Developer Mantis and publisher Chronos Interactive are working on a new game called Journey For Elysium. The story-driven VR title sees players assuming the role of a deceased warrior who finds himself trapped in the destitute and gray-ridden underworld, where lost souls and damned spirits roam. The objective of the game is to navigate your way through the river Styx and find a way out.

You’ll need to exercise both wits and reflexes in Journey For Elysium, where you’ll venture from the very dark corners of the underworld toward the gates that lead you into the light of Elysium.

The VR, action-adventure puzzle game takes a lot of hints from classic mythology, especially Greek and Roman lore, with a dash of Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy tossed in for good measure.

You can check out the gameplay trailer below, where Mantis was exceptionally happy about the rowing physics they implemented for navigating the river Styx.

While most gamers don’t think anything of rowing in video games since it’s always automated by the character, and the only thing it does is get you from point A to point B and typically waste your time, here you’ll actually have to perform the rowing motion to keep your boat moving at a steady clip toward your destination. It’ll either help you get in shape or help you stay in shape.

Either way, the rowing is accompanied by some bow usage, some scroll-reading, some skull fondling, and some item acquiring.

Personally, I like the look and theme of the game. The gray-scale aesthetic is instantly eye-catching, and the gold contrasts for the objects and certain key characters helps create instant attention as to what’s happening on screen.

The problem is that there doesn’t appear to be a lot of depth, and it still comes across as a tech demo to me. That’s just my opinion, though.

Based on the initial viewing of the trailer I first thought it was going to be like Madmind Studios’ Agony, but a little more philosophical and a little more avant garde. However, as the trailer wore on it appeared to be like a lot of other typical VR games but with a few updates and upgrades here and there. A light improvement over the typical model. Any improvement is still a good improvement, so I at least have to tip my hat off to Mantis for having two different movement options, along with the rowing, and the other puzzle solving and environmental trekking.

You can learn more about Journey For Elysium by visiting the Steam store page. You can look for the VR simulator to launch during the late fourth quarter of 2019.