Survival videogames come in a variety of guises, usually centred around a catastrophic event like a weird anomaly or zombies, lots of zombies. Yet they don’t tend to be very down to earth, looking at the basics of survival. That’s where indie project Woods by BadJulie and Rookbird Games aims to be different.
The world has descended into some sort of unknown chaos, and you’ll play as David who has managed to escape to the Colorado woods, a familiar place he knows he can survive in. Like any good woodsman to live outside in this wilderness requires a mixture of skills, which you’ll be taught across a selection of chapters.
Woods will be split into two main parts, with each of these featuring three chapters. Each chapter will be located in a different camp, with new skills to learn and challenges to face. “The idea for this game came about in March of last year during a really rough, long winter,” explained J Rodin, CEO of BadJulie in a statement. “I had to chop wood outside in a snowstorm. As I was doing so, the idea for this game suddenly came to mind. The spooky setting of a cold, dark forest seemed like the perfect environment for a new virtual reality survival game.”
So you’ll be tasked with chopping wood to keep the fire burning throughout the winter, followed by learning to fish, trap, cook and craft to keep David alive. It won’t all be work though, avoiding fatigue and getting rest is just as important, there’s even a guitar which anyone can play supposedly.
As you progress you’ll learn why he ended up in the woods alone without his daughter as he speaks to her in his head, if you survive long enough. You can even delve into the first chapter of the story now as BadJulie has released a digital eBook available through Amazon.
The first part of Woods is expected to launch in early 2021 for PC VR headsets like Oculus Rift and Valve Index. The developers may even bring the title to Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR if it’s successful. For further updates on Woods as development progresses, keep reading VRFocus.
via Mint VR