ABE VR
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| ABE VR | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| VR/AR | VR |
| Developer | Hammerhead VR |
| Publisher | Hammerhead VR |
| Platform | SteamVR, Oculus Rift (Platform) |
| Device | HTC Vive, Oculus Rift CV1 |
| Operating System | Windows |
| Type | Full Game |
| Genre | Adventure, Horror, VR, Free to Play |
| Input Device | Tracked motion controllers, Gamepad, Keyboard / Mouse |
| Play Area | Seated, Standing, Room-Scale |
| Game Mode | Single Player |
| Language | English |
| Rating | Mature |
| Review | Mixed |
| Release Date | Jun 23, 2016 |
| Price | Free |
| App Store | Steam |
| Infobox Updated | 09/15/2016 |
ABE VR is a short narrative horror experience for virtual reality, developed and published by Hammerhead VR. It adapts the 2013 short film ABE by Rob McLellan and places the player in the position of the robot's victim.[1] The Steam listing gives a release date of June 23, 2016, for Windows PC, with the game sold as a free, VR-only title that runs on SteamVR or Oculus PC.[2] It was built in Unreal Engine.[2]
Overview
The experience is closer to an interactive film than a conventional game. Road to VR described the player's viewpoint as anchored to a female torso.[1] UploadVR reported that the player's wrists are bound to a rusty hospital bed while ABE, a mechanical robot antagonist, delivers monologues about his disappointment with humanity and threatens violence. It put the running time at just under nine minutes, about the length of McLellan's original short, and said the horror comes from suggestion rather than graphic depiction.[3]
Steam lists support for tracked controllers, partial gamepad support and single-player mode, and the store page names Hammerhead VR as both developer and publisher.[2]
Reception
Road to VR gave the experience 4 out of 5, saying Hammerhead VR had used Unreal Engine to recreate ABE in intricate detail and that the game took advantage of virtual reality's ability to make the player feel they are sharing personal space with real beings. The reviewer's one criticism was a minor niggle: because the viewpoint is anchored to the torso, the view seems to rise when the player turns the head from side to side.[1] As of October 2026, 191 of the 311 Steam user reviews were positive, and Steam rated them Mixed.[4]
Features
System Requirements
Windows
Minimum
- OS: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit or newer
- Processor: Intel Core i5 4590 or greater
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 or better
- Storage: 2 GB available space
Setup Instructions
Images and Videos
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Review: 'ABE VR' Puts You at the Mercy of a Robot's Bloodthirsty Search for Love". Road to VR. 2016-05-02. https://roadtovr.com/review-abe-vr-puts-you-at-the-mercy-of-a-robots-bloodthirsty-search-for-love/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "ABE VR on Steam". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/458590/ABE_VR/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
- ↑ "'ABE VR' Is So Terrifying That You'll Forget It Isn't Real". UploadVR. 2016-05-16. https://uploadvr.com/abe-vr-htc-vive/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
- ↑ "ABE VR user review summary (Steam)". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/appreviews/458590?json=1&language=all&purchase_type=all&num_per_page=0. Retrieved 2026-10-09.