‘Zombie Army VR’ Review – Arcade Zombie-Slaying Done Right(ish)

Zombie Military VR is serving up its iconic arcade-style taking pictures on all main VR headsets. Just like the flatscreen video games, it’s all about blasting each make and mannequin of Nazi zombie, upgrading some cool WWII-era weapons, and experiencing the sport’s darkish, neon green-drenched universe. Whereas Zombie Military VR tailors its zombie horde motion to suit on VR headsets, regardless of its greatest efforts, it nonetheless feels slightly too tied to its flatscreen roots.

Zombie Military VR Particulars:

Writer: Revolt Video games
Developer: Revolt, Xtended Realities
Accessible On: Quest, SteamVR, PSVR 2
Reviewed On: Quest 3
Launch Date: June twelfth, 2025
Value: $30

Gameplay

You’re a member of the elite ‘Deadhunter’ squad on a mission to rid the world of zombies, and assist the squad’s chief Hermann Wolff discover his daughter, who’s mysteriously gone lacking within the wreckage of Nuremberg. For those who’re in search of an enticing story with tons of lore past that little abstract, you must in all probability look elsewhere, as a result of Zombie Military VR is all about unloading as a lot lead at zombie brains as doable, and never a lot else.

Like all good arcade shooters, the story, which is usually delivered by way of voice overs in loading screens, is constructed to be skippable, as the sport’s replay worth is available in enjoying marketing campaign missions you already beat, or selecting a marketing campaign stage in co-op mode so you’ll be able to kick it with a good friend. I didn’t have an opportunity to go co-op for the evaluate, though I discover it arduous to consider any recreation can’t profit with a great bud at your facet, ideally one with a spec-ed out machine gun.

That stated, the meat of the sport lies in its huge number of zombies that you simply blast away with a variety of WWII weaponry you discover alongside the best way. This contains varied submachine weapons, scoped rifles, pistols, and shotguns from each Axis and Allies. There may be additionally a singular one-off weapons you’ll discover in some ranges, specifically a huge machine gun that solely has 100 pictures.

You’ll even have grenades, mines, and TNT at your disposal too, that latter of which you’ll shoot from afar to blast a pack of walkers. Zombie Military is all about funneling a prepare of walkers right into a chokepoint, and letting them go increase, and the brand new VR entry isn’t any exception.

Whilst you can pull the pin on grenades and toss them naturally, the sport additionally provides a secondary approach that permits you to mechanically fling a grenade with a easy set off pull, identical to you may with a gamepad. That was my first trace that Zombie Military VR remains to be fairly tied to its flatscreen roots. The sport is aware of you’ll have to throw a literal mountain of grenades, and it’s presenting you with an choice to make it ‘simpler’, but additionally much less immersive.

Weapon upgrades are additionally right here, with work benches scattered all through beginning zones and mid-level break areas so you’ll be able to select your loadout and tack on some obligatory bits to maintain step with the sport’s problem ramp. Improve packs will be earned at your base’s gun vary for prime marks within the time trial, received by finishing particular stage challenges, like killing 300 zombies or by no means utilizing a well being syringe, or additionally present in ranges within the type of a satchel, which inspires thorough exploration. There are a number of different collectibles to trawl for, together with additional weapons skins and creepy dolls for extra XP.

And XP is the secret. Shoot extra zombies, extra precisely and in fast succession, and also you’ll rack up XP multipliers, which in flip gives you a greater likelihood at making your subsequent rank, and due to this fact getting one other Weapons Improve. It’s a great system that rewards gamers for not solely making an attempt their greatest, however going again and making an attempt ranges once more, which take round 20 minutes to finish.

That stated, upgrades really feel a perhaps slightly too commonplace, providing issues like prolonged mags, higher shot stability, and extra penetration energy, however lacking is any form of optics or web site upgrades. As it’s, iron sights really feel mainly unusable on all weapons, which might be addressed by offering higher visible distinction on fashions, or perhaps some form of glow-in-the-dark add-on. As it’s, taking pictures is mainly an train in squeezing off your first shot, then readjusting by following the wispy white path it leaves behind.

Melee weapons are additionally littered all through, providing up a number of alternative brain-splattering thwacks for if you’re low on ammo, or simply seeking to beat again a zombie with no matter, be it a hammer, arm bone, or wrench.

You’ll be able to’t holster melee weapons although, making them extra of a ‘spice’ to the general meal. You’ll be able to nonetheless use your gun as a melee weapon, which feels very pure, because you’ll be flailing about anyway when ammo runs dry.

As for scoped rifles, a lot of time I hardly even bothered, as a substitute opting to fireside from the hip and adjusting purpose primarily based on really feel. Placing the scope as much as your eye provides you a fullscreen overlay of the shot, which made me really feel slightly too hemmed in when zombies are popping up from the left, proper and heart. There have been only a few moments after I really wanted a scope anyway, as a result of ranges are typically too small for them to essentially make sense.

Regardless of generally clipping via one another, zombies have been a spotlight. Many of the fan favorites are right here, which you’ll acknowledge from the collection different video games: a wide range of walkers, helmeted walkers, heavy armor walkers, MP44-shooting zombies, screaming kamikaze zombies, and in addition a sniper zombie that may magically fly to numerous vantage factors. Character fashions and scripted motion really feel on level, as they lunge out you when closing in, voicing more and more horrible moans alongside their approach.

You’ll be hard-pressed to see greater than a dozen zombies on display screen at a time although. As quickly as you kill the final straggler of the wave, you received’t have to attend lengthy for the following. Whereas I hoped to get a actually huge wave sooner or later, the sport doles out tougher zombies