it. You can restart the calendar over again with no additional benefits, rewards, or unlocks other than the cash earned to unlock more custom utensils. I would like to see more goals added to the game or perhaps an “average day” setting that changes the difficulty randomly. Once players finish the 30 days they can go back and replay any day they have completed. The last days on the calendar are the more difficult and challenging, And on the reverse, if you have a lot of younger players in the family, the first couple of days might be challenging enough to keep them entertained.
I really enjoyed the Tim Burton-esque style of character design, soundtrack, and graphics. It made the game feel familiar and engaging. The monsters in the game aren’t frightening and are cartoonish in their design and actions however the elements in the game like the brains and hearts look very realistic so it might be shocking to younger players.
As a horror fan I really enjoyed horror bar VR and enjoy playing it a lot! I highly recommend!
