Day One Logged T+

Before your first run: setting up space, light and room for HAUNTED

The launch-day checklist for HAUNTED: space setup, room to crawl and swing, pets out, lights on, standing rather than sitting.

Status: Logged Type: howto Phase: Day one Read: 4 min

An empty, tidy room with a smooth floor and a single ceiling light

In short: HAUNTED: Are You Alone? turns your actual room into the level. Walls, floor and ceiling become the stage. Which also means: whatever is lying around the room is in the way. This checklist gets you from download to a safe first run in about ten minutes. Tick it off, then play.

Why preparation matters more here

Most VR games leave you standing in a virtual world. HAUNTED puts you in your own room, via passthrough. And it demands movement. According to the studio, you’ll be turning, leaning forward, crouching, crawling and swinging. In Chapter VII you crawl on hands and knees through a tunnel that can be up to four metres long and is adapted to your room.

Then there are the jump scares. Whoever gets a fright, flinches. Whoever flinches will, in doubt, hit the coffee table.

Checklist 1: clear the floor space

  • [ ] Floor clear. Cables, bags, toys, laundry baskets out of the way. You will be kneeling and crawling on the floor.
  • [ ] Check your swing room. Stretch your arms out in every direction and turn once. In the story you swing an axe and a baseball bat.
  • [ ] Breakables away. Lamps, glasses, plants out of reach.
  • [ ] Mind the sharp edges. Pad table corners and radiators where possible, or keep them out of the play area.
  • [ ] Check the ceiling. With a low ceiling or a hanging lamp, swing with care.

Checklist 2: space setup

At launch, HAUNTED shows every room scanned on your Quest. Via Scan a new room you open Quest Space Setup.

  • [ ] Rescan the room if you’ve moved furniture since the last scan.
  • [ ] Set the walls precisely. Arms break out of your walls, a graveyard opens up behind one. The more accurately the walls sit, the more convincing it looks.
  • [ ] Capture furniture, as far as your headset offers it.
  • [ ] Pick the right room. If you’ve scanned several rooms, choose the current one at launch.

According to the studio, any room size works. More free space still makes the movement more comfortable.

Checklist 3: light

  • [ ] Lights on. The Quest needs light to track the headset, controllers and hands. A dark room doesn’t make the game scarier, just less reliable.
  • [ ] No direct sun on the headset or into the cameras.
  • [ ] Even lighting helps, especially with hand tracking.

The atmosphere is the game’s job. In Chapter IV the lights go out in-game, and only your torch shows the room. Your real lights can stay on throughout.

Checklist 4: pets and housemates

  • [ ] Pets out. A cat wandering through the room at the wrong moment is a real risk when you swing.
  • [ ] Tell your housemates. Anyone watching stays outside the play area.
  • [ ] No children in the room. HAUNTED is PEGI 18. Even watching isn’t for kids, given the loud scares and gore.

Checklist 5: play mode and posture

  • [ ] Stand, don’t sit. The store lists room-scale and standing. The story calls for crouching and crawling. There’s no seated mode.
  • [ ] Comfortable clothing that doesn’t get in the way on the floor.
  • [ ] Wrist straps on if you’re playing with controllers.

Checklist 6: choose your input

HAUNTED supports hands and Touch controllers. Decide beforehand:

  • Controllers deliver strong haptics for scares, grabs and hits.
  • Hand tracking needs good light and a clear view of your hands for the headset cameras.

Checklist 7: yourself

  • [ ] Read the warning. The game shows a two-page content warning at every launch: loud noises, flashing lights and darkness, gore, jump scares. Not suitable for pregnant people or anyone with epilepsy, heart conditions or anxiety disorders.
  • [ ] Plan for breaks. According to the studio, the story runs 25 to 35 minutes. The pause menu offers Resume, Try again, Home menu and Quit.
  • [ ] Stop if you feel unwell. The game never moves the camera itself. Even so: if you feel rough, take the headset off.

What comes next

Once everything is ticked off, you start with New game in the floating main menu. How the first half hour plays out is covered in our spoiler-light first-session report.

Buy, wait or skip?

If you can tick off the list above without problems, you’re ready. Buy if you have the space and you’re an adult. Wait until you’ve sorted out a clear area. Skip if you can only play seated, or if the warning applies to you. Store page: HAUNTED: Are You Alone? on the Meta Horizon Store.

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