Review: Arizona Sunshine Remake
One thing I was not expecting to play in 2024 is Arizona Sunshine but, as soon as the Remake of this VR classic (which still holds up today) was announced, I knew I was returning to Arizona to kill some Freds.
Release Date: October 17th 2024
Developer: Vertigo Games
Publisher: Vertigo Games
Price: £24.99
Reviewed On: DPVR E4 Black
* Access Provided For Review *
Zombie Infested Arizona
In the campaign you are placed into the shoes of a survivor in the post-apocalyptic and zombie infested Arizona state. As you start to continue your venture into the canyons trying to survive not only the zombies, but the blistering heat, you soon stumble upon a radio. The radio then crackles and gives you some hope of human life other than your own, setting you out on a search for this safe-house. The question is can you survive the hordes, the heat and find other survivors?
Shoot, Blow-up, Bash Their Brains In
How are you going to stop these zombies from chowing down on your brains, as you also survive the heat in your quest to find more people? In the most fun way you can; guns, explosives and melee weapons. With this being a full on Remake it means players will also be getting the updates like two handed weapons (added to the original at later date) and melee from Arizona Sunshine 2.
With the team giving you a good mix of types of pistols, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns and melee weapons. All of which have their own advantages and dis-advantages so, it comes down to what you think is best for you and each situation you face in sun kissed Arizona. The main element of the gameplay is around the gunplay and like the original this all very accurate with choices being offered around a simple or manual reload (similar to After The Fall). The other element you come across is needing to find items like keys and key cards to progress but, these are never that far away from where you need to use them – as the protagonist says “locking yourself in room in a zombie apocalypse means you never get far’. Also, if you played the original, you might notice little updates and changes to the layout and sections of the campaign.
With this being a Remake the team have also included both the Dead man and The Damned DLC with the game, meaning once you have done the campaign you can jump into the separate stories of two more people in this apocalypse. Outside of these two DLC’s you also get a Horde Mode, as you would expect this is all about surviving waves of hordes for as long as you can.
As with the first release of Arizona Sunshine, you can take on the campaign content with another friend in online co-op, meaning if you want to have fun with another person this is an option. Then in Horde mode you can be joined by three more players – but, more players means more brains, which means only one thing more zombies.
The Beauty Of A Remake
As mentioned this is remake of the classic Arizona Sunshine and it’s DLC, so the game has been made from the ground up to bring the visuals on par with Arizona Sunshine 2. Which brings with it the updates gore system from the second game, meaning more damage and mutilation on Fred’s. With the update it means players are also getting higher resolution textures, more realistic environmental details and lighting, which really brings the sun-kissed plains of Arizona to life and make those darker underground parts a bit more freaky with your limited light.
Everything is then brought to life with Vertigo’s skilled use of environmental audio, the moans and groans of the many Fred’s you encounter. Adding to these a good use of music to build the pace and suspense when taking on waves of Fred’s rather than just a few you are encountering along the way. With the fantastic voice acting as the protagonist seems to fall more into insanity in your search for more humans, bringing in some dad jokes and dark humor. This re-creates everything great from the first game perfectly.
Comfort
The Verdict
Arizona Sunshine Remake allows you to re-live the story of the original but, throwing gorgeous looking gore into your eye-balls. Playing through it again with some minor changes to parts of the levels, the updated visuals, weapons and melee combat was a fantastic experience and reminded me of why I have played through the game so many times in the past. Arizona Sunshine has always been my favorite zombie game in VR, which really has lasted the test of time, with the Remake cementing it as the Virtual Reality zombie game I would recommend to people first and within a heartbeat of being asked.