Never in a million years would I have wagered The Walking Dead would make for a great VR game. This is a brand, nay, an entire genre, thats steadily slowed to a creative crawl, with seemingly every possible tie-in and conceptual angle hacked away at, sparing neither life nor limb. And yet, somehow, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is a gory delight.
Skydance Interactive doesnt owe its unexpected success to a piling body count or tough story-telling, but instead the rules its vicious world establishes early on. Moreover, it is the finely-tuned level of user interaction that rewards you for adhering to them.
Like a growing number of VR titles, the Saints & Sinners experience is designed with physics and interaction at its very core. Need to stab a zombie in the head? Youll have to properly thrust your blade into their brain with a disturbing degree of intention, not just waggle a stick in their direction. Nasty cut need healing? Grab a bandage and physically wrap it around your arm to patch yourself up. It turns a traditionally trite mechanic into an entirely new experience, one that seamlessly splices its way into the pressured world of survival horror inventory management like never before. It proves to be far more compelling than it has any right to be.
Ten minutes of holding off the hordes, and it is tough to go back to the feather-touch feel of older VR games. Dual-wielding pistols dont carry the same sense of heft, and can be aimed and fired like theyre balloons. Axes and swords phase through enemies as if they were made from thin air. Perhaps most damning, monsters and foes can grab hold of you, but you feel powerless to properly shove them away. But here, you have a physical presence, one that demands a higher degree of real-life imitation than has been asked of us in the past.
This isnt a new concept, of course, but it is evolving. Free Lives Gorn, RUST LTDs H3VR, and WarpFrogs Blade & Sorcery arguably started us down this path. Gorn, for example, earned scores of sales for its slapstick, uncompromising violence and Blade & Sorcery did the same by delivering the most satisfying melee action yet seen in VR (or, to face the uncomfortable but more telling truth, providing the most realistic stabbing youll find in VR). Hot Dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades (H3VR), meanwhile, avoids the violence issue by making its enemies hot dogs while growing a significant audience by continually refining and expanding what ends up being an enormous physics-laden playground. But it is 2019s Boneworks that serves as the real poster child for this new style of play; a game obsessed with the minutiae of reloading a gun. In this physics funhouse every enemy must be grappled with and, most impressively, every puzzle solved with a genuine injection of player invention.
Crucially, though, this fledgling approach to VR design is anchored around one of the core tenants that makes this technology so special; it makes you someone.
In Boneworks, it transforms you into a sort of gun-slinging Superman; enemies are mere toys to be ruthlessly experimented on. For Blade & Sorcery, you become the brutal, elitist gladiator front and center of a summer blockbuster poster. In The Walking Dead, it makes you the idiot you laugh at in zombie movies, the one making all the mistakes you swear youd never make. It is the true embodiment of, well, embodying someone else.
Hurdles remain, of course, all of which are equally important to somehow pull yourself over. The Walking Dead and Boneworks offer compelling evolutions over Gorn and Blade & Sorcery, but neither is perfect, often content with letting sandbox-style carnage fill in for a lack of more decisive campaign design. Boneworks in particular never fully escapes the shackles of the hugely promising technical demonstrations it started life as.
Weve got our tracked fingers crossed that Half-Life: Alyx serves up the next step in this journey. Valves Source engine broke ground with its physics-driven breakthroughs, but more importantly, its creators gave these inventions context. It took its stunning foundations and made them a living, breathing feature inside an otherwise excellent shooter.
Even Alyx, though, isnt coming to the most important VR headset on the market: Oculus Quest (at least not natively, it isnt). The games were talking about here push the processing power of PC VR gaming to the max with their complex systems. Quest, by comparison, is running smartphone-class processors and that means the jury is still out on whether Facebooks standalone system will be able to handle these significant innovations; the upcoming port of Saints & Sinners and the spin-off Boneworks game will likely be the judge of that, but translating the satisfaction unlocked by these PC VR games to standalone VR will be vital to keeping that content library fresh in the years to come.
There is, of course, the matter of what happens when this devilish level of violent detail reaches the masses, though thats perhaps a topic best saved for another time.
But it is here where you see VR gaming thats truly native to headset and headset alone. True, you could play Saints & Sinners with a pair of Move controllers on a PS4, but Id guarantee the loss of depth perception and enemy proximity would make for a painful translation. Without a VR headset, it would be virtually impossible to negotiate your way through most of Boneworks minute interactions.
