“​​​​​​​It” Movie Got an 8-Bit Minigame and a VR Experience Ahead of Release

It, a horror film based on a book by Stephen King, is expected to be a box office hit in September. The movie is expected to have a record breaking opening weekend (read about that here) and there’s already plans in the works for a part two. Despite all this, it looks like the It crew is still working hard to build hype with a tie-in game.

The game is officially titled It: Enter the Sewer. It takes place in the sewers beneath the fictional city of Derry, Maine which is were Pennywise, the notorious villain, lives. The player controls Georgie’s paper hat boat which has been prominent in several trailers and previews for the movie. You try to avoid obstacles and Pennywise while collecting as many balloons as possible. If you haven’t already, play it here.

In addition to the game, there is also a cinematic VR experience called IT: Float. The experience is essentially a video you watch while wearing VR goggles that takes you through the Derry sewers. As you might expect, the experience is much creepier than an 8-bit game. It’s similar to something Warner Bros did for Annabelle: Creation that lets you explore Bee’s room.

These two things, the game and VR, are both forms of entertainment that people don’t generally think of as advertising. However, they’re both potentially prominent parts of the movie’s promotional campaign ahead of its release on September 8th. We’re definitely looking forward to watching the movie, and it will be interesting to see if more games and VR experiences will be used as marketing material for future movies.

Read also: IT Expected to Break Record in Box Office