Bamboo Grove tells the haunted tale of a game tester whose software seems to be invariably cursed. Will he make it out alive?
Asian horror has traumatized me for as long as I can remember. At the precocious age of 12 years old (we snuck in), I watched Japanese classic Ju-On: The Grudge in my small hometown’s movie theater Halloween celebration. I still remember a friend who screamed and covered his eyes whenever a jumpscare happened alongside me. A couple of years after, the macabre plot of Thai hit Shutter is one that literally gave me nightmares. Its fundamentally different spiritual views are something that makes me uncomfortable to this day. Enter Bamboo Grove, a Chinese VR horror game that subverts expectations.
Surely This Office Is Not Haunted
What first drew me into Bamboo Grove is its premise. As a game tester, you find that the build you are trying out is seemingly increasingly haunted. The worst part is that this is unintended. The setup allows the person you embody to break the fourth wall sneakily with phrases like “stop it with the jumpscares!” or “I’ll respawn if I die anyway.”
Alternating between the game at hand, an old Chinese village, and the game studio, it cleverly makes for a unique plot. Revelling in moment-to-moment scares, the graphics are not too high-end (as most Quest games are) to induce real frights.
Unfortunately for me, someone who leans more on their auditive sense than visual, the high-pitched sounds are maintained throughout. While most of the jumpscare can be seen a mile away, the strenuous effects always get to me. A horror game through and through, the office looks abandoned with strange sounds coming from all places. In the game experience, whispers as you crouch to enter forgotten ruins forebode disaster.
Save Me, Lighter
Bamboo Grove utilizes the virtual reality medium well. At times NPCs will warn you to “not look back.” An effective tool in any setting, this trick is heightened with a headset on, making you wonder what exactly is right behind you. Asking you to bow in front of a tomb in a particular situation, one wrong move and it is death right then and there. Perhaps fearless gamers versed in these types of horror adventures will not bat an eye at the myriad scares in its three- or so-hour playtime, but it was certainly impactful for me.
That said, it is known that I do not do well with horror. Even though I still play them, even though I still feel the jumpscare coming, I scream all the same. Luckily Bamboo Grove offers some respite in between the eerie setpieces. Armed with a lighter and a camera, small gameplay actions sprinkle the experience.
Taking a piece of coal to light up and attack an incoming monster or taking a picture of a soul with the camera makes things interesting. As your protagonist is shown in documents that is an overachiever who never sleeps, it is never really quite revealed if he is hallucinating or if there is an actual curse in the program. And that is what makes it memorable.
Conclusion: Bamboo Grove
An excellent candidate during spooky season, Bamboo Grove walks a fine line between outright horror and jumpscares. Yes, it will bide its time until it is ready to surprise you again, but it does so elegantly. It does not go overboard with its scares, and that is what makes them effective. Using both unsettling imagery and high-pitched sound effects, they never lose their impact. Overall, the oppressive atmosphere does not let up in or outside the game. For a fun night with friends to see who gets the most scared—or not—this is a great option to run from monsters and spirits alike.
Bamboo Grove is out now for Meta Quest.
