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| NinjaGuyX reviews Here They Lie on PSVR, a short horror walking sim with surreal imagery and a PS4-era VR feel. |
By NinjaGuyX
Diving into Here They Lie, the 2016 PlayStation VR horror game that helped kickstart the VR horror scene. It's a short walking sim, but the world is packed with disturbing, unforgettable moments. Is it worth tracking down in 2026? Let's get into it.
In Here They Lie, people lie so hard here. I once thought I heard the truth. Nope, that was a lie too. Now, I'd be lying if I said this review is spoiler-free, because honestly, the whole game turns out to be a lie. Alright, with that out of the way, lie back and listen to my review.
Here They Lie released in 2016 as an early PlayStation VR horror game. That was the year VR really started booming, and this game was one of the more impressive early examples of what the tech could do.
Here They Lie Builds Its Horror Around A Breakup
The story follows a man dealing with his breakup from his girlfriend, Dana. Everyone around him insists they were the perfect couple, and on the surface, it feels like you're trying to work things out while still undecided about the relationship. But underneath that surface, you're actually traversing a horrifying, surreal world full of disturbing imagery.
To be upfront, this is more of a walking simulator than anything else. You'll spend most of your time exploring for optional collectibles, but for the most part, you're moving in a straight line. That said, the illusion of a sprawling world is genuinely well done. There's a ton of attention to detail, and it's the kind of game that rewards slowing down just to take it all in.
Outside of walking, there are light stealth sections scattered throughout. They're easy to get through, but being in VR makes them tense in a way flat-screen stealth just can't replicate. If you know, you know.
A Short Runtime Still Has Some Wild Moments
The unfortunate part is that Here They Lie is short. I clocked in around two hours. But it's clear the developers poured a ton of time into it. The sheer number of animations is wild, and there's so much life and detail packed into every corner. You can't help but stop and just watch what the masked NPCs are doing. The city feels genuinely alive.
There are also moments that hit you emotionally. In one, a creature starts following you, and you assume you need to escape. Then it catches you and turns out to be friendly. After that, you're forced to choose between the creature and the person threatening you instead. I chose to spare the creature, and it just got scared and ran off.
In another moment, you stumble on a crowd being entertained by a disturbing public execution scene. You try to intervene, but the scene keeps going. When you finally leave, there's a line of people waiting, excited for their turn. Just two examples out of many. This world is dense with weird, memorable moments.
PSVR Limitations Hold Back Some Great Visual Work
Mechanically, you carry a flashlight powered by batteries you find and swap out as needed. It lights up wherever you look, which looks great on camera, but I had to keep turning it off and on to reset its position. It seemed to lose tracking periodically.
The game does show its age given the PS4 and PSVR hardware. The world looks amazing despite the muddy colour palette, but the headset's low resolution holds it back a bit. It only supports the DualShock 4, so there are no motion controls or anything fancy. Still, for its time, this was a serious visual showcase. It even gives you a visible player body in VR, something plenty of modern VR games still skip.
One more thing worth calling out. Even the game-over screen is a piece of art. You wake up in an eerie red-sunrise scene, and as you move forward, a room with a door slowly takes shape. Open the door, and you're back in the game. That level of polish on something most people will barely notice deserves a shoutout.
Here They Lie Deserves Another Shot
Here They Lie is still stuck on PS4, and I can't help but think a remaster with better resolution and motion controls would find a real audience today.
It's a great experience. If you find it cheap somewhere, do yourself a favour and give it a shot.
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