Zombie Army VR offers an enjoyable action shooter, but a few issues are holding it back in our recent demo.
Set between Zombie Army Trilogy and Zombie Army 4, the latest entry in the Sniper Elite spin-off series takes us across Europe as a Deadhunter killing zombie Nazis. While Rebellion previously partnered with Just Add Water for Sniper Elite VR and last year's Winter Warrior sequel, this upcoming spin-off sees XR Games (Zombieland, Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded) on development duties.
Zombie Army VR - PlayStation VR2 gameplay capture from Gamescom 2024
I went hands-on with the PlayStation VR2 version at Gamescom 2024, playing the first mission that's split into three stages. There are a few decisions that I believe VR newcomers will appreciate in the opening, and Zombie Army VR asks you again about the comfort settings after finishing the tutorial. It's a good approach to recheck this in case something doesn't feel entirely right.
Missions begin by letting you upgrade weapons, and a decent selection ranges between rifles, machine guns, shotguns, SMGs, and pistols. Zombie Army VR uses three reloading options: automatic reloads with a button press, manual where you need to insert the ammo clip, and an "Authentic" option that goes a step further. At Rebellion's suggestion, I used the manual setting.
You can helpfully store three items in your satchel, from more explosive options like grenades and mines to necessary assists like health syringes. All useful tools as I encountered various enemies. Some tried to rush me; others wore armor, and a few are packing machine guns. The varied enemies require using ammo effectively, and limited pistol ammo necessitates regular weapon switching in some areas.
I spent the session mostly fending off hordes as I gradually explored these creepy camps, and you can't progress until you've killed all the nearby zombies. My final mission ended with a boss encounter, which was slightly tedious as I needed to defeat hordes that went on slightly too long before I could attack the weakened boss. I'm hoping the full game includes more mission variety.
The foundations for an enjoyable campaign are here, and sniping zombies from afar to activate those x-ray kill cams remains enjoyable. The game looks good visually though I didn't get confirmation on framerate, and I quickly became invested in the action. Zombie Army VR's mission structure is split up effectively, and stages take roughly 20-30 minutes to complete. It's long enough not to feel bite-sized but short enough to return in stages.
I initially left the demo with more positive impressions, though some issues have come to mind now that I've had more time to think about them. The satchel appears as a floating menu rather than a physical object where you can put items, which isn't the most immersive approach and feels like a strange decision when you consider how many games use a physical inventory.
I also struggled to pick up items. Your holstered guns return to set positions once dropped, and while the rifle would reappear when reaching out to the shoulder holster, I often can't pick them up off the floor magnetically when accidentally dropped. Grabbing items doesn't always work as intended, and trying to pick up guns often causes me to accidentally pick up ammo or my pistol. You can adjust the belt height, though.
Another problem involved manually reloading the pistol. While this isn't a problem for most weapons, it's often a struggle to load the clip into my pistol as Zombie Army VR wouldn't register the input. Dropping the clip, waiting for it to return to my pouch, and then trying again became a regular workaround. Considering this is a preview build, I hope that gets fixed.
These flaws have me concerned about the launch, but I still find the time passing quickly as I defeat undead Nazis. Fighting back armed zombies adds a different twist to the usual shambling corpses we expect, and reloading issue aside, Zombie Army VR's gunplay mostly feels good. I'm curious but cautious to see how the full release shapes up.
Zombie Army VR will reach PSVR 2, Quest, Rift, and Steam in 2024. You can find out more in our previous interview with Rebellion and XR Games below.
Henry Stockdale
