Toggle search
Toggle menu
4.9K
5.5K
229
46.8K
VR & AR Wiki
Toggle preferences menu
Toggle personal menu
Not logged in
Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits.

I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine

From VR & AR Wiki
More actions
I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine
Information
VR/AR VR
Developer Schell Games
Publisher Schell Games
Platform Meta Horizon Store, SteamVR
Device Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, Meta Quest 3, Valve Index, Steam Frame
Operating System Meta Horizon OS, Windows
Type Game
Genre Puzzle, Adventure
Input Device Tracked Motion Controllers
Play Area Seated
Game Mode Single-player
Release Date 17 August 2023 (Meta Quest); 28 September 2023 (Steam)
Price US$24.99
App Store Meta Horizon Store, Steam
Website https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/
See also: VR Apps and VR Games

I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine is a single-player virtual reality puzzle game developed and published by Schell Games. It is the third game in the spy-themed I Expect You To Die series, after I Expect You To Die (2016) and I Expect You To Die 2: The Spy and the Liar (2021). The player again takes the role of Agent Phoenix and works through six missions as escape-room-style puzzles, played seated and using telekinesis to reach objects. The new antagonist is Dr. Roxana Prism, a former Agency inventor who wants to prove that machines can be better secret agents than humans.[1][2]

Schell Games announced the game on 21 February 2023. It was released for Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro on 17 August 2023 and for SteamVR on 28 September 2023.[3][4][5] Critics gave it generally favorable reviews, and in 2024 it won the NYX Game Awards' Independent Game of the Year.[6][7]

Reviewed 4 October 2026. Release dates, prices, credits, story and gameplay details, development quotes, 2026 Steam updates, review scores and awards checked against Schell Games posts, Steam, UploadVR, MIXED, TechRadar, Metacritic and OpenCritic. About review dates.

Gameplay

Like the earlier games, Cog in the Machine is an escape room for secret agents. Each mission puts the player in a new scenario, and progress comes from searching the surroundings for clues in drawers, lockers, notes and audio logs, hidden computers, robots and fingerprint scanners. A wrong action, such as pressing the wrong button or mixing two incompatible liquids, kills the player and ends the mission. There are no checkpoints within a mission, so a failed attempt restarts it from the beginning.[8] The campaign has six main missions; the Steam listing describes them as taking place in "six action-packed locales".[1][9] Missions named in a 2026 patch note include "House of Tomorrow", "Blind Spot" and "Hot Water".[10]

The game is played seated, although Schell Games stated that select levels offer an added movement option.[9][11] Agent Phoenix has a telekinetic implant. Holding the trigger and using the thumbstick, the player can pull objects through the air or flip remote switches and levers. A freeze function anchors a moved object in mid-air, so the player can set it aside and return to it later.[8] The game still has action scenes, including a car chase and a gondola ride, and offers vignetting to reduce motion sickness while the player is moving in a vehicle.[9][8] Before each mission the player can pick a hat, watch and gloves from a set of Agency outfits.[1]

Each mission has six bonus objectives, according to TechRadar's review: three level-specific side missions (for example, finding an alternative solution to a main puzzle or serving a character the correct food or drink), hidden robot statues, hidden "phantom coins" and a target completion time.[9] Players who get stuck can skip the current mission from the accessibility options, though they then miss its side objectives and story scenes.[8] TechRadar also listed subtitles, audio visualization and a chat log among the accessibility settings.[9]

Story

Agent Phoenix, who survived the events of The Spy and the Liar, returns to work for the Agency.[9] The villain, Dr. Roxana Prism, is a scientist and former Agency inventor who developed the telekinetic implants agents use. She is accompanied by a robot sidekick, Robutler, and other robots.[2] Schell Games' marketing also casts the player against Dr. Zor and the organization Zoraxis, the series' recurring antagonists.[4][12] The Handler, the player's guide, is voiced by Jared Mason of Schell Games.[13] Daisy Lightfoot voices Dr. Prism.[2]

Development

Matt Mahon, Schell Games' VP of Engineering at the time of the announcement, was project director for the game.[3] UploadVR reported that the developers wanted to build a richer world for the series, with more story behind the puzzles, and in its hands-on preview found the environments somewhat larger than in past installments.[14] The second game's villain, John Juniper, was shown mostly as a shadowy figure. Dr. Prism was written as a more fully developed character, and UploadVR wrote that by the end of the first mission the player feels she "has looked directly at you". According to UploadVR, the developers drew on NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson and Doc Ock in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Mason, a narrative designer at Schell Games, said that "Dr. Prism's story reflects some of the struggles that ... black women may have experienced in the scientific field". He added that the team consulted the studio's Inclusion Advisory Committee and had testers evaluate the character.[13]