VR headsets might not have moved onto a true next generation of products yet but, remarkably, VR software seems to be getting there without the leaps in fidelity and control weve come to expect from successive hardware. That suggests that, by the time PSVR 2, Rift 2, Index 2 and others are ready for the limelight, well finally have a gaming ecosystem thats figured itself out. Quite an exciting thought, that.
- The Walking Dead: Season 11 | Rotten Tomatoes - April 22nd, 2024
- About The Walking Dead | News, Bios and Photos | AMC - April 22nd, 2024
- How to Recreate the Most Iconic Location From The Walking Dead in 3D - 80.lv - April 22nd, 2024
- The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon: The Book of Carol Sets Tribeca Debut - Bleeding Cool News - April 22nd, 2024
- The Walking Dead star joins Superman movie in major role - Digital Spy - April 22nd, 2024
- Rick Grimes' Ending Finally Honored The Big Promise Walking Dead Made In Season 5 - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- When Will 'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon' Season 2 Premiere? - UPROXX - April 21st, 2024
- The Surprising Reason HBO Turned Down 'The Walking Dead' - Collider - April 21st, 2024
- "You Really Have to Consider What He's Been Through": Walking Dead Creator Admits It's Hard to Root for Rick, But ... - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- Robert Kirkman: The Walking Dead Animated Series Can't Happen "Until I Get the Rights Back From AMC" - ComicBook.com - April 21st, 2024
- Morgan Jones' Got The Sendoff He Deserved On Fear The Walking Dead - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 21st, 2024
- The Walking Dead Animated Series Happening Depends On One Important Thing - GameRant - April 21st, 2024
- Robert Kirkman Says The Walking Dead Animated Series Can Only Happen Under One Condition - MovieWeb - April 21st, 2024
- Daryl Dixon season 2 could make the Walking Dead universe even better here's why - Tom's Guide - April 21st, 2024
- 7 New Walking Dead Villains That Could Replace The CRM - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Fails Rick Grimes and Here Are All the Reasons Why He Deserves A Better Fate - Hollywood.com - April 21st, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Is a Reckoning of Hope - Reactor - April 21st, 2024
- The Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman Shares What's Holding Back the Planned Animated Series - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 21st, 2024
- The Walking Dead Crossover Plans Now Face A Huge Obstacle Thanks To Rick Grimes - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- Behind the scenes as 'Dead City' films in Taunton We talked to zombie, caterer and more - Taunton Daily Gazette - April 21st, 2024
- Die creators Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans' new original graphic novel is a cross between The Walking Dead and ... - Gamesradar - April 21st, 2024
- 'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon' Season 2 and 'Presumed Innocent' Headline the 2024 Tribeca Festival TV Lineup - Collider - April 21st, 2024
- The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman wants an animated show, but there's one issue - Winter is Coming - April 21st, 2024
- The Walking Dead Crossover Plans Now Face A Huge Obstacle Thanks To Rick Grimes - imdb - April 21st, 2024
- Tom Payne and Wife Jennifer kerman Welcome Twins (Exclusive) - PEOPLE - April 21st, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Episode 5 Trailer - ComicBook.com - March 24th, 2024
- What The Song Means In The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Episode 4 (Does It Reveal The Ending?) - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024
- Invincible Season 2 Is Avoiding A Problem That Nearly Killed The Walking Dead - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024
- Invincible Season 2 Has A Walking Dead Easter Egg You Might Have Missed - Looper - March 24th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Episode 4 Review What We - Den of Geek - March 24th, 2024
- 'The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live' Episode 4 Recap: It's Rick, Michonne, and Carl? - Collider - March 24th, 2024
- The Walking Dead Includes a Rare Sex Scene on The Ones Who Live: 'It Is About Pain,' Says Andrew Lincoln - PEOPLE - March 24th, 2024
- Daryl Dixon Season 2 Release, Cast & Everything We Know - The Direct - March 24th, 2024
- The Ones Who Live Episodes 5 & 6 Get Ominous Tease From Walking Dead EP - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024
- TWD The Ones Who Live Episode 5 Trailer: Rick & Michonne Find Trouble Escaping - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024
- Does Rick Leave the CRM on The Ones Who Live? - CBR - Comic Book Resources - March 24th, 2024
- Into The Kirkmanverse? Invincible Teases A Major Connection To The Walking Dead - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024
- The Ones Who Live Pulled a Bait-and-Switch on Walking Dead Fans, But It Works - CBR - Comic Book Resources - March 24th, 2024
