When I last spoke to VR developer nDreams late last year, the studio told me that it had been somewhat ‘blindsided‘ by the advent of motion controls when making its first-person adventure, The Assembly. The game had been in development long before the Vive or Oculus Touch were revealed, and it left the developer in something of an awkward position with VR support that felt decidedly stuck in the past.
The same holds true for its latest game, Bloody Zombies.
Now, to be clear, nDreams isn’t developing this new 2D brawler. That’s being handled by Chester-based team, Paw Print Games, while the company heads up the publishing. And, yes, I did say 2D brawler; Bloody Zombies is a devoted disciple of the church of Streets of Rage, Final Fight and Golden Axe. It’s a perfectly serviceable four-player co-op game in which you tour the streets of London, wailing on undead monsters as you move from one side of the screen to the other.
On a traditional screen (which the game also supports), it makes perfect sense, so what’s it doing with VR support?
“I’m a huge fan of the brawler genre,” Lead Designer Steve Knapman tells me over the phone. “The idea of figuring out how to bring that to VR, it actually sounded like a really interesting project. I’m also a fan of VR myself, so it just sounded like a great project to work on.”
There are indeed interesting things about Bloody Zombies’ VR support. While it can be played on PS4, Xbox One and PC without headsets, on PSVR, Rift and Vive you can play with non-VR players too. You’ll be able to have four friends over and one of you can sit inside VR while the others play on the usual screen (or, online, you can all be in VR).
When walking along the streets, VR players will be able to look above and below, perhaps spotting hidden paths to new loot that they can tell their friends about, or maybe keep it to themselves and then sneak off while the others are busy in the heat of the fight. As I played, I appreciated being able to look down to the right to see how much more ground I had to cover before the end of the level, and there’s something novel about leaning forward and watching the 2D characters disappear as you look at them from the side.
Even with all that said, I’m not convinced Bloody Zombies really needed VR support at all; this feels like a launch title for the Oculus Rift, answering the call for content a year late. If I had friends over to play it I simply wouldn’t feel the need to put the headset on, as I’d rather be able to see them. It speaks to that strange sense of isolation that some worry might damage VR’s chances of success when games like The Playroom VR already demonstrate how you can design around those issues. At least it’s not another zombie wave shooter though, right?
Putting the VR support aside, though, there’s retro-fun to be had here that the ultimately harmless headset support shouldn’t detract from. Your four characters have light, strong and special attacks that you’ll mash together as zombies approach, throwing them into other enemies as they shuffle along and swatting them away with heavy damage-dealing weapons like hammers. You can boost abilities with certain pickups, and a scoring system introduces an element of competition to the proceedings.
It’s very much the classic gameplay you’ve come to expect from the genre over the last 25 years or so, and you’ll probably know by now if that sort of thing appeals to you. There’s a lot of satisfaction to be had in chipping away at a giant zombie’s health bar, timing your attacks and spotting his animations to make sure you avoid damage, though it’s hard to deny it doesn’t feel a little dated at the same time. Paw Print does mix things up with fun event sections in which you might dodge security defenses, or race against a meat grinder that’s chasing you from behind.
Paw Print is aiming for a meaty experience, though it hasn’t finalised the number of levels and locations yet. I took a trek across some recognisable streets and museums, though I’d love to get some pub brawls going, or journey along tube tracks.
Bloody Zombies’ VR support might be underwhelming, but there’s still a genuine game to enjoy underneath it. With or without a headset, this maybe be something for fans of classic brawlers to check out when it releases later this year.