As in the first two games, the game opens with a credits sequence modeled on James Bond films. Its theme song, "Cog in the Machine", is sung by Haley Reinhart, with lyrics by Mason and music composed by audio director Frank Lubsey and Bay Area Sound. Dynamedion performed the orchestra parts.[15][16] UploadVR credited the sequence's visual effects to Jeff Hoffman and Justin Calder.[16] Schell Games released the opening credits on 14 June 2023, and the soundtrack came out on streaming services on 14 September 2023.[17][15]

Asked about future entries, principal game designer Francisco Souki said the team was "not even close to out of ideas". Mahon said some ideas, such as playing blackjack face to face with a villain, could not yet be done convincingly in VR.[18]

Release

Schell Games announced the game with a trailer on 21 February 2023, for release later that year on Meta Quest and Steam.[3][19] When it was announced, the studio had not said anything about a PlayStation VR2 version.[20] Schell Games' June 2023 update listed Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro and Meta Quest 3 as target headsets for the summer Quest launch.[17] Release dates were revealed on 3 August 2023, and Quest pre-orders received a 10% discount.[4][5]

Platform Release date Launch price
Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro (Meta Quest Store) 17 August 2023 US$24.99[21][18]
SteamVR (Windows, Steam) 28 September 2023 US$24.99[11][1]

The Steam version requires a VR headset and supports SteamVR and Meta PC headsets.[1] Schell Games showed the game at PAX West 2023 in Seattle from 1 to 4 September, and later reported that more than 1,000 visitors completed the booth's training experience. It also had a presence in the online Tokyo Game Show VR event in 2023.[22][23] In October 2023, Schell Games published player statistics: 818,000 recorded deaths, with 57% of players finishing all six missions and 4.3% finishing them with every side objective.[24]

All three games are sold together as the I Expect You To Die: Phoenix Rising bundle on Steam and Meta Quest, with 19 missions in total.[12][3]

Updates

In July 2026 Schell Games said the game would be "Steam Frame Verified" for Valve's Steam Frame headset.[25] An update announced on 1 October 2026 moved the Steam version to OpenXR for both Meta and SteamVR headsets and updated the game to Unity 6. It also adjusted the diving helmet for high field-of-view headsets such as the Steam Frame and Valve Index, and fixed several puzzle bugs. The update notes say that Windows Mixed Reality headsets are supported through the "Oasis" driver available on Steam.[10]

Reception

Aggregator or publication Score
Metacritic 89/100, PC (4 critic reviews)[6]
OpenCritic Top Critic Average 88; 100% of critics recommend (6 reviews)[26]
TechRadar 3/5[9]

Metacritic rates the critical reception as "generally favorable".[6] In its review for MIXED, Josef Erl called it "a VR game as it should be. Interactive, creative and accessible". He praised the voice acting, the level design, the intuitive controls and the high level of comfort, but criticized the lack of checkpoints and of a hint function. He also found the controls "a bit fiddly" in time-critical puzzles.[8] Hamish Hector of TechRadar rated the opening theme and title sequence above those of the earlier games and called the story the series' most compelling yet. He also found several traps too similar to earlier games and the missions simpler than before. His playthrough on a Quest 2 took about eight hours, including the main story and as many of the bonus challenges as he could complete.[9] As of October 2026, Steam lists the game's user reviews as "Very Positive".[1]

