TEST Arizona Sunshine 2: the VR game of the moment not to be missed?

Arizona Sunshine 2 is the new production of Vertigo Games which is available on PC, Pico, Meta Quest and PSVR 2. The title immerses the player in a world infested with zombies where we must (simply) survive. We’ve been dragging our feet in this particularly dark universe, we’ve finished the title, it’s time to give you our impressions. A game not to be missed? The answer in this test!

It’s gory, it’s dirty, it’s extremely macabre.

Let’s talk little, talk well and focus on what’s most obvious: the graphics. This second episode has something to please despite some imperfections. To go into a little more detail, some textures are superb, the light effects are well done, the environments are alive (grass moves, dust particles fly in all directions, sand flies away, etc.), and body physics is completely crazy. Indeed, it is possible to dismember a walking corpse with a gun or a blade, the skin explodes revealing muscles and bones, the blood squirts on the walls and the floor. It’s gory, it’s dirty, it’s extremely macabre.

And the flaws in all this? The first one that bothered us: collision problems. We were blocked in a tree, a door, a car… The same goes for enemies who find themselves immobilized in a wall; impossible to reach them at the moment. Then, in the somewhat open areas, there is some clipping and poppingin other words, textures and decorative elements appear without warning, and there is a bit ofaliasing. Other point, we suffered a lot of crashes, forcing us to restart the game and therefore our mission. Rather annoying. Beyond our playable area, the company did not take the lead and did not detail the environments. Thus, we have a rather clean rendering in our game air, and unsightly outside. Quite a contrast, it stings the eyes.

In terms of soundtrack, we have a few chants that accompany our escapades, but they go unnoticed. They are mainly there to intensify a scene in order to make our hearts beat faster. Regarding the sound effects, they are really excellent. Explosions, footsteps, grunts… Our ears are wide open to understand what is happening all around us. The dubbing is unfortunately only in English. The language of Molière would have been perfect to immerse us as it should be in this production because, in the middle of an intense part, it is difficult to read subtitles while shooting in all directions. Damage !

THE gameplay is very easy to understand, the developers have opted for simple and effective handling. So, we have our weapons on our hips, and our ammunition on our chests. Simply hold one trigger to hold a revolver and press another to fire. For more stability, we can place both hands on the handle and that’s it.

Kill, decapitate, eviscerate!

The more we progress, the more we uncover increasingly violent weapons, such as shotguns, machine guns, etc., which end up on our backs. Gestures are natural to select the object of our choice, in short, it’s as simple as pie. In addition, we find utensils that allow us to create explosives, and blades and other machetes are present to cut off some heads. The point in all this? Kill, decapitate, eviscerate!

The overall physics of the game is pretty good since we have the possibility of opening cars, cupboards, drawers, etc. We need to search the area so we don’t end up running out of ammunition. In the event of an overflow, we can call on Buddya dog who is not shy. With a simple button we can order it to attack and subdue an opponent, to unblock a passage, or to look for a key to open a door. Our companion is handy, especially when a horde of undead arrives.

Standing or sitting, rotation angle, teleport or sliding, different options are available to play at your convenience. Obviously, it is possible to move your head to move around, but we recommend using sticks to make rapid movements ; like the U-turn. As for PlayStation VR 2 owners, note that the adaptive triggers are exploited and hardened depending on the weapon we have in our hands. Really enjoyable and immersive. However, there are no vibrations at the headphone level, noEye Tracking, and the haptic feedback is really not great; we are entitled to simple shocks, no more, no less.

In Arizona Sunshine 2we embody Fred, a somewhat depressed man who begins to lose his mind. And for good reason, the world is devastated and it has been ages since he last crossed paths with a living being. One day, he sees a helicopter passing by and finds, inside, a dog locked in a cage. He will become his best friend and, together, they set off in search of the first contaminated person.

Once finished, the desire to return to Arizona Sunshine 2 is definitely present.

The story is really interesting and not very interesting. We have a few “twists” that are easy to guess long before the “big” reveals. In other words, no surprises… The story is therefore a simple pretext to move forward and shooter zombies all over the place, without thinking too much. It’s a shame because the basis of this journey is good, the team could have pushed the wacky and offbeat side of this universe a little more, to surprise the player with a few cutscenes delusional.

Speaking of neurons, there’s nothing to move them about. Don’t expect to stir your brains since we ultimately follow a corridor that leads us to a new chapter. Frustration can invite itself to the party because the enemies are similar throughout the adventure, and the title lacks challenge. By default, the difficulty is “intermediate”, we never run out of ammunition or anything (the title is generous), that’s why we encourage you to set it to “difficult” to enjoy a slightly more fun experience ; especially since there are no bosses or big, robust opponents. Towards the end, the phases become a little more intense with waves of unleashed zombies, but again, nothing to panic about.

To reach the end, allow 5 hours. After what ? It is possible to return to the levels or enter “Horde” mode. Here we simply have to survive a bunch of enemies who come to bother us in our base. It’s fun, and you can play it with friends online, giving memorable and hilarious moments. Furthermore, the main quest can also be done with a friend on the Web, something to laugh about in “Apocalypse” difficulty.

Once finished, the desire to return to Arizona Sunshine 2 is indeed present. Certainly, the game lacks modes, but the “Horde” corner is extremely entertaining; having fun with other survivors on the Web is a plus not to be neglected. Yes, the game is repetitive, there are bugs, it lacks challenge, the enemies look the same, the “corridor” aspect can be disturbing, but we still had a pleasant time with this second episode. It’s a good release, especially after an irritating and tiring day.

You can buy Arizona Sunshine 2 on: