Intruders was originally a Virtual Reality game available on the PlayStation VR since 2019. Fast forward to 2023 and Intruders no longer requires a compatible virtual reality headset, as it launches onto Xbox and Nintendo Switch, as well as being playable on PlayStation and Steam without one. Developer Tessera Studios brings the first person stealth game to Xbox and have done a decent enough job making it work in a non-vr environment.

You return to your massive and secluded family home after a vacation, happy to be out of the horrible thunderstorm hammering down outside. It doesn’t take long for events to take a horrible turn, as three scary and mysterious intruders break into your home, and hold your mother and father captive. With your little sibling Irene trapped in the house’s panic room, it falls upon you (Ben, a defenceless young boy and the eldest of the two siblings) to survive the night and find a way to escape or call for the help that your family desperately needs.

At first, Intruders: Hide and Seek does a great job of getting the player accustomed to the games systems and mechanics by having you play a game of hide and seek with your little sister, before switching the lights out and dropping you into a rather unsettling home invasion environment. Unfortunately, you won’t be doing much more than creeping around, picking up items (and collectibles, should you stumble upon them) and dashing for a hiding spot should an intruder be closing in on you.

Throughout my time with this one, you can tell this is a virtual reality game first and foremost, as the gameplay is quite basic. For instance, should you need to find a hiding place, you have to press LT (Left Trigger) in time with a pulse. There is an achievement tied to this “panic mini-game” for failing, which I had to purposely fail to obtain it, giving you some indication of just how forgiving this mechanic is. It is mostly likely more in-depth and risky in virtual reality, but here it sort of just, exists.

The atmosphere is unsettling and does a brilliant job of making you feel to scared to make a dash for the next objective, or leave a closest once you have entered one. Especially coupled with the games great audio design, although a real dampener is how slow your character moves, as this usually leads to you being caught and unable to make it into a safe space without the intruders ripping you from them 90% of the time. The thrill or adrenaline of the chase quickly wears off here because of this. I had one section in particular where I got caught multiple times and any sense of fear was overwhelmed with frustration of having to repeat the same stretch over and over.

I realise that so far I’m not painting the prettiest picture, but overall, it’s a decent and short experience. Whilst the gameplay might not blow you away (I’ll put this down to it originally being a virtual reality game) the plot and the characters certainly might. As you creep your way around your own house you can listen to conversations between intruders, or even when they are talking to themselves and I found the whole cast quite interesting for the most part.

I found that the tension and atmosphere began to drop off the more I got caught and had to repeat certain parts, but then the story swoops in and picks up the slack, carrying the game right through until the credits. The story really came out of nowhere, as I honestly thought I had some idea of where it was heading right from the, only to be shocked and surprised. I assumed where the story was heading right from the start and was loving it when proven wrong. If not for the gameplay or atmosphere, Intruders is definitely one to experience for it’s plot.

As the wise ZoKinns from Thistle’Do Gaming says:

It’s like Home Alone, but you get called a f*cking brat.

Conclusion

Intruders: Hide and Seek is a decent addition to the ever-growing library of indie horror games. The very basic gameplay does wear itself thin after a while, but it is still quite enjoyable and the story makes stepping into Ben’s shoes worthwhile. Performance wise the game runs fine and the visuals are decent. Taking me roughly around 3 hours to complete, this can easily be finished up in one sitting. It’s a decent experience that I’d like to see more of, maybe in the form of a sequel perhaps. I’d recommend playing this one in Virtual Reality if you can, as that’s the intended playstyle.

Sitting at £17.99 on the Xbox Store and currently on sale a 90% off on Steam for £1.74, it’s a great time to give it a go! Intruders isn’t going to give you an “Outlast” experience, but it will give you the “Intruders” experience and it’s a meaningful one.