And the PSVR 2 review titles keep on rolling. This time, it’s a zombie apocalypse game called After the Fall from Vertigo Games, creator of Arizona Sunshine.
While After the Fall doesn’t do a helluva lot to push forward the zombie apocalypse that we’re eventually going to have to deal with in the real world, it does do enough to make the experience interesting, as well as multiplayer-driven.
Let’s get it going.
Same old business, but business is good
Everything has gone to shit, people are hiding out in a snow-burdened, zombie apocalypse-filled world where surviving is the goal. Heading towards the same direction as Arizona Sunshine, and about any zombie movie or game (even the LucasFilm Games Zombies Ate My Neighbors), you’re tasked with going on missions to take down the undead while trying to build yourself up into the ultimate survivor.
If you’re looking for some groundbreaking story about zombies, you’re not going to find it here. This is akin to any good zombie experience, where as long as you feel outnumbered and alone, you’re in the right spot for suspense and horror. That isn’t a knock against After the Fall, rather it’s a tip of the hat for meeting the status quo when it comes to situation and story. If you’re looking to scare the shit out of people in VR, then you need that type of narrative pulling them along. It has worked for years, even more recently with the Resident Evil series, and there is little reason to adjust it. It just says, “This is how things are going to be” and that is enough to get the guns loaded and zombies down sight.
Yes, it’s nothing new, but it’s certainly nothing to sneeze at either. It’s a fun story that raises the bar with every mission thrown your way, and that is enough to keep the adventure interesting.
That sweet VR gameplay
The crux of this game is how well it works in the virtual reality environment. The game does a lot right and a little bit not so much. I am a positive reviewer, as the late/great editor and writer Rob Smith always said you should be until the product proves otherwise, so let’s start with what it does right.
Movement in VR
Years ago when I experienced an Oculus Rift and HTC Vive for the first time, I found one big issue that might have kept people away from virtual reality entirely, and that is the hardware causing motion sickness. The movement of the VR headset mixed with the resolution of the graphics, if done wrong, could cause motion sickness that could leave a gamer out of commission for hours or just outright cause them to get sick. This happens because your brain is expecting a certain speed of movement and quality, while your eyes might deliver something wholly other. In the early days of VR, this was a huge-huge problem.
For the PSVR 2 and After the Fall, it has found ways around this issue. First and foremost, the graphical detail of the game is somewhere around the early version of Fallout 3 with a hint of Borderlands to push it over the edge. It’s not too demanding graphically which means that the game can be played smoothly on PlayStation 5 hardware. That helps out with bleh graphics, as it balances out system power with headset speed.
The second piece of this puzzle is how it handles actual movement. For those of you with stomachs that can handle large amounts of movement, you’re in for a treat. The movement in After the Fall can be thumbstick-controlled walking/running if you so desire. For me, that’s just a recipe for throwing up, and it took me about 5-10 minutes to realize this. The movement was too smooth, as was the turning, and it certainly threw my brain for a loop at the very get-go. I have known a handful of people that can stomach this movement for long periods of time but the majority of my VR buddies cannot. Even if you set your placement as sitting instead of standing, it’s still tough to deal with on a long-term basis. If this is your cup of tea, then it is available.
The other option for movement is jumping, something that I believe (and you can correct me if I’m wrong) started with the HTC Vive generation. This is basically using your right thumbstick on the PSVR 2 controller to put a foot icon in a certain spot and release it quickly to jump over to that spot. This was my preferred method of movement as it wasn’t as smooth and allowed me to turn front to back quickly with a flick of the left thumbstick. For those of you who might get motion sickness, I’m happy to report that this doesn’t unleash that ill-stomach feel, even when action is at its zenith. It is a bit more tedious in comparison to the first type of movement, especially when you panic push directions, but it’s a safe bet to not feel ill, even if you’re licensed for it.
Having both these options should be a no-brainer nowadays, but you would be surprised how some VR games don’t even give this a thought. You never want to play a VR experience that turns your stomach. I think the last one that actually hurt me both physically and mentally was the game Detached, which had me floating 360 degrees in space. It doesn’t seem like it would do much until you stopped playing and realized your brain was panicking the entire time to keep your legs still. Lots of wonderful muscle cramps and definitely a sick stomach in the process. And potentially one complete collapse to the floor.
ANYWAY.
Moving on to hand movement, how the movement works with hands in After the Fall is very well thought through. The player can use their hands to hold two guns at one time, or other weaponry, and can store items on their wrist. The reaction time for pulling the trigger and/or accessing medicine/whatnot is seamless. This movement was probably one of the more refined and well-designed parts of the gameplay. It was easy to pull a gun, use a gun, and reload a gun. The latter of the bunch have you emptying the empty gun clip and then bringing the gun toward your chest to instantly reload. I didn’t love this at the beginning but got used to the thought-less process as the game proceeded. It was easy to do after a while and it made complete sense when trying to run, reload, and start shooting.
Just as simple, was using your non-gun hand to open doors, and cases, and give wonderful thumbs up to your teammates. Okay, it might be goofy to give thumbs up, but it was fun. Games are about fun. And being goofy. Especially in VR. Anyway, the controls for the hands were smooth as can be, which isn’t shocking considering how Arizona Sunshine was designed.
