Welcome Villain Films has announced a partnership with XR content developer and publisher Top Right Corner to release a new VR horror game based on the studio’s upcoming film MALUM, which hits theaters nationwide March 31st.
Flock of the Low God VR is a terrifying survival horror experience that immerses players into the thrilling world of MALUM. Players will be challenged to survive their first shift at the Lanford Police Department by evading supernatural forces, unlocking new environments, scavenging weapons and tools, and defeating wave after wave of possessed cultists through intense close-quarters combat. The game will feature both singleplayer and multiplayer modes.
Flock of the Low God VR was designed specifically using sets and locations from the film, allowing players to follow in the footsteps of Officer Jessica Loren (portrayed in the film by actress Jessica Sula). Fans of MALUM will interact with various props, scenes and locations recreated in screen-accurate virtual reality, including the main office, morgue and shooting range.
“Throughout the production of the film, we captured set and location data that we then used to rebuild the environments in a game engine. It’s surreal to put on a VR headset and battle vicious cult members in locations that accurately resemble the same rooms we shot in,” says film and game producer Dan Clifton. “We’ve recreated many elements of the film in specific detail including the weapons you use to survive.”
Flock of the Low God VR will hit “Early Access” on Steam in early April, and Steam users can currently wishlist the game here. Production on the game will continue to develop over the summer before hitting a full commercial release this Halloween. The game was designed specifically for the HTC platforms including the upcoming Vive XR Elite, but will work on any PC-compatible headset.
This game represents the first official foray for Welcome Villain into the world of gaming, but it is far from the first partnership with the New Orleans-based interactive studio Top Right Corner. Welcome Villain founding partners Luke LaBeau and Eric Kleifield originally met MALUM Producer and future WV co-founder Dan Clifton when collaborating on the 2017 Orion release “The Belko Experiment,” which Clifton co-produced.
“The three of us met on Belko when Top Right Corner (in collaboration with future Brightburn and Nightbooks director David Yarovesky) built one of the most successful VR/film tie-ins ever for Orion and Blumhouse Tilt. That project ended up reaching ⅛ of all existing VR players at the time, and received a 86% rating on the gaming platform Steam, along with tens of millions of impressions. This really opened our eyes to what a film/game collaboration could be,” says Clifton, now a partner at WV.
“Throughout our numerous collaborations together, we’ve always been impressed with Top Right Corner and their ability to deliver high-quality XR experiences,” says Luke LaBeau, Head of Development at Welcome Villain. “We believe horror properties should expand beyond just the two-dimensional screen, which is why Welcome Villain is thrilled to announce an on-going partnership with Top Right Corner to bring many of our future properties into Extended Reality, where audiences can face the thrills of our films in exciting and groundbreaking new ways”.
“I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with Top Right Corner on several VR projects, including a wholly original escape room title called “The Atlas Mystery” that continues to receive rave reviews one year following its initial release” says Eric Kleifield, Head of Creative at Welcome Villain. “With Flock of the Low God, TRC continues to kick things up a notch with a technically impressive and thrilling experience that will surely rank amongst AAA VR titles. We can’t wait to introduce a whole new audience to the terrifying world of MALUM”.
Other Virtual Reality games from Top Right Corner include The Atlas Mystery: a VR Puzzle Game, Pipe Dreamin’ VR: The Big Easy and Belko VR: A Escape Room Experiment.
Based in New Orleans, LA, Top Right Corner creates original gaming products as well as advanced training and simulation software for energy, medical and defense sectors.
