Burning Trials

**Burning Trials** is the fifth level of *Switchback VR*. It is the second level themed around *Little Hope* as part of the "Cursed Forest" levels.

## Before Level

The player is back on the train with all the passengers shrouded in darkness except Scarlett, who scrolls through her phone in agitation and looks around.

## Layout

The player emerges on the track from an empty train station as Belial taunts them by repeating Charlotte's voicemail. The cart goes down a hill and into the Little Hope Police Department, where a phone can be heard ringing and the player can shoot two Demon Crates, one of which gives them a UV light that reveals weak spots. The UV light highlights where on the obstacles in the track the player must shoot to destroy them and proceed. A Demon Crate containing a UV light will always appear near the player if they need one and their current one has expired.

After breaking through the department's entrance and jail, the Crushed Demon quickly bursts from a cell and crawls away. The player enters a pitch-black room with candles that light and then go out, revealing itself to be a large, wooden courtroom full of benches. Several Impaled Demons jump out and attack the player. After killing them, the candles light again and the player exits into the snowy forest, with a Demon Crate on each side of the track. The player can choose to go left or right on the track.

* Going left leads the player into a fenced village area, where several puritan mannequins chant around a fire as a figure above it floats into the air and then comes crashing down. After this happens, the mannequins to turn and attack the player or run away, with two mannequins climbing to the roof to throw fireballs. One last mannequin emerges from the fog as the cart leaves the village.
* Going right brings the player through the forest, where several mannequins run alongside the cart before it speeds up. After dodging some falling trees, the player passes several skeletons being burned on stakes, and loops back to outside the fenced village where several bats attack the player.

Returning to the main track, the player enters Little Hope Museum, which has Belial's seal on the wall. She can be heard laughing as pictures on the wall fall, and the player must dodge several hanging mannequins before stopping in front of a Demon Crate with a UV light. The Crushed Demon reveals himself under one of the displays, and leaps across the room to begin chasing the cart from behind. The player must quickly shoot at the display mannequins in the right spots to keep moving and avoid the Crushed Demon.

Escaping the museum, the player rides under several pyres, which light as they pass beneath, and hear crying in the distance. Slowly, the player must ride through several Hanged Demons over the track that need to be dodged. One of them lowers suddenly near the cart, and the final two kick at the player to deal damage. Going through a skull gate, the player enters a track that loops around Scarlett, who is tied to a stake and surrounded by unmoving mannequins, with the female mannequins holding torches and the male mannequins holding ropes. There is a gate that allows the player to go left and continue the loop or go right and move on. After moving on, the cart stops and Belial asks "What would you do to hang on to life?" and another gate appears, allowing for a larger loop around Scarlett. As Scarlett begs for the player to help, they can go left to try and help her or proceed right and leave.

* If the player loops around and shoots all the mannequins holding ropes, Scarlett thanks the player and disappears in a white flash.
* If the player loops around and shoots all the mannequins holding torches, Scarlett is set ablaze.
* If the player loops around too many times without changing tracks, the Crushed Demon appears on the track and will kill the player if they don't move on.

Returning to the main track, the player goes through a skull gate and can choose to go left or right on the track.

* Going left goes through the forest and requires the player to use the UV light to shoot more obstacles in the path as the Crushed Demon chases them.
* Going right goes down the road and requires the player to use the UV light to shoot more obstacles in the path as the Crushed Demon chases them.

Returning to the main track, the cart rides through a forest and stops as bats fly out to attack, followed by the Crushed Demon leaping at the cart. After killing it, Belial says "Aw, you sound scared," and laughs. The player goes up a hill and under the collapsed bridge, where the Drowned Demon pops up to scare the player before hiding. The player enters a foggy section of the forest and can shoot a Demon Crate before choosing to go left or right on the track.

* Going left, the player hears distorted laughing and stops in a dark section of the woods. Several scarecrow enemies jump down to attack the player, with more emerging from the darkness or waiting along the track as the cart proceeds. At the end of the path, a hanged scarecrow falls near the player.
* Going right, the player can shoot two Demon Crates and returns to the Clarke Family Home, entering through a hole in the second floor's wall. The room is full of dolls, which turn to stare at the player as they enter and watch them go into the next room. The next room is dark, and then lights up to reveal a doll dancing on a rocking horse. The lights go out and back on, revealing several dolls crawling on the floor, walls, and ceiling and chattering incessantly. The player must kill them all as they attempt to climb onto the cart. After doing so, the cart moves past a room full of the dolls surrounding a small table and through three bedrooms, where more dolls rise to attack the player and there is a campfire on one of the beds. The player moves out onto the second floor balcony, where more dolls sit, and goes down into the forest.

Returning to the main track, the player approaches East County Church, and the church bell can be heard as something screeches in the distance. The player enters the church to find numerous puritan mannequins with their arms raised, chanting, and Belial's seal on the floor where the track ends. Belial laughs, and the Burned Demon appears in a burst of flame. The Burned Demon stomps on the floor, causing it to break and the player to fall into the sewers. The Drowned Demon appears and crawls toward the player before appearing in front of the cart and vomiting onto the player, covering the screen in dark goo. As it fades, the cart starts to move out of the sewer, with the Drowned Demon popping up again to scare the player.

The cart goes up a hill and back into the church, which is now destroyed and covered in vines. The player rides through the next room, which is on fire, and into the burning church auditorium. Belial laughs, and the Burned Demon once appears on her seal. A battle begins, in which the player must dodge flaming benches thrown by the Burned Demon. After dealing enough damage, the demon dies but is immediately replaced by another Burned Demon throwing sprays of fire and accompanied by bats. After killing them, part of the ceiling collapses and the church is engulfed in more fire. The last Burned Demon appears, slowly approaching the player as several normal and fireball-throwing mannequins enter the room and must be killed before it reaches the player. When it is killed, the track through the rest of the room appears, and the altar is destroyed to bring the player back into the forest, show them their score, and then re-enter the empty train station.

## Trivia

* The options on this level's *Journey So Far* screen are:
	+ You did/didn't get a soda in the Police Station
	+ You saw/didn't see Belial on TV
	+ Scarlett saved/killed/abandoned in the Cursed Forest