Introduction
Who doesn’t love the undead? Not literally, of course. Not only do they grumble “Urrggh…brains!” while shuffling at you like a hungover person in slippers, they’re hugely satisfying to dismantle using just about any weapon in existence. Yes: even a giant spoon.
Zombies in VR are an even more exciting proposition than they were in 2D. In the past, you had to rely on shifting camera angles to get a good view of the rotting hordes. Now, it’s up to you: fail to move your head to see where they’re coming from and you’ll end up a walking stick of tofu.
If that’s your idea of fun then the new raft of VR headsets coupled with our top zombie games should aid your sleepless nights. We round up the most exciting experiences heading to the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Google Cardboard, PlayStation VR and Samsung Gear VR.
1. Dying Light
- Played on: PC
- Release Date: Out now
Think of Dying Light as Fallout but instead of the Capital Wasteland infested with thug-headed green Super Mutants, the open world of Harran city is teeming with hungry zombies. Add parkour elements to that and you’re in for an energetic time.
Unfortunately Oculus Rift isn’t officially supported within Dying Light, rather it’s done pretty simply by altering a file here. This isn’t a major problem in-game as everything works just as expected. However cutscenes are not headtracked, which leads to mild disorientation as the viewpoint moves and you don’t.
2. Zero Latency
- Played on: Er, real life?
- Release Date: Out now
Fancy a zombie VR game with real (ish) guns? Zero Latency might just be the ticket. Director Scott Vandonkelaar has taken three years to transform a 4,300 square foot (400 square metre) warehouse in Melbourne, Australia into a fully-functioning (and safe) zombie apocalypse. Hovering above are 129 Sony PlayStation Eyes in circular rings that can track up to six players across the space.
Each person is given a hefty (non-firing) assault rifle that can also launch special rounds such as grenades plus a backpack which makes you feel like a Ghostbuster. Just don’t look at your fellow players before the VR is turned on as the PlayStation Move controllers stuck on their bodies make them looks poorly-decorated Christmas trees. At $65 (£40, AUS$88) it’s a small price to pay for saving the world.
3. Resident Evil
- Played on: PS4
- Release Date: Coming soon
Last October Capcom announced it would be concentrating on developing a scary VR game for Sony’s Project Morpheus, now known as PlayStation VR. Capcom used E3 2015 to showcase its Kitchen demo, which sat the wearer down in a chair and asked them to escape from a grizzly Saw-like scenario (video below).
Capcom hasn’t said it’s working on a Resident Evil series specifically, but the announcement came from the studio’s Development Division 1 unit that currently works on RE and is headed up by RE 5 producer Jun Takeuchi. Stumpy and bloodied fingers crossed then.
4. Arizona Sunshine
- Played on: PC
- Release Date: 5th April
Arizona Sunshine is one of the 50 launch titles for HTC’s Vive, which costs a virtual eye-watering $799 (£689, AUS$899). Set in the sweltering heat of — you’ve guessed it, the Arizona desert — it looks like a cross between Red Dead Redemption and the (in this case, post-apocalyptic) azure skies of Just Cause.
There’s multiplayer co-op, and because Vive uses room-scale (and tracked) VR that doesn’t matter how big your play area is, you won’t bump into a wall as the gameplay shifts between on and off-rail areas. If that’s a little confusing, then think of this as more of a VR version of Time Crisis or House Of The Dead, but with the ability to move to pick up items.
If you want to see a version of this for yourself, then developer Vertigo Games is promoting the new headset by taking over an East London warehouse and putting on Virtually Dead, a ticketed gaming experience that goes on until April 5 when the Vive is launched.
5. Left 4 Dead 2
- Played on: PC
- Release Date: Out now
Another unofficially supported Oculus Rift game is the classic co-op shooter Left 4 Dead 2. And it may well remain unsupported seeing at it was created by HTC’s collaborator on the Vive, Valve.
Making it playable in VR requires a $39 (£25.99, AUS$48.99) piece of software called VorpX. This nifty program also adds support for an Xbox 360 controller, freelook during cutscenes and VR hotkeys you can just look at to activate. One of our top tips for using L4D2 with the Rift is to scale back the zoom to 80% and HT Sensitivity to 100. Now get blasting the horde!
6. Into The Dead
- Played on: PC
- Release Date: Out now
With the Oculus Rift retailing at $599.99 (£410, AUS$840) on pre-order, not everybody will be willing to take that kind of monetary plunge. But the team behind the Oculus have also worked with Samsung on its Gear VR which costs a much more palatable $99 [£80, AUD$158.99].
You’ll need a high end Samsung phone to pop in the viewfinder. One of the debut games out on it is Into The Dead which has previously been available on iOS and Android. It’s a survival horror where you must run through an army of zombies, killing any who get too close. While not particularly sophisticated storyline-wise, it makes up for it in breathless energy stoked by online league tables and mini missions.
7. Overkill’s The Walking Dead
- Played on: TBC
- Release Date: 2017
The Walking Dead is a walking minefield of TV series, comic books, board games and of course video games, the latest of which is Overkill’s The Walking Dead due out in 2017. It’s the first game to feature co-op play and was demoed at Walker Stalker Fan Fest, a zombie fan festival, and also at E3 last year.
Developer Starbreeze is working on its own headset called the StarVR, which the game was demoed on. Details for the VR release are rather shaky, despite being announced for all the major consoles it says on their site “No platforms have been announced yet for the VR-experience.” Hopefully they’ll officially announce it for their own StarVR at least.
8. Zombie Shooter VR
- Played on: Google Cardboard
- Release Date: Out now
VR doesn’t have to cost a virtual arm and leg. Google Cardboard is the cheapest way to take on zombies for around $4 (£3, AUS$6) — simply clamp it to your face with elastic and away you go. Zombie Shooter VR is developed by Fibrum who have their own more expensive headsets, which admittedly are better quality, but if you just want to dabble your toe and see if zombie VRing is for you we’d recommend the Cardboard route.
Zombie Shooter gets straight to the action. Pick a weapon and stare at your opponent to automatically shoot. Fibrum also have another game in a similar vein called Zombie Warfare.
9. Minecraft
- Played on: Xbox One
- Release Date: Out now, VR support coming soon
Before you say this isn’t technically a zombie game, it is. Alright? Those blue-suited, gargling, brick-like zombies are the stuff of nightmares, I tell you. Recently, intrepid techradar scribe Nick Pino recently stepped manfully into the world of virtual Lego by donning an Oculus Rift. Despite his trepidations on VR as a whole he was gleefully slaying the undead, cooling down lava and killing yet more zombies. Minecraft Rift support is due soon later this spring.
10. Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2
- Played on: PC
- Release Date: Out now
Though not strictly a zombie game, Black Ops 2 features the undead heavily in its single player and multiplayer modes. To make them work with the Oculus Rift you’ll need to use the VorpX software we mentioned on page five: Left 4 Dead 2.
Until Black Ops officially supports VR this is a great way of blasting through zombies in the CoD Universe. VorpX also apparently works with Black Ops 3, should the second game in the series fail to satisfy your undead-slaying tendencies. And if you get bored of the them altogether, there’s always the main storyline too.
Source: techradar.com