The pioneering team behind Gloomy Eyes, Battlescar and many other interactive adventures, ARTE France, is set to return in 2026 with The Amusement. Developed in collaboration with Curvature Games (Espionage Express), this VR adventure transports players to the early 20th century, taking them on a journey into an abandoned theme park.
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What is The Amusement?
In this narrative-driven VR game, you take on the role of Samantha Burkhart, a young woman sent by her mother to inspect her late father’s amusement park. She knows little about the park as he vanished during the chaos of World War I. Doing so, she quickly faces complex childhood memories whilst uncovering and solving the mysteries hidden throughout the park.
The gameplay involves exploring the park and its many attractions, such as a lost city of Atlantis and even a labyrinth. Each attraction offers object-based puzzles that include jumping, climbing, pulling, throwing, turning and more, immersing you in the experience as much as possible.
To enhance this, Curvature and ARTE are using redirected-walking technology so you can physically move around the space. Much in the same way games like Eye of the Temple and Unseen Diplomacy 2 work. Recommending a 2×2 meter playspace, if you don’t have that much room available, you can use teleportation to explore instead.
Launch Details
The Amusement will be coming to Meta Quest and PCVR headsets on Steam in Spring 2026. At present, there isn’t a more specific release date, but you can wishlist the game on both stores.
Who is ARTE France?
As mentioned, ARTE France made a name for itself by creating cinematic experiences for VR. One of its earliest was the multi-awarded narrative VR experience Notes on Blindness. However, its most famous project was probably Gloomy Eyes (2020). Following on from that, there was BATTLESCAR: Punk Was Invented By Girls (2021) and On The Morning You Wake (To the End of The World) (2022).
Unfortunately, while these are stunning examples of narrative-driven content in VR, they’re not hugely popular as the interaction tends to be very limited. Which is why The Amusement looks to be taking a far more gamified approach, helped by Curvature Games’ expertise in VR games for location-based entertainment venues.
What do you reckon to this new project? Do you want to explore an abandoned 1920s amusement park? Let us know in the comments.
If you’re looking for more puzzle-based games, then take a look at these other recommendations.
