Virtual reality has, in recent years, become something of a controversial topic among gamers. Once upon a time, VR-exclusive titles like Job Simulator and Batman Arkham VR served as fun little proof-of-concept demos which hinted at what the medium could one day become. As time has gone on, however, VR games have struggled to evolve beyond mere experimental oddities. That said, Skydance Interactive’s The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners makes a bold attempt to deliver a fully-realized twelve-to-fifteen hour virtual reality campaign without relying on many of the concessions seen in similar titles. Though it stumbles in more than a few places and suffers from a few questionable design decisions, it’s a compelling romp through the ruined shadow of New Orleans which stands as one of the few must-play VR titles in recent memory.

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via: gamespot.com

A Zombie By Any Other Name...

Taking place not long after the zombie outbreak which set off the Walking Dead series, Saints & Sinners puts players in the shoes of a player-made character known only as “The Tourist.” Eager to follow in the footsteps of a deceased soldier named Henri, The Tourist claims the man’s graveyard-based hideout and resumes his search for The Reserve, a pre-outbreak stockpile of disaster relief supplies rumored to be hidden somewhere in the city. However, despite sporting the license of a major IP, this game has very little to do with the Walking Dead universe and could more or less be entirely removed from that universe, though the bleak atmosphere and grim subject matter do feel brand-appropriate.

One of the standout features of the game is the RPG-lite systems which allow players to change and evolve both themselves and the NPCs and factions around them. Taking on side quests or killing certain civilians can have a not-insignificant impact on story progression, and The Tourist’s relations to the game’s three main bands of survivors—the militaristic totalitarians known as The Tower, the cult-like scavengers known as The Reclaimed, and the stuck-in-the-middle Exiled—can improve and inhibit certain actions or scenarios. While it’s not quite as deep as something we would see in a Fallout or Mass Effect title, it lends a sense of depth and verisimilitude which goes quite a long way in a VR game.

via: happygamer.com

Good Lookin' Zombies

In terms of visuals, Saints & Sinners gets the job done without going above and beyond. The game adopts the cel shaded comic book aesthetic seen in the Telltale games, and, though it certainly evokes the vibe of the original graphic novel series, it’s sometimes a bit quirky when seen through the lens of a headset.

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Fortunately, the game seems to run extremely well on PC, even on lower-end hardware. Even with a slightly-janky WMR setup, Saints & Sinners was surprisingly playable and didn’t necessitate much awkward menu tinkering. That said, I did have to reset the dead zones for controllers’ analog sticks, but that was less of a hassle than what is required by many less-optimized games.

Gameplay is something of a mixed bag, as innovative and intuitive mechanics and ideas are seemingly doled out in equal measure. For instance, when standing still, the motion controls work fantastically, allowing players to grab weapons from their hips, large melee implements from over their right shoulder, a backpack from their left shoulder, and a journal and flashlight from an implied chest harness. That said, there’s no teleporting movement option, and IRL ducking wasn’t implemented at launch, making movement a downright nauseating affair for those who don’t quite have their VR sea legs.

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Combat works for the most part, though firearms are often difficult to reload and lack impact. Melee weapons are also very inconsistent, as, though there’s nothing quite like the feeling of grabbing hold of a walker’s head and jabbing an ice pick into their ear, there’s also nothing more frustrating than attempting to wedge a conspicuously rubbery axe into a zombie’s skull. All this is to say that, when the combat works, it works wonders, but things quickly begin to fall apart when a knife fails to connect for a fifth time or a point-black gunshot somehow whizzes through a crowd of undead.

via: as.com

There’s also something to be said about the crafting system. It’s nothing out of the ordinary and will feel instantly familiar to anyone who has played more than five minutes of a survival sim, but it incentivizes environmental awareness and constantly forces players to analyze the risks and rewards associated with exploration. Consequently, most locations can’t be explored for too long lest the daily chime of church bells attract an inescapable torrent of walkers. While this ensures players can’t spend hours ransacking every derelict city block in Nola, it also means that new-to-VR players can’t stop to catch their breath without pausing the game.

Your Turn To Be Rick Grimes

Though flawed in areas and certainly a victim of the limitations endemic to virtual reality, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is an admirable attempt at maturing the medium and modernizing an all-too-stagnant gaming space. It’s a warts-and-all sort of experience which, at the moment, can only really be appreciated by VR veterans, but, even for casual players, Saints & Sinners is a worthwhile undertaking which stands head-and-shoulders above the complacent competition.

A PC copy of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners was provided to TheGamer for this review. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is available now on PC.

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The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners

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