Awards

Year Award Category Result
2024 NYX Game Awards Meta Quest VR Game - Puzzle Grand Winner[27]
2024 NYX Game Awards Meta Quest VR Game - Escape Room Grand Winner[27]
2024 The Telly Awards Use of VR (opening credits) Silver Winner[27]
2024 NYX Game Awards Independent Game of the Year Won[7]
2024 AIXR XR Awards XR Accolade, Story-Driven and Narrative Experiences Received[28]
2024 Unity Awards XR Game of the Year Nominated[29]
2024 Auggie Awards Best Game or Toy Finalist[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2296380/I_Expect_You_To_Die_3_Cog_in_the_Machine/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Villain Revealed for I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2023-06-01. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/villain-revealed-for-i-expect-you-to-die-3-cog-in-the-machine. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "I Expect You To Die 3: Cog In the Machine Will Release in 2023". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2023-02-21. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/i-expect-you-to-die-3-cog-in-the-machine-will-release-in-2023. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Mission Alert: I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine Launch Dates Revealed in New Mixed-Reality Trailer". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2023-08-03. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/i-expect-you-to-die-3-cog-in-the-machine-launch-dates-revealed. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Henry Stockdale (2023-08-03). "I Expect You To Die 3 Begins Latest Mission This Month On Quest". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/i-expect-you-to-die-3-release-date/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "I Expect You to Die 3: Cog in the Machine". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/i-expect-you-to-die-3-cog-in-the-machine/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "I Expect You To Die 3 Named 2024 Independent Game of the Year". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2024-11-27. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/i-expect-you-to-die-3-named-2024-independent-game-of-the-year. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Josef Erl (2023-08-19). "I Expect You To Die 3 Review: This is how Virtual Reality works". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/i-expect-you-to-die-3-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Hamish Hector (2023-08-17). "I Expect You To Die 3 review - not just another Cog in the Machine". TechRadar. https://www.techradar.com/gaming/virtual-reality-gaming/i-expect-you-to-die-3-review-not-just-another-cog-in-the-machine. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Play I Expect You To Die 3 on the Steam Frame". Steam. Schell Games. 2026-10-01. https://steamcommunity.com/games/2296380/announcements/detail/708910525152494170. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Schell Games Launches 'I Expect You To Die 3: Cog In The Machine' for SteamVR". TriplePoint Newsroom. Schell Games. 2023-09-28. https://pressreleases.triplepointpr.com/2023/09/28/schell-games-launches-i-expect-you-to-die-3-cog-in-the-machine-for-steamvr/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "I Expect You To Die: Phoenix Rising Bundle". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/29857/I_Expect_You_To_Die_Trilogy_Bundle/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Ian Hamilton (2023-07-27). "How Schell Aims To Push VR Design Forward With I Expect You To Die 3's Dr. Prism". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/i-expect-you-to-die-3-dr-prism/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  14. ↑ Ian Hamilton (2023-07-20). "I Expect You To Die 3 Hands-On: Building A Richer Spy World". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/i-expect-you-to-die-3-hands-on/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Mission Alert: Special Message from Vocalist Haley Reinhart". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2023-09-14. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/mission-alert-special-message-from-vocalist-haley-reinhart. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Ian Hamilton (2023-08-12). "How Schell Games Crafted Cog In The Machine Song For I Expect You To Die 3's Opening". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/how-schell-games-crafts-memorable-i-expect-you-to-die-opening/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Mission Update: The 'I Expect You To Die 3' Opening Credits Trailer is DECLASSIFIED.". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2023-06-14. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/mission-update-the-i-expect-you-to-die-3-opening-credits-trailer-is-declassified. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Ian Hamilton (2023-08-22). "Schell Refines I Expect You To Die Franchise With Release Of Cog In The Machine". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/ieytd-3-franchise-building/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  19. ↑ Scott Hayden (2023-02-22). "'I Expect You To Die 3' Announced for Quest & PC VR, Coming in 2023". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/i-expect-you-to-die-3-release-quest-2-steam-psvr-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  20. ↑ Ian Hamilton (2023-02-21). "I Expect You To Die 3 From Schell Games Coming This Year". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/i-expect-you-to-die-3-schell-games/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  21. ↑ "I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine Is Now Available on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2023-08-17. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/i-expect-you-to-die-3-cog-in-the-machine-is-now-available-on-meta-quest-2-and-meta-quest-pro. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  22. ↑ "Calling All Agents! Complete your field training with IEYTD3 at PAX West". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2023-09-01. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/calling-all-agents-complete-your-field-training-with-ieytd3-at-pax-west. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  23. ↑ "I Expect You To Die 3 SteamVR Launch, Robot Antics Trailer Reveal, and More!". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2023-09-28. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/i-expect-you-to-die-3-steamvr-launch-robot-antics. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  24. ↑ "Mission Briefings: The I Expect You To Die 3 Accolades Trailer and more!". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2023-10-17. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/mission-briefings-the-i-expect-you-to-die-3-accolades-trailer-and-more. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  25. ↑ "Operation: Steam Frame Verified". Steam. Schell Games. 2026-07-30. https://steamcommunity.com/games/2296380/announcements/detail/686386819418293271. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  26. ↑ "I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine Reviews". OpenCritic. https://opencritic.com/game/15372/i-expect-you-to-die-3-cog-in-the-machine. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 "I Expect You To Die 3 is an NYX Game Award and a Telly Award Winner". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2024-05-23. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/i-expect-you-to-die-3-is-an-nyx-game-award-and-a-telly-award-winner. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  28. ↑ "I Expect You To Die 3 Receives Special Honor at AIXR XR Awards". I Expect You To Die. Schell Games. 2024-12-11. https://iexpectyoutodie.schellgames.com/news/i-expect-you-to-die-3-receives-special-honor-at-aixr-xr-awards. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine Press Kit". Schell Games. https://schellgames.com/press/i-expect-you-to-die-3-press-kit. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
Retrieved from "https://vrarwiki.com/index.php?title=I_Expect_You_To_Die_3:_Cog_in_the_Machine&oldid=46337"
Contents