The overall movement in After the Fall was good, as it gave plenty of movement options to any kind of player, and it worked well with hand movement. Both are incredibly important when it comes to player immersion in a VR experience.
Fun reasons to revisit
A big part of After the Fall’s gameplay design is how it encourages the player to come back to the game. I have played a ton of VR games since the original Oculus Rift, and having a reason to return to a VR experience is important for the platform’s longevity. For example, I adored The Lab from Valve, which had all sorts of fun experiences and some that had a bit of longevity to them. Such was the case with the bow/arrow game and the slingshot game. We had competitions at work with both those games inside of The Lab. I need to return to them at some point.
Getting back on track!
After the Fall has reasons to come back, but those reasons aren’t really the missions. Stay with me here and make sure to keep reading. It is vital to understand what I mean by that and understand it isn’t a slight.
The missions were purposeful on a base level. They were self-contained experiences that were used as vessels to provide some fun gameplay that wasn’t too repetitive, nor long in the tooth. You never want experiences to be incredibly long in VR, as they can become draining at a given point. Now, the majority of what you do inside the gameplay is investigating and shooting zombies. Occasionally, the game will allow you to explore rooms and outside areas, but mainly you’ll be just shooting/killing the undead. That’s not a bad thing because most gamers will expect this. The game does give you a bigger taste of potential with how it allows you a minor amount of exploration in the world but doesn’t let you get too far off the beaten path. The missions show you what could be for future titles from Vertigo Games and the VR experience. As it stands, the missions are linear and they are mostly gun-toting experiences. And, again, that is more than okay and expected, but the desire for more possibilities does leave a tiny emptiness in the overall gameplay.
Now, missions aside, the items of interest that will get you coming back are the multiplayer experience, the upgrades, the unlockables, the gathering of points from killing things, and the arcade games. The last part may not excite everyone, but I think playing arcade games in VR is seriously cool. There is an arcade version of Arizona Sunshine that is accessible. It’s neat and tough to control, but I love the concept. It’s like re-living the 80s arcade dream again, sans the cigarette smoke.
A big reason you want to revisit this game repeatedly is the multiplayer options. You can have a four-party team play together on missions and have some good chatting time with friends. Finding a solo solution in After the Fall is possible (as I reviewed it this way – the AI is extraordinarily good) but having friends go along with you is a hoot. If you don’t have any friends, like yours truly (kidding), then the game will assign you pseudo-friends to play with during your VR experience. I’m not sure how you all feel about this, but I’m not a huge fan of random strangers talking to me during missions. I get that communication is vital for this type of game, as you will have zombies running at you from all directions and you need to call out positions, but it just feels weird getting instantly thrown into groups of talking people. It reminds me of that one time I played Sea of Thieves with the microphone public and could hear people curse up a storm…like sailors… and pirates. Anyway, if you’re into that stranger thing, then you’re in luck. Regardless of preference, playing along with actual human beings, especially those you know, is fun.
Now, if you need another reason to keep playing, then look no further than upgrades and unlockables. As you progress in the game and kill the shit out of zombies, you will gain points. These points can be used for upgrades, mods, and unlockables. The first gun I received (or unlocked) after completing the first mission was an Arizona Sunshine gun. Not only was it a cooler handgun but it also made me realize I could hold two guns at once. That changed the gameplay experience completely.
On the mod side of the equation, adding mods to your gun is actually quite engaging. As you unlock and access mods, you can physically solder the mod to your gun. Even if it’s not actual soldering, and no one actually wants to do that except engineers. The fact that you can use your VR hands to put a mod on makes it meaningful. It’s just neat and it’s clever. It gets the user involved in the upgrades which makes it fun.
With every mission you complete, and dozens upon dozens of zombies you kill in each mission, including a giant boss at the end (typically), you will progress forward with how you equip yourself. This reward system will keep you playing this game in VR, even if it’s for short stints. Anytime you can motivate your player to return to your game is a good time. While I do wish missions were the main reason to return, I think the extras justify the revisit.
Overall, I think the gameplay is adequate for a VR experience. It’s a fun time playing with friends and shooting up zombies. While there is a heavy amount of repetitiveness in common enemies, the gameplay is still a blast when it comes to aiming, shooting, and sprinting around a small map. After the Fall does a lot right and it shows.
PSVR 2 experience
The balance between PS5 and PSVR 2 power is thickly evident in After the Fall. While the textures of some environments can be plain, the lighting and details that go into the zombies and enemies is anything but. The lighting especially looks absolutely out of this world gorgeous. When you go into a room with a flashlight and a gun, you can see the huge swing from dark to light with details as clear as day on the item of interest. The enemies are also incredibly detailed and help to sell the bleak world that ATF lives within. It’s a real horror show. In a good way.
Vertigo Games did a smashing job of finding that balance between system and headset and tapped into some wonderful graphical capabilities to truly sell the atmosphere the game totes. The important pieces were given a lot of love.
On that note, let’s wrap up.
Conclusion
After the Fall from Vertigo Games is a wonderful jumpstart to the PSVR 2 starting line-up. It has some fun zombie shooting times, great upgrades, and reasons to revisit the game, but falls short in substance in some areas. It is worth your time if you’re looking for a good VR experience.
