All change for the Virginia dev’s surprising science-fiction anthology

Developer Variable State

Publisher Annapurna Interactive

Format PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series 

Origin UK 

Release 2021

L ondon, 1982. Teenage schoolkids Sam and Pete run through a Tube station, laughing. Pete dons the bobby’s hat he’s just stolen, as its owner and another officer give chase. Trapped on the platform, the young pair sprint down the tunnel, diving through a maintenance-access door just in time as a train hurtles by. Yet as they catch their breath, they realise they’re not alone. A mysterious man tells them they’re late, before ushering them towards a door: “Either you’re coming, or piss off.” As it opens, the screen fills with a dazzling green light. Hearing the voices of their pursuers getting closer, Sam boldly heads through, yet Pete hesitates. As the police catch up with him, the door is flung open for a second time – but the only thing behind it is a brick wall. “I don’t believe it,” Pete gasps.

Nor do we. The second game from the makers of Virginia has a similarly arresting opening, but otherwise – at first glance, at least – it could hardly be more different in approach. There’s dialogue, for starters, and quite a lot of it. It’s an anthology, with three overlapping stories instead of one. The setting could hardly be more different, too. Yes, it’s still rooted in the uncanny: where Virginia was something of a pastiche of Twin Peaks and The X-Files, there are definite hints of The Outer Limits here. But it’s distinctly lighter in tone, and draws from a broader range of influences, from body-swap comedies to kitchen-sink dramas. Just as we’re about to mention the Cornetto trilogy, writer and composer Lyndon Holland nods towards “Edgar Wright comedies, and things like Misfits”. We also detect hints of Doctor Who and Attack The Block.