I've been around this game long enough now to have sat through many immersive gaming experiences. VR headsets, racing wheels, game-synced RGB room lighting, bum-rumblers, the lot. But there's inevitably a point where all this gear transitions from a gameplay-enhancing experience booster into something genuinely terrifying, and I think TikTok user Idaxix may have found it.
Describing themselves as "The LED Light Guy", Idaxix has rigged up their front room with a dazzling array of LEDs, smart bulbs and RGB lightstrips to immerse themselves in their big-screen gaming experience. Good for them. The step too far here involves syncing it all up with terrifying psychological horror game Phasmophobia, including flashing lights that indicate when a ghost is near.
@ldaxix ♬ Not Like Us - Kendrick Lamar
I try to avoid swearing in my articles as this is a family friendly website, but allow me to say, with conviction, F-that.
I like the odd horror movie, I can take a game trying to make me jump out of my skin, but the combination of the ominous dread Phasmophobia is capable of creating—alongside some incredibly effective lightbulb flashing—would have me wandering into the kitchen to pretend to do something else.
Anything else, actually. Still, it's an excellent example of the sort of immersion a synced lighting setup can provide, along with a gigantic TV, a very good game, and presumably a honking-great audio system.
If you're a big wuss like me you'll be pleased to know there's lots more videos of less-terrifying fare on their TikTok account, including some lovely rainbow road action in Mario Kart with associated colourful lighting. Consider it a palate cleanser.
Nevertheless, I salute Idaxix' technical ability, creativity, and mettle. I recently sat through a Razer demo in Las Vegas which involved a rumble pad, haptic-enhanced headphones, RGB light bars and the psychedelic hypno-racer Thumper, and it made me ruminate on the ways lighting and 4D feedback can be used to up the immersion factor.
Using similar tech for a properly creepy horror game may be the pinnacle of it, though, and I've decided it's not for me. As a suggestion, I wonder if Phasmophobia could somehow be synced with the Razer Project Arielle fan-assisted gaming chair? A little cool breeze up the back of your neck when a ghost is behind you would be just the ticket, I reckon.
It'd lead to an unintended warm seat base for some, that's for certain.
