Ask anyone that has a PSVR2 and they’ll likely tell you that the tech is great, but the library is lacking. Outside of No Man's Sky or Resident Evil Village, there are very few games that truly revel in the format of VR. However, a recent visit to Vertigo Games’ HQ in Rotterdam proved that VR is in the blood of the developer’s upcoming title Arizona Sunshine 2. After going hands-on with a PC build of the game, we were left dying for the full release of what could be PSVR2's next must-buy.
For those out of the know, Arizona Sunshine is a VR zombie shooter that launched back in 2016 on the PSVR. Featuring a sun-bleached post-apocalypse, a Zombieland irreverence, and a penchant for over-the-top gore, it quickly accumulated a cult following. Fans of the first game will be glad to know that seven years and a whole VR generation later, all the hallmarks of Arizona Sunshine are present in its sequel - along with some massive improvements.
Our demo starts on a dusty front yard of a rundown trailer. Buddy, the friendly German Shepherd playfully approaches with a zombie arm in his mouth. Reaching down, we pick up the arm and toss it, playing a game of zombie-tinged fetch. While it's an immediate showcase of the game’s dark sense of humour, for us it marks the first of many interactive elements of this demo which showcase how much Vertigo Games gets VR as a format.
From shopping trolleys that we collected zombie parts in to books that have to be left on top of buttons to open doors, Arizona Sunshine 2 is a far cry from the lacking interactivity of something like Firewall Ultra. Almost every interaction requires some kind of physical movement, which not only amplifies immersion but also just makes for a far more fun experience. The team were keen to stress that if it wasn’t interactable, they didn’t want it in their game, and they seem to have held up their end of the bargain.
A massive improvement over its predecessor lies in the shooting mechanics. Instead of a gesture for reloading, you’ll now remove and replace magazines, pull back barrels, flip rifles, and keep track of ammunition. The shooting itself feels pinpoint, and after a short time reloading becomes second nature. The devs later told us that you're able to toss magazines in the air and catch them with your gun, so there is room for play with this new manual reload mechanic. However, that doesn’t mean this zombie apocalypse is a walk in the park. It's easy to become flustered when your clip runs out and you have a half dozen zombies chomping away at you.
That's where our favourite mode of zombie killing comes in. From bats to machetes, melee combat and limb detachment is phenomenal. We reckon our demoist was a little concerned when we removed every limb on an already dead zombie just to see how far we could take it. There’s a nice weightiness to weapons, and it often takes a couple of swings before a leg or head will come loose, and the skin tearing detail is gruesomely brilliant.
Mixing both the melee and shooting mechanics together makes for a hectic concoction of bloody action. As we approach the final confrontation of our demo, we're locked and loaded - pistols in their holsters, rifles over our back, and a trusty blade in our strong swinging arm. Swiftly, hordes of zombies surround us and the situation quickly devolves into something straight out of The Walking Dead. Surrounded, we're in our element popping off headshots at close range and lodging blades in skulls. The frenetic energy is palpable, and it only elevates as our melee weapons break, and we accidentally drop pistol clips. Arizona Sunshine 2 gives you the room to make mistakes with its gameplay, and it is all the better for it.
Amplifying all of this is the game’s graphical presentation. Arizona Sunshine 2 looks stunning in the goriest kind of way, even more so thanks to its vibrant colour palette. What surprises most though, is how much detail remains when you get up close and personal with various objects and background details. You can decapitate a zombie, pick up its head, and bring it right up to you and it will still hold an astounding level of detail. It is genuinely impressive, and it leaves us all the more eager to check out the PSVR2 version, which can only be amplified by its 4K HDR panels and foveated rendering. Similarly, we’re keen to see how well haptics and adaptive triggers are implemented.
The big question looming over Arizona Sunshine 2 is whether it will be worth the wait. Truthfully, it is hard to come to any conclusions since we didn’t get a real sense of the scale of this project, we didn’t hear much of anything about its co-op offering, and as we mentioned, we’ve still to see how well the thing plays on PSVR2. However, from the small snippet of time we did have with the game, we had a ton of fun. Arizona Sunshine 2 nails that interactivity that makes VR so special. And with its improvements to shooting and reloading, we can’t wait to go full John Wick on some zombies. We have our fingers crossed that Arizona Sunshine 2 will shine bright and establish itself as a must-buy for VR enthusiasts.
