Into the Ship's Heart

**Into the Ship's Heart** is the third level of *Switchback VR*. It is the second level themed around *Man of Medan* as part of the "Haunted Shipwreck" levels.

## Before Level

The player finds themselves on the train before it crashes. Besides them on the train is just Anthony, who picks up his phone and scrolls through before putting it down and slamming his fist on the table, agitated.

## Layout

The player emerges on the track from an empty train station and into the ship's corridors, with its open doors slamming shut as the player passes them. The Curator can be seen observing from down a side hallway as the lights flicker. A ghostly figure can be seen floating across the track ahead as an evil laugh plays, and the player passes by several masked mannequins before choosing to go left or right on the track.

* Going left leads to a brig area of the ship warning the player to "keep quiet" that is full of demonic, barking dogs lying on the side of the track and trapped in the cells. The cart stops as an explosion releases several of the dogs in the cells, which attack by jumping onto the player. After killing them, the player proceeds.
* Going right brings the player through two wooden doors that have "DON'T BLINK" painted on them before entering a room full of the masked mannequins. Each time the player blinks, the mannequins shift position, and the player then enters an empty dining room that begins filling up with mannequins as the player blinks. Eventually, some of the mannequins start attacking the player after each blink, and only then can they be killed. After killing enough, the player rides through the room and through a bar room, each full of mannequins that do not attack.

Returning to the main track, the player must dodge a pipe and enters a hallway where the ceiling is a floating mass of blood. Undead soldiers suspended in the liquid can be shot at as the player rides through, and the cart stops as several zombies drop from the ceiling to attack. After killing them, the player goes through a normal corridor into another passage of flesh, full of unmoving zombies that reach toward the player and can deal damage. At the end of the passage is a Human Experiment suspended in the gore, and after a moment it screeches at the player before disappearing.

The player rides through a storage area covered in green mist, and must defeat several zombies and two radio operator zombies before continuing. As the player continues, several objects fly at the player, dealing damage if they are not shot in time. The player stops in front of a long corridor with several closed doors on each side, and the room darkens as someone laughs. The young Sailor Girl appears, posing for the player before disappearing as a red light turns on in the corridor. The Sailor Girl reappears, beckoning to the player before changing into her first monstrous form and screeching at them. A battle begins, in which the doors periodically open to release more floating objects that must be shot before they hit the player, while the Sailor Girl occasionally emerges to walk toward and attack the player until she is shot at enough and retreats. After defeating the Sailor Girl a third time, she falls over onto the track, and the player proceeds.

The player goes through a lounge area and up an incline while the Sailor Girl is shown to still be watching them from a vent, now in an even older form. The cart rides into a cargo hold, where the player can shoot two Demon Crates and a rat crawling on the cart. Suddenly, the hold floods with blood, and something begins swimming and bumping the objects around the room. The Sailor Girl emerges to scream at the player, and after going to the back of the room, another battle begins. The Sailor Girl periodically summons several rat swarms to charge the player, floats toward the player to attack until she is shot at enough, and then roars and summons another Demon Crate for the player. After defeating the Sailor Girl a third time, she clutches her neck and falls into the blood, which begins to drain from the hold as the player proceeds through an opening bulkhead door.

The player goes through some corridors and up an incline lined with torches before going through a skull gate and reaching the bridge deck. Ominous music plays as the player goes across the deck, with The Curator watching them from a balcony. The player enters a misty green radio room, and stops at a closed gate as the nearby radio plays static and distorted voices. Belial's voice then sounds, saying "Not yet!" and laughing. Something pounds on the gate and suddenly Belial's seal appears on it, shattering it and allowing Belial to walk through toward the player. She screams and raises her hand at the player, causing the cart to go backward and return to the bridge deck, where The Curator is now gone and the decrepit Sailor Girl is floating, surrounded by an aura of debris. The final battle begins: the Sailor Girl periodically pulls various objects toward her to throw at the player until the player shoots a flaming barrel when it is close enough to her, which damages her and forces the cart to move backward. Along the way, the player can shoot several Demon Crates along the side of the track. After damaging her with five barrels, the Sailor Girl clutches her neck and screeches before falling onto the track, and the ship begins to fall apart as explosions happen all around the deck. The player quickly goes forward and back through the radio room, being shown their score before re-entering the empty train station.

## Trivia

* The options on this level's *Journey So Far* screen are:
	+ You made/didn't make it rain blood
	+ You saw/didn't see the sailor in the vent
	+ You shot/didn't shoot the rat on the cargo hold

## Gallery

The Curator watches from the corridor.The Curator observes from the balcony.