There are a few titles in the public domain which exemplify what a virtual reality experience should feel like. Lunar flight by developer Shovsoft is one such title. It was released mid 2013 and has been a benchmark for early virtual reality demos ever since. Lunar Flight managed to create an excellent sense of VR presence whilst presenting a challenging, rewarding gameplay experience to boot – something not to be sniffed at this point in VR’s resurgence.
Now, the same developer has switched tracks and are developing a virtual reality, first person zombie shooter. With the developer’s pedigree, ZVR is likely to be highly anticipated and a new trailer, highlighting what we can expect from a new playable demo due to be released during the forthcoming E3 Expo certainly looks intriguing.
The demo looks to have your character marooned inside a crashlanded helicopter with just a pistol and monted machine gun and your fists for protection. Zombies charge towards your position and you have to mow them down before they’re upon you. Since ZVR’s initial reveal, it’s clear that the animation has come along leaps and bounds as has the dismemberment system used to realistically depict zombie destruction at the hands of your weapons. It’s the kind of experience that works very well in VR and we can’t wait to get our hands on it.
At this stage it’s not clear what the scope of the game will be. Will it be a series of static set pieces or will it be a free roaming zombie survival horror, similar to that seen in Survios’ excellent Zombies on the Holodeck? The Road to VR team will endeavour to find out more when they visit E3 in a couple of weeks, we’ll bring you more news as we find it.