Are you ready for some zombie-killing fun with Arizona Sunshine 2? Let us know down in the comments.
Comments 47
I skipped the first game but I don't think I'll be doing the same this time.
It sounds exactly like what you would want from a VR zombie experience.
NGL the quest 3 made the psvr2 even more pointless. Why can't Sony realize that the only thing that can keep people using their vr device is access to PC and everything that entails.
I wouldn’t say that. Just got Ghost Signal this weekend, had to decide between that and Red Matter, Sierra Squad, rijnsmagus, or Hubris. Still waiting for a good few others to go on sale. An embarrassment of riches really. I think most people just don’t consider a game to exist unless it’s 4K and takes 100hrs to complete (including Pushsquare, who don’t even acknowledge many games in their PSVR2 release schedule page)
I might pick this up, but it isn’t one of my most anticipated.
Plenty of PSVR2 games to keep me occupied, but I get that others feel differently. This one seems like a must have indeed!
I'm a bit confused at the 'it's got no games' I'm hearing all the time.Just a quick look at the store there's 140 games since February of which at least 30 are great games which I wouldn't miss
Let's hope they ship a finished product which exploits the features of psvr2 rather than a half baked unfinished one (of which there have been enough already during the last two months.)
So co-op isn't confirmed for this one? Maybe the second player could play as the dog so you can finally pet your friend, that will sell the game right there.
I do think you undersell the PSVR2 a bit though, although Sony's first party commitment looks a bit bleak at the moment there should be plenty to play. Just check out PSVR Without Parole's top list of games.
The “it has no games” argument is ridiculous. Just looking at the October release dates.
I’m sure this will be fun though
I didn’t buy my PSVR2 for zombie games.
I have bought so many games for my vr but I just CBA to play any of them...would like to at some point find a game to get some value out of my vr...so far the game I have probably been most impressed by was Synapse...and I have played about 4 hours ..and that's my most played vr game probably ..or maybe horizon ..which i didn't finish because a bug lost my save game
@Triumph741 It is good that there is choice,
But in the end it comes down to the software. The switch demonstrates that specs are not all that relevant. At the moment it is pretty open which catalogue will be better. It presumably also boils down to personal preferences (cinematic VR titles vs room scale motion gaming). There are good titles exclusive to pcvr and quest, but also very good exclusive titles for psvr2. The future of all the platforms is pretty uncertain, unfortunately. There are not that many exciting titles announced. Meta seems to focus heavily on AR, if that is Your thing. According to the leak from a psvr2 developer's meeting, PS tries to push developers in direction of titles which can also be played on the flat screen, which opens the doors for higher budget titles without necessarily sacrificing VR mechanics.
@thefourfoldroot1 Yeah they still haven't added Amid Evil VR to the list, even though I pinged them twice about it with proof.
@gaston It's refreshing to see a balanced examination, rather than 'headset X is trash and has no redeeming features'
@gaston And the headset rumbling is heavily underrated. The fact that it communicates taking damage when it's hard to know otherwise alone makes many games so much better. I was just playing After the Fall with a friend last night and he found it hard to know when he was getting hit and to react on PCVR, but I knew immediately and instinctively because of the rumble in the headset.
@gaston
Imo the oled display of the psvr2 is rendered mute because of the mura. And most vr youtubers seemingly agree because no one is simping for the device or oled in general nowadays.
The haptics are fine, but they are not nowhere near enough to compensate for what the psvr2 lacks.
Eye tracking is cool though when a developer uses it. Probably the only thing worthwhile about the device in comparison to the Q3.
If you are okay with the wire that's on you. Just keep in mind that you are on the wrong side of history.
With a pc you can do EVERYTHING in VR. No need to elaborate further.
Oh yeah and the resolution and comfort of the Q3 are better than the PSVR2.
“Ask anyone that has a PSVR2 and they’ll likely tell you that the tech is great, but the library is lacking.”
🤣🤣🤣 you only need to read your own comments section to see how out of touch this very cliched view is!
Apart from the 2 games you mentioned, you conveniently forgot some big hitters like red matter 2, synapse, GT7, horizon, moss 1 & 2, etc. Coming up shortly we have journey to foundation, vertigo 2, re4, bullet storm, etc. I already have an 8 game backlog as I’m not lucky enough to get to play games all day as a job.
