Hellsweeper VR promises a hell of a time with fast and furious gameplay trailer at the Future Games Show
Hellsweeper turns up the thermostat with a flash of fire, brimstone and terrifying demon-bashing
With its fire-swept valleys, magical swords, old-school twin revolvers, and ghastly monsters, Hellsweeper VR asks in all-capital letters: DARE TO DESCEND TO HELL? I mean, I think I am. Tentatively at least.
You see, Hellsweeper VR's latest trailer – aired during the Future Games Show's VR showcase – looks great. But it also looks bloody terrifying. So much so, that while I'd love to slap on a virtual reality headset and travel further south than I ever hoped I'd need to, I'm also petrified of doing so. Which, to Hellsweeper VR's credit, is mission accomplished, right?
As a VR-powered first-person action-combat affair, Hellsweeper VR is the work of Mixed Realms, the same studio who brought us ninja simulator Sairento VR back in 2018. The team's latest venture is distinctly darker in tone, granting players access to this world's fiery depths as an undead immortal whose purpose is to rid hell itself of its demonic souls.
In doing so, you'll harness an array of deadly weapons, rely on powers such as telekinesis, and defy mere mortal physics with wall-runs, backflips, power slides, and even Max Payne-esque twin pistol-blasting bullet time attacks. The footage shared at the Future Games Showcase VR showcase is breakneck as is – just the thought of doing so while fully-immersed via Steam VR at launch (and PS VR 2 and Meta Quest down the line) is enough to make your head spin.
Dare you descend to hell? Make that decision for yourself when Hellsweeper VR lands on September 21, 2023.
If you’re looking for more excellent games from today's Future Games Show, have a look at our official Steam page.
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Joe Donnelly is a sports editor from Glasgow and former features editor at 12DOVE. A mental health advocate, Joe has written about video games and mental health for The Guardian, New Statesman, VICE, PC Gamer and many more, and believes the interactive nature of video games makes them uniquely placed to educate and inform. His book Checkpoint considers the complex intersections of video games and mental health, and was shortlisted for Scotland's National Book of the Year for non-fiction in 2021. As familiar with the streets of Los Santos as he is the west of Scotland, Joe can often be found living his best and worst lives in GTA Online and its PC role-playing scene.