Statik

Statik
Information
VR/AR	Virtual Reality
Developer	Tarsier Studios
Publisher	Tarsier Studios
Platform	PlayStation VR
Device	PlayStation VR
Operating System	PlayStation 4
Type	Game
Genre	Puzzle
Input Device	DualShock 4
Game Mode	Single-player, Co-op
Release Date	April 24, 2017
Price	US$14.99 (PlayStation Store, October 2026)
App Store	PlayStation Store
Website	http://www.statik.institute/

See also: VR Apps and VR Games

Statik is a virtual reality puzzle game developed and published by the Swedish studio Tarsier Studios for PlayStation VR on PlayStation 4. The player is a test subject who must solve a series of hand-mounted puzzle devices, each operated through a tracked DualShock 4 controller held in the real world. It was announced in June 2016 and released on the PlayStation Store on 24 April 2017, the same week as Tarsier's Little Nightmares.

Tarsier describes Statik as one of its first two original IPs and its first virtual reality project. The game holds a Metascore of 84 on Metacritic and an OpenCritic Top Critic Average of 85.

Reviewed 6 October 2026. Developer, publisher, announcement and release dates, launch and current prices, store requirements and ratings, co-op mode, development quotes, Unreal E3 Awards 2016 result and nominees, Metacritic and OpenCritic scores and all quoted reviews against the cited PlayStation Store, PlayStation Blog, Tarsier, GamesBeat, UploadVR, Road to VR, Kotaku, TheSixthAxis, Metacritic and OpenCritic pages. About review dates.

Gameplay

The game is set at the "Statik Institute of Retention", which, in Tarsier's description, uses "proprietary hand-mounted puzzle devices to explore the limits of the human mind." The player is guided by Dr Ingen and his assistant Edith, and wakes each day with a new hand-mounted puzzle device to solve. After each completed box the player is knocked out and moved on to the next level in a different part of the laboratory.

The DualShock 4 is tracked by the PlayStation Camera and moves the box in the virtual scene. Players see neither their real hands nor the controller, only the device their virtual hands are locked inside, and they have to work out by experiment which button operates which mechanism. Kotaku's Chris Kohler wrote that "the experience of having both of your hands stuck in the box is mapped to the position of holding a Dual Shock 4 controller," and that the game "provides zero hints," leaving players to spot the clues for themselves.

UploadVR counted eight puzzles, each built around a different box; examples include changing filters on a built-in projector to match shapes in the room and steering a remote-controlled car around the laboratory. Between some levels the player assembles parts of a further mysterious box. Dr Ingen also gives the player Rorschach-like tests.

Co-op mode

Statik was planned only as a single-player game; Tarsier announced a cooperative mode on 14 April 2017, ten days before release. One player uses the DualShock 4 inside the headset while a second player uses a tablet or phone in the real world, and each has different parts of the same puzzle, so they must talk to solve it. In co-op, Tarsier splits each action from its result: one player performs the action and only the other sees the reaction. Narrative director Dave Mervik wrote that the mode was added after the studio watched spectators become involved while the game was shown at E3 and Day of the Devs, and that a co-op remix was tested at PAX South. The companion runs through the PlayStation App, and the PlayStation Store lists the game as one player with an optional companion app. Writing about playing with a friend who watches the television feed and offers suggestions, TheSixthAxis noted "three extra levels that are built specifically for this style of play".

Development

Statik was made by what Mervik called "just a small team hidden away at the dark end of the office" at Tarsier. He wrote that the team wanted something "both fun and substantial" rather than a novelty. Mervik wrote that a survey he and his sister took part in at Birkenhead about 25 years earlier, in which volunteers in a hall ate and drank products and wrote down their opinions without asking why, later helped with the game's story. Mervik described Dr Ingen as "not a hero or a villain," but "a professional with a clipboard and an important job to do."

Tarsier showed the game at E3 2016, where it won the "The Great Escape: Most immersive VR game" category of the Unreal E3 Awards, which GamesBeat ran with Epic Games for games made with Unreal Engine. GamesBeat wrote that the game "excels at hand presence in VR with the PlayStation 4's Dualshock controller." The other nominees in the category included Here They Lie, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, Batman: Arkham VR, Raw Data and Farpoint.

Release

Tarsier announced the game on the PlayStation Blog on 9 June 2016. In March 2017 the release date was set for 24 April 2017 on the European PlayStation Store at £15.99, with a 20% pre-order discount for PlayStation Plus members. UploadVR's review gave the US price at launch as US$19.99. A free demo is also on the PlayStation Store.

Platform	Release date	Price	Notes
PlayStation 4 (PlayStation VR)	24 April 2017	£15.99 (Europe, launch); US$19.99 (US, launch); US$14.99 (US PlayStation Store, October 2026)	Requires PlayStation VR and PlayStation Camera; DualShock 4
Statik Demo (PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR)	24 April 2017	Free	Requires PlayStation VR and PlayStation Camera

As of October 2026 the game is still sold on the PlayStation Store, rated ESRB Teen (Language, Violence), with Tarsier Studios listed as publisher. The store states that it is playable on PlayStation 5 with the latest system software, though some PS4 features may be absent.

Reception

Statik received "generally favorable" reviews according to Metacritic, with a Metascore of 84 from 18 critic reviews. OpenCritic lists a Top Critic Average of 85 from 12 reviews, with 100% of critics recommending the game.

Publication	Score
Destructoid	8.5/10
TechRaptor	9.5/10
CGMagazine	9/10
IGN Italy	8/10
Push Square	8/10
TheSixthAxis	8/10

Several reviews praised the puzzle design and the use of VR while criticizing the game's length. In UploadVR's review, Jamie Feltham wrote that each puzzle was "individual and unlike the others" and that there was "a sense of invention here that's rarely seen in puzzle games today". He said the single-player mode took him about two and a half hours and that the game's "sheer invention and fascinating premise are somewhat betrayed by its short length." He also noted "minor niggles with the controls," especially in the box-assembly sections between levels. TheSixthAxis gave it 8/10 and wrote that "VR is an integral part of the game rather than being a showy gimmick", while calling the payoff "a little underwhelming"; its reviewer estimated about five hours of play. Destructoid's Jordan Devore credited the game's "inventive puzzle design and clever complementary use of the DualShock 4".