To trot out the same predictable “there aren’t any games” trope is just lazy.
Although I do wonder whether Pushsquare do it on purpose re PSVR2 to get more comments.
I would admit though that it would be great for Sony to announce some big first party games - think we all want that
Jesus it's not even been out 12 months. Looks like Push Square didn't actually ask many people about their opinion of the PSVR2 outside of clickbaity social media posts before writing this one.
Yes there's been some under-par releases and Yes Sony could do more with remasters and 1st party stuff, but there's an absolute wealth of brilliant titles and you're doing the headset a massive disservice by suggesting otherwise. GT7, C-Smash VR, Synapse, Red Matter 1&2, Hubris, Horizon COTM, Light Brigade, VR Skater, Song & the Smoke, Pavlov etc etc that's without the dozens of titles you miss off your lists coming out in the near future.
Disappointing journalism.
@Hamst88 beat me to it!
@StylesT I've also been impressed by Synapse. One of the most well made games that have come out so far. It looks and plays great (though I've had more fun with Beat Saber and Pistol Whip).
Really looking forward to this game, I loved the original. Was one of the best games I played on pcvr, and this looks a big improvement.
As others have said, don't understand this sites message on the games. Village/ no mans sky/ star wars/ hubris/ red matter 2/ both saints and sinners/ Synapse plus others. Sierra squad in realism mode is brilliant, and with 63 missions that you can do solo, great value for money. And that's not taking about GT7, the best most immersive game I've ever played on VR. 150 hours and counting.
@Triumph741 I thought the psvr2 was gonna be the only headset I needed but I ended up selling it and getting a quest 2.Yes the graphics are worse but I still prefer the quest 2 over psvr2 as it's just a better overall experience.Larger sweet spot so better clarity instead of constant adjusting.Built in speakers! And no cable! Quest 3 will be closer again graphically so won't miss the vr2.
@Triumph741
The mura in my headset is practically non existent. This tired criticism is incredibly ignorant. Or at best it must vary dramatically from headset to headset.
What is an actual issue is the terrible blur at the edges of the lenses, and specially when using prescription inserts, due to the shape of the lens. I find it maddening in certain games. Then again, games like Red Matter 2 it isn’t there at all, so somehow good devs manage to negate the issue somehow.
The best thing about the headset (other than eye tracked foveated rendering, which provides a real boost) are the controllers. The resistive triggers and haptics are game changers in VR even though in flat games I generally dislike resistive triggers. The headset haptics are really good for immersion too.
It’s up to you if a little cable bothers you I guess, but I’d rather this, to be honest, than much less power or nausea inducing wireless play.
The comfort of VR2 is also the best I’ve ever had, but have no doubt Q3 is indeed even more comfortable given it doesn’t protrude from the face as much.
But also, yes, you are right the best VR is PC VR, if you ignore all the hassles; just like the best platform for any game is PC, if you ignore the same.
@Triumph741 Sony will never put the psvr2 on PC. Makes no financial sense, they make their money from software sales from the ps store, not selling the headset.
Your other point on the pc can do everything, yes it can. But your going to need a monster expensive pc. I saw a review for saints and sinners 2 that with foveated rendering, the ps5 version looked better than a pc running a 4080. How much is one of them again? And a lot of games now use the tech.
Oh and as someone who played pcvr for years, the beauty of just putting a cable into the front of my ps5, starting the game and being straight into the game is a breath of fresh air. The amount of hours I used to spend trying to get project cars 2 running well makes me really appreciate GT7. And no worrying about the joy that is PC hackers!
As to the lens and the sweet spot, I have no problem finding it ever. Doesn't even take seconds. You obviously don't like the tech, that's fine, go and enjoy your quest 3 and power pc to play the best games. Us peasants will just play our inferior device, get hours of enjoyment and not care what side of history were on.
@Triumph741 concerning the oled enough people reiterate the point that oled colors, and blacks are quite nice. It is not as black and white as You depict the situation. Some people prefer higher resolution and clarity, some people better colors, better blacks.
For most games it does not matter whether there is a cable or not. For intensive motion gaming it does. But, then if You want to have the fidelity of a non mobile hardware, You get the extra latency and compression artifacts from streaming. There is no solution which is the absolute best in all situations. It is a personal preference.
