Arizona Sunshine Remake Review (PSVR2) – Knowing next-to-nothing about Arizona Sunshine when I first booted up the remake on my PS VR2, what I did know is that I’d be killing some zombies.
And I was right about that – you kill a lot of zombies in Arizona Sunshine. In fact, that’s pretty much all you do, and developer Vertigo Games does a good job of putting zombies in your path to kill.
So is the Arizona Sunshine Remake for PS VR2 a fun, zombie-killing time? The answer is a resounding and emphatic ‘Yes!’
Is Arizona Sunshine Remake the game to grab in an already limited library of VR games for PlayStation’s current-generation of VR headset? The answer to that question is a little more complicated.
Arizona Sunshine Remake Review (PS VR2) – I’m Just Here To Kill Zombies
One Is The Loneliest Number
When I said I knew next-to-nothing about Arizona Sunshine when I first booted it up, I of course meant that. I knew its a zombie killing game, and that it was in VR.
Frankly, that was all I needed to hear. So it was a really nice and genuine surprise when I was hit with the charm that voice actor Sky Soleil brings to his performance as the lone-survivor you inhabit.
I had a lot of fun hearing him talk to the unanswering “Freddies” you blow through in the game. It was also legitimately heartbreaking to hear the frustration in his voice at every dead end, and the exhaustion that comes with being a sole-survivor in an apocalyptic setting.
The last thing – and I really mean the last thing – that I expected from Arizona Sunshine Remake was for the story to hit on a meaningful level. I’m not trying to say that Arizona Sunshine’s narrative is anything innovative or even that it’s great.
But there’s heart and charm to Soleil’s performance that gives you pause, and it’s just enough to keep you in the campaign, rather than just jumping into horde mode.
Blood, Guns, And Sunshine
Much as I liked Soleil’s performance, the real meat of Arizona Sunshine comes in three things: blood, guns, and sunshine.
Starting with the blood, the new gore system Vertigo Games implemented in Arizona Sunshine 2 impresses once again in this remake. Headshots have an extremely satisfying ‘pop’ of blood and brains, as does lobbing off limbs with whatever sharp instrument you find.
As far as the guns are concerned, there’s a good variety, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that there was a clear best-in-class choice – the revolvers. Firing through the hordes with a six string in each hand was easily the most fun I had, especially when I was popping heads with both.
I also enjoyed the rifles, especially the fully-automatic options that provided some much-needed fire power when things get particularly dicey.
Finally, there’s plenty of sunshine, and by sunshine I mean bright, impressive visuals across the whole zombie killing adventure. I like a good contrast, and the grotesque zombies getting a much prettier backdrop in the Arizona deserts worked well to my eye.
Interestingly, there’s also a particularly enjoyable level that sends you underground and away from the sun. It was genuinely impressive how Vertigo Games used light in this section, and it’s probably the only section of the game that really sticks out.
So it looks good, and it’s a lot of fun to blast away zombies across each level. At the end of the day, that’s all Arizona Sunshine really needs to do well. Does it do it better than its contemporaries though?
Good, Just Perhaps Not Enough
PS VR2 was the headset where I decided to take the expensive plunge into buying my first VR system. It’s come with a lot of novel experiences, and gameplay memories that’ll stay with me for a long time.
I’ve also been arguably spoiled with the experiences I’ve had. As transcendent as it was to play Tetris Effect in VR the first time, perhaps the most fun I’ve had was going through the entirety of Resident Evil 4 Remake in VR.
It was the best zombie-killing time I’ve had while waving around these Sense controllers, and it has a thrilling action-movie story to go along with it. Not to mention full cutscenes, characters, a plot – there’s just a lot more that RE4 does, and it’s a great time shooting up zombies.
Arizona Sunshine is more straight-forward, and that’s not the worst thing. The problem is I find myself questioning why anyone would choose this remake over the sequel, which according to our review still lacks in story, but kicked up the zombie killing a notch or two.
Horde mode and the DLC are good changes of pace, but I can’t see this being a game to recommend unless you’re all the way done with Arizona Sunshine 2, and are just looking for even more Arizona Sunshine-zombie flavoured killing.
As long as you go in just wanting to kill zombies, you’ll have a perfectly fine time. If you’d rather put your cash towards a VR experience that’s a good zombie killing time, and has more meat on its bones beyond that, then you’re probably better off looking elsewhere. Perhaps somewhere in Spain?
Arizona Sunshine Remake is now available on PS5 and PS VR2.
Review code generously provided by the publisher.