- Well, That Was The Walking Dead's Raunchiest Episode Since The Show Began In 2010 - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024
- Invincible x The Walking Dead Crossover is Now Likelier Than Ever Due to This Season 2 Character - imdb - March 24th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live episode 5 - Release date & time, where to watch, and more - Sportskeeda - March 24th, 2024
- Rick Grimes Just Massively Insulted Lori, 12 Years After Her Walking Dead Exit - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Ep. 4 Review: "What We" Needed - Bleeding Cool News - March 24th, 2024
- I Asked AI What TV Characters Who Died Too Soon Would Look Like If They Still Alive Today - BuzzFeed - March 24th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Rick has a tough decision to make in "What We" - Winter is Coming - March 24th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live - A Testament to Survival and Humanity - Age Of The Nerd - March 16th, 2024
- Which Side Thorne Is On In The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live? Why She Tries To Shoot Michonne Explained - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- Where The CRM's New US Mountain Base Is Located In The Walking Dead - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- The Ones Who Live Season 2 Gets Cryptic Tease From Walking Dead Showrunner - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- The Ones Who Live Theory: The CRM's Echelon Briefing May Have Sinister Plans - CBR - Comic Book Resources - March 16th, 2024
- What Would Happen To The Walking Dead's Main Group If The CRM Found Alexandria - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- Predicting The CRM's 500-Year Plan In The Walking Dead - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- Walking Dead's Creator Admits 1 Criticism of the Franchise Is 100% True - IMDb - March 16th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Episode 3 Clip Shows Rick Trying To Make A Deal With Jadis - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live leaves us on the edge of our seats in Episode 3 - Winter is Coming - March 16th, 2024
- The Ones Who Live's Villain Just Nailed Rick Grimes' Entire Walking Dead Story With One Line - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- The Best Horror Games Where Your Choices Matter - TheGamer - March 16th, 2024
- 'The Ones Who Live' Showrunner Wants to Keep Future Plans Open - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Star Addresses Shocking Return (Exclusive) - ComicBook.com - March 16th, 2024
- Five Thoughts On The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live's Bye - Multiversity Comics - March 16th, 2024
- Walking Dead: Ones Who Live Star Explains Why Jadis Is Loyal To The CRM - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- Pollyanna McIntosh Breaks Down Jadis' Return In The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- Walking Dead's Danai Gurira on the "big question mark" in The Ones Who Live - Digital Spy - March 16th, 2024
- A Major General Beale Clue Supports 1 Exciting Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Ending Theory - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Tests A Time-Honored Relationship - SlashFilm - March 16th, 2024
- The Walking Dead Makes 1 Important Change To Rick Losing His Hand In The Ones Who Live - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- 'A's and 'B's: How 'The Ones Who Live' Solves A 'Walking Dead' Mystery - TV Insider - March 8th, 2024
- The Walking Dead Explains A Mystery From Season 10 (Then Immediately Ruins It) - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- 'The Ones Who Live' Pulls Off a Feat 'The Walking Dead' Failed For Years to Accomplish - Pajiba Entertainment News - March 8th, 2024
- The Ones Who Live Just Introduced The Walking Dead's Most Impressive Zombie Weapons Yet - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Episode 2 Review Gone - Den of Geek - March 8th, 2024
- What keeps "The Walking Dead" moving forward? Showrunner Scott Gimple insists "love is the fuel" - Salon - March 8th, 2024
- Rick and Michonne's 'The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live' Reunion Isn't What We Expected - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- The Ones Who Live Is Subtly Teasing A Major Walking Dead Character Cameo - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Episode 1 Twist Explained - TheWrap - March 8th, 2024
- How Well Do You Know the Cast of 'The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live'? - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Stakes Out AMCs Best Premiere Viewership In 6 Years - Deadline - March 8th, 2024
- Andrew Lincoln On Scaring Jon Bernthal And Makeup On The Walking Dead' - UPROXX - March 8th, 2024
- Will There Be 'The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live' Season 2? The Stars Weigh In. - The Mary Sue - March 8th, 2024
- INTERVIEW: TWD: The Ones Who Live's Matthew August Jeffers on "Terrifying" Plot Twist - CBR - Comic Book Resources - March 8th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero