Game Review: Bloody Zombies Review

Not every VR game needs to be in a First Person perspective: that is what the British studio nDreams proves with Bloody Zombies.

VR in a two-dimensional world

You will not immediately think of an old school beat-em-up like Double Dragon in a VR experience, but the VR-studio nDreams has ventured anyway. The result is impressive: Bloody Zombies seems to be an extremely entertaining game with an interesting implementation of Virtual Reality. I would also like to indicate that they are not the first: games like Tethered and Theseus went for this game with a non-first person perspective, but it feels like a breath of fresh air.

What is also very interesting about Bloody Zombies is that this is not a VR exclusive. You can also play this game without the expensive glasses with up to four players. You can even choose to combine VR players with non-VR players, so that everyone has his or her own experience. This is one of the few titles in which you do not just have to sit in the room with the PSVR sniffing at you. So you can play with your friends on the couch, even if it's just waiting how long it takes for the player with the VR glasses to be fooled by the people around them.

The VR experience of Bloody Zombies is special: at first you would not think it would be of any value. However, it gives a separate diorama-like image, in which the environments are three-dimensional with two-dimensional characters. You can compare this to the N64 classic Paper Mario, in which all characters are made from paper. The VR player can also look beyond the 'TV player', since he or she has a large overview of the level. All this makes it worthwhile to Bloody Zombies with the glasses on the games, although it is not a 'must'.

Amusing sidescrolling beat-'em-up

But what is a special VR experience, if the game itself has nothing to offer? Fortunately, Bloody Zombies is an extremely entertaining sidescrolling beat-'em-up, especially if you grew up with the genre. You fight with a selection of characters against different types of zombies and monsters in a cartoon-like version of a post-apocalyptic world. You have different attacks and you can pick up power-ups and weapons in the world to defend yourself better. The weapons can only be used for a limited time so that the player always tries to count every hit. There are also power-ups that unlock certain attacks and skills in the middle of the level.

You will start with a number of basic attacks (two types of blows and an uppercut), but you will soon unlock several combos. You also have special attacks, which have a random progress tree with every playthrough: you will always end up with other attacks if you play the game again. Furthermore, you can unlock multiple attacks as you collect points that you get by pulverizing zombies.

It does not take long before you have finished playing Bloody Zombies, but the replay value of the game is very high. It's always fun to pick up a game like this with some friends. Each playthrough is just different on the basis of which character you choose and which special attacks you will receive. You can also play at different levels of difficulty; this is a welcome addition, since the game at the basic level is not very challenging. Especially with four players you will quickly blow through the game, so putting the game on a higher level is definitely a good idea.

Conclusion

Bloody Zombies is a must. For €14.99 this is a cheap VR game, especially for the PSVR. You can get many hours out of this game and have fun with your friends, both offline and online. The VR experience is not immense, but interesting enough to justify the purchase. However, the game is quite short and offers little news in terms of gameplay, making it a bit old-fashioned at some points. Yet I want to say: busy, nDreams!

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