Here’s the launch trailer for newly released zombie-themed brawler ‘Bloody Zombies‘ from developers of ‘The Assembly‘ nDreams and Paw Print Games. But before you roll your eyes at the prospect of yet another undead VR wave shooter, this one’s a little different.
Virtual reality gaming has defied expectations in many ways and its application and enhancement traditional (and not immediately obvious) gaming genres is one of them. You wouldn’t assume that 3rd person platform games would be a great fit for an immersive gaming platform and yet Lucky’s Tale proved that assumption resolutely incorrect.
Now nDreams, the developers who brought the multi-platform made-for-VR adventure ‘The Assembly’, and Paw Print Games have pivoted sharply for their next virtual reality compatible title. Bloody Zombies is a side scrolling beat-’em-up inspired by an era when ‘beat-’em-up’ was still a term in common use. If you’re old enough to recall classic fighting titles, born from arcades gaming stock (think 80s Final Fight and 90s Streets of Rage) then you’ll know what to expect from Bloody Zombies. Scroll from left to right, punching and bludgeoning your way through the zombie hordes all set against the backdrop of an apocalyptic London.
The title features simultaneous four player co-op support, with one of those players able to join the game in VR. nDream’s approach is to the immersive component is to present the gameworld as a diorama to the VR player, allowing them to peer in, over and around the scene to give them the ability to spot hidden loot and, as nDreams put it, “provide tactical support to your friends.” You can see the game in action with VR in the gameplay overview video at the top of this page.
As for the gameplay itself, the developers have tried to infuse Bloody Zombies with an easy to learn yet hard to master ethos, with basic combat leading to more advanced techniques including combos and juggle combos. Of course, this being a zombie title, there’s also an array of weaponry with which to dismember everything in your path too.
All in all, it looks like great and I knwo from experience that ostensibly 2D games can look great in VR, but I’m struggling to see the immersive aspect of Bloody Zombies as anything other than a cleverly integrated ‘nice to have’ bonus for headset owner. We’ll reserve judgement however as the title will be heading to PlayStation VR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift later this year.