This Stranger Things VR game turns you into Vecna to take your revenge

Ever fancied becoming the bad guy? Well, a new Stranger Things VR game that mixes psychological horror with action is coming from creative studio Tender Claws in 2023, and it casts you as telekinetic monstrosity Vecna. The game’s been commissioned by Netflix, with the series writers involved in creating it. I’m not sure exactly how involved they are, but the trailer is suitably Stranger Things enough that it’s not that big a deal if they just looked at it and went “Yes, fine.” You can watch it for yourself below.

Stranger Things VR delves into earlier seasons of the show than just season four. You’ll shepherd Vecna as he explores the Upside Down, mucking about with the otherworldly, alien contents therein to start bringing his evil plans for revenge together. This will apparently involve invading the subconscious of familiar Stranger Things characters, along with battling humans and Upsidedownian monsters with your brain-throbbing telekinetic powers. Tender Claws have worked on a few VR adventures before, but this horror game is their first big licensed outing.

Listen, VR games don’t usually get my attention very often but even I think this looks intriguing. I won’t ruin season four of Stranger Things for you if you haven’t seen it yet, but it was probably the best the show’s been to date. That was largely thanks to the presence of Vecna, who finally puts something of a human, eminently punchable face on Stranger Things’ creepy world of the Upside Down.

Strange Things VR is out on “major VR platforms” in winter 2023. Gives you time to rewatch season four a few times, I guess.