'Westworld' Is Getting Its Own VR Game In Which You'll Be Hunted By A Serial Killer Host

Technology is not quite advanced enough for there to be a real-life theme park like the one depicted in HBO's Westworld – at least, not yet. So the next best thing would be to step into a virtual reality version of the show's park, and starting tomorrow, that experience will become a reality. Get the details about Westworld Awakening, a new Westworld VR game from HBO and Survios.

According to the press release, the new game "inserts players into a meticulously crafted world of adventure, danger and fantasy." Westworld producers helped develop Westworld Awakening, which was designed for Vive and Oculus head-mounted displays and will be available for download and in more than 400 VR arcades tomorrow.

Here's the official synopsis of the new game:

Set during the events of WESTWORLD season 2, "Westworld Awakening" is a narrative-driven, single-player stealth exploration experience played from the perspective of Kate – a host within the Mesa facility who has suddenly attained self-awareness and must undergo a journey of self-discovery to understand exactly what that means. To survive a dangerous underworld where no one and nothing is what it seems, you must take matters into your own hands and, using a QA (Quality Assurance) tablet, manipulate the world around you.

As you navigate Delos' labyrinthine laboratories and offices, you will encounter iconic scenes and settings from WESTWORLD, solve puzzles and interact with (and manipulate) other hosts. But you can't get too complacent: Hank, a relentless serial killer host who has stalked WESTWORLD for generations, awakened alongside you and is now in constant pursuit, forcing you to react quickly even as you venture further into the unknown. To escape, you must plunge into the secret past of WESTWORLD and overcome an entire world designed to destroy and enslave you.

As much as the show frustrated me in its first two seasons, I must admit that this sounds kind of cool. The QA tablet is the perfect in-world device to let players take control of the world around them, and being on the run from a deranged serial killer host sounds like the perfect motivation to keep things moving (and keep looking back over your shoulder). I wonder if this "Kate" character will be involved in the third season of the show, which debuts in 2020, or if this is a creation made specifically for this game? The fact that actual producers of the series helped make this has me wondering if the stories will cross over, or if they were just there to make sure the fidelity of the world was up to snuff.

We'll find out soon, because Westworld Awakening will be available for download for $29.99 on Steam, Oculus, and VIVEPORT on August 20, 2019.