Deserving Life

About

Deserving Life is a single player action game. It was developed by Lukas Paul, Gabriel Mittermair and was released on October 13, 2017. It received positive reviews from players.

Deserving Life is a room-scale virtual reality escape game for the HTC Vive and was developed by students in the Media Technology and Design program at the Hagenberg Campus of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria. Can you find a way out of your misery?

Genres & Tags

Free to Play

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 91 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

Deserving Life is a fun and engaging free VR escape room experience with simple yet logical puzzles that make sense within the environment.
The game features a creepy atmosphere and is well-executed for a student project, showcasing impressive mechanics for utilizing physical space in VR.
Despite its short length, the game provides a worthwhile experience, especially for fans of escape room games, and is a great introduction to VR.

The graphics are subpar and the game lacks depth, with many puzzles being overly simplistic and easy to solve.
There is no locomotion option, which can be limiting for players with smaller play areas, and some interactions feel unimmersive.
The game fails to deliver on its horror premise, lacking any real scares or tension despite building up an eerie atmosphere.

graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
65%
21%
The graphics in this game are generally described as low quality and mediocre, with many users expressing disappointment in the low poly 3D visuals. While some find them tolerable or acceptable for a free game, the overall consensus is that the visuals do not meet the expectations of gamers, detracting from the overall experience.
- “Good graphics.”
- “Graphics are ok and do the job.”
- “In terms of visuals, this features fairly low quality low poly 3D visuals which will deter a lot of gamers, understandably.”
- “Gaming is a visual medium, and while some developers struggle with creating high quality visuals, failing to do so is a disservice to gamers.”
- “The visuals are mediocre, but the soundtrack is pretty tense.”
gameplay
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
46%
23%
The gameplay is engaging and well-designed, featuring a series of straightforward puzzles that can be completed in 10-20 minutes. Players appreciate the unique mechanics, such as crawling and crouching, which enhance the experience without requiring extensive room-scale setups. Overall, it offers a fun and accessible escape room experience that balances challenge with approachability.
- “Impressively, even with no teleportation mechanics other than moving room-to-room, this game is completely playable in even a relatively small room-scale setup (much better than other room-scale games I've played).”
- “A solid little escape game with nicely polished mechanics.”
- “Each room has one to two mechanics you have to do, which are pretty obvious and pretty easy.”
- “10-20 minutes of gameplay, spooky but not too spooky, on the easier side in terms of escape room games, but overall well done.”
- “The gameplay involves solving a series of puzzles to ultimately escape the house that you find yourself chained up in.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The atmosphere of the game is consistently described as spooky and creepy, creating an engaging environment without relying on jump scares. Players appreciate the solid, immersive ambiance that enhances the experience of solving simple puzzles in various rooms, making it a fun and enjoyable escape room adventure. Overall, the atmosphere is effective in building tension while remaining accessible and non-threatening.
- “You work your way through various rooms in a house, there are typically one or two things to do in each room and the atmosphere is spooky, but without any actual scares.”
- “A nice, short escape the room experience with a creepy atmosphere but no cheap scares, and you can't go wrong with free games!”
- “The game has a simplistic but pleasing design, with atmospheric sounds that complement the premise of the game, and I found this to be an enjoyable room escape.”
- “The atmosphere kept telling me that something was going to be sudden and loud, and yet never was.”
- “You work your way through various rooms in a house; there are typically one or two things to do in each room, and the atmosphere is spooky, but without any actual scares.”
- “It is pretty tame; there aren't any jump scares, but the atmosphere is still scary!”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The game's story revolves around a pizza delivery guy who, after being knocked out during a delivery, must escape from a three-story house where he is chained up. While some players find the premise bizarre and lacking depth, others express frustration with the overall narrative, indicating it could be a significant flaw in the game's design.
- “Using your surroundings, you must figure out how to make your way out of the three-story house to freedom.”
- “The story is you're a pizza delivery guy who was knocked out after delivery, and now you have to escape or die trying. Apparently, the guys who left you chained up are long gone, so don't worry about them now.”
- “- no real story or a bizarre one to think about [spoiler] the story is you're a pizza delivery guy who was knocked out after delivery and now you have to escape or die trying, and apparently the guys who left you chained up are long gone now, so don't worry about them now [/spoiler]”
- “Coming back on that story point now, this is my biggest problem with the game.”
- “There is a story note, but I'll talk about that later.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The puzzles in the game are well-designed and optimized specifically for virtual reality, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
- “The puzzles are well-designed and optimized for VR.”
- “The game runs smoothly with excellent optimization, enhancing the overall experience.”
- “I appreciate how the developers focused on optimization, making gameplay seamless and enjoyable.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the lack of manual locomotion options, which can make the experience feel repetitive. Additionally, some users suggest that having a second life or character may be necessary to effectively manage the grinding process.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Fully playable in standing mode by using space drag (offered by ovr advanced settings among other tools), albeit tedious because there's no manual locomotion of any sort.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is described as a looping 20-second track that can become repetitive quickly, though it is noted to be tense and fitting for the atmosphere. Overall, while the graphics and gameplay mechanics may not impress, the soundtrack adds a level of intensity to the experience.
- “The looping 20-second sinister music gets old really fast.”
- “The visuals are mediocre, but the soundtrack is pretty tense.”