Yes sure a PC is more versatile, it gets most of the software from both quest and psvr2 (not all though), but typically the software is not very much optimised for You particular hardware which means that You need a much higher spec PC and sometimes it just works reasonably well with one particular configuration. Anyway the PC hardware is hardly anytime fully exploited. Then there is also the ease of use, which is much better on a gaming focused device. But also here it mostly depends on how much You are willing to spend and how much time You want to invest.
@Jaz007 It seems that some people are immune to haptics, sound and visual fidelity and only care about resolution, but yes I would say that haptics are heavily overlooked. Sound and haptics add so much to the immersion. But it is not visible in the specs and transported via screenshots ...
@thefourfoldroot1 Maybe my vision is not good enough, but I do no experience any disturbing blurr at the edges with my prescription lenses. Though the sweetspot is small and I have to readjust the headset from time to time, because it is moving. Maybe those addons would solve that problem.
@gaston
If I keep my head still and look to the edges, things do blur.
yeah, the guy who wrote this piece didnt do his homework:
plenty of games out already. (after not even 1 year)
Just the news I’ve been hoping for. After the let down that was firewall I’ve been dying for another reason to dust off the VR2.
@ztpayne7 Is not that "it has no games" but that Sony themselves are from the look of things not making games for it. Imagine that there were no first party Sony studios (especially the heavy hitters) not making games for the PS5, well that's PSVR2 current reality 🤷
@Tecinthebrain "imagine that there were no first party Sony studios not making games for the PS5"
But isn't that true? We don't know about anything past Spiderman except Helldivers which I believe is being published by Sony. I don't believe for a second that Sony is sitting on their butts doing nothing, I think we just don't know about their upcoming plans - and I believe that includes PS5 and PSVR2. I think this is less of a gotcha than you think and more of a "Sony is keeping their cards extremely close to their chest" situation.
@Mikey856 Keep your eye out for Vertigo 2. It's supposed to be around Half Life Alyx quality and coming out in 2 weeks or so. I don't feel like Push Square has really brought this one up but it seems like one of the biggest vr games coming this holiday.
Compared to other should have been great but the ports were let downs until we get graphic updates like Green Hell and Hellsweeper, this one seems really promising for a good launch. Obviously check reviews but it really should be one to watch for.
@thefourfoldroot1 “ I think most people just don’t consider a game to exist unless it’s 4K and takes 100hrs to complete”
Agreed. That and I always get the feeling VRs success is measured by it somehow replacing regular gaming. Which it won’t. Nor do I personally have time to play it to that extent between pc and regular games on the ps5.
@gaston I promise you the people who say they don't care about the haptics also complain about feedback for damage in a bunch of VR games. Headset haptics is easily the best solution to that issue. I don't think there's a better one.
"Ask anyone that has a PSVR2 and they’ll likely tell you that the tech is great, but the library is lacking."
Oh man, c'mon. I can't believe this narrative sticks even among the Push Square's crew. I mean, if you own the original PSVR, a Quest 2 and you have a PC that can handle VR, maybe (maybe) you're disappointed with a library of launch-year exclusives that "only" has the likes of Horizon, GT7, RE8, RE4, Switchback and Firewall. But even then, you'd be a bit of a moron, because this is by far the best launch lineup of any VR platform.
@Gooseman42 @Art_Vandelay Don’t worry - in a month or so in the run up to Xmas, Aaron will suddenly be a believer and will no doubt do another PSVR2 top 10 games video on the pushsquare YouTube channel 🤣🤣
(Although it seems he’ll only have 2 games in his top 10 🤣🤣)
@ztpayne7 good stuff, I’ll send out the scouts for info on this one!. The last game I got before firewall was the Jurassic aftermath collection and honestly I went in expecting it be okay but it was actually really good 👍. I have been reading a lot about hubris, apparently that’s a bit of a showcase?.
"Ask anyone that has a PSVR2 and they’ll likely tell you that the tech is great, but the library is lacking. Outside of No Man's Sky or Resident Evil Village, there are very few games that truly revel in the format of VR"
PushSquare aren't doing PSVR2 any favours by spreading lies like that.
@Jaz007 Very possible. People seem to mostly care about numbers in spec sheets.
@thefourfoldroot1 Hmm, if I look at the very corners I can see what looks like artifacts from either the prescription or psvr2 lenses. But just in the very corners. Everything else looks very clear to me. Anyway nothing that bothers me during a game (maybe if I would look at a spread sheet full of numbers. But the risk of the latter is low ). Anyway perception and the situation may be different.
@SgtTruth
“ People would rather buy a Switch and a copy of Tears, or an XSX and Starfield, than buy a PSVR just to play Resident Evil V 8 AGAIN, and GT AGAIN, and No Man’s Sky AGAIN.”
Then maybe they should wait for the best (VR) version of the games before playing like I did with Village? If I’d know GT7 and NMS would have VR modes I’d have absolutely have waiting for them too.
I find it strange to claim a game is unimportant because it’s been played before in a non VR mode through someone’s explicit choice. Plus it’s not the same anyway in terms of gameplay experience.
This definitely looks interesting. Been having a blast with switchback(great rail shooter), pistol whip(Top exercise game) and masternoid(best game to never be reviewed by pushsquare).
@SgtTruth
You seem to assume everyone considers games at release. My backlog of games I haven’t gotten to is large I can’t remember when I last did.
Resi8 had already been confirmed for VR2 by the time I’d consider it, GR7 I assumed would be in VR to some degree as Sport was. I just couldn’t wait - but really wish I had and will in future. It was only NMS I didn’t anticipate. Not sure why you think everyone would have played all these games by the time of a VR announcement or that people can’t learn to anticipate based on the genre and developer on occasion…
@SgtTruth
It depends. Are they into survival horror and driving sims in VR more or flat more? Me? I would no longer but horror, racing, or platforming games outside of VR.
Oh for heaven's sake, I know it's a headline maker but anyone who actually does own a PSVR2 and hasn't actually had their head buried in sand knows the library is not lacking. We're 8 months in and these are some of the best titles people can try:
1. Resident Evil 8
2. Gran Turismo 7
3. Saints and Sinners 2: Retribution
4. Walkabout Mini Golf
5. Demeo
6. Pistol Whip
7. Propagation: Paradise Hotel
8. Synapse
9. Red Matter 1 and 2
10. Moss 1 and 2
11. Pavlov
12. Horizon Call of the Mountain
13. Hubris
14. Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge
15. Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners
16. Ghost Signal: Stellaris
17. Survive
18. The Light Brigade
19. Song in the Smoke
20. Crossfire: Sierra Squad
21. Until You Fall
22. Zombieland Reloaded
23. Thumper
24. No Man’s Sky
25. After the Fall
26. Cities VR
27. Jurassic World: Aftermath
28. The Last Worker
29. Creed
30. Les Mills Bodycombat
31. Beat Saber
32. Switchback
33. Cosmodread
34. Kayak
35. Swordsman
36. Crisis Brigade 2
37. Synth Riders
38. Job Simulator
39. Startenders
40. Zenith
Then before anyone brings up Half Life Alyx for the millionth time, you have Vertigo 2 out before the year is out, just Google it.
@SgtTruth it is just untrue though, and bad faith. There 'are' patently many great games already out that suit any type of gamer. Of the ones that are ports, they are now as good or better than PCVR inc No Man's Sky, Star Wars, Red Matter, Saints & Sinners, etc. See my earlier post for some of the best one's. Obviously those coming to VR for the first time benefit the most, such as myself, but saying the library is lacking, and given we're only 8 months in is disingenuous at best. October as it happens is arguably the strongest month to date for PSVR2 releases. Those in the know just know.
@Triumph741 ok, in your opinion. Mura is obviously undesirable, but has not affected my personal enjoyment of any game, and most games I don't think or notice it, ever. There is going to be something to give if you have superior contrast and colours of an OLED display. Fresnel lenses work with OLED because it doesn't emit enough light to work at low persistence for pancake lenses.
"With a pc you can do EVERYTHING in VR. No need to elaborate further." That's great! I own a PS5 and VR2 headset to GAME and convenience of plug and go.
I don't want a productivity or app tool, thank you. I don't want to mess with drivers and set-up. Different hardware for different use cases. One is not a 'better' solution than the other because of EVERYTHING. No further elaboration needed I feel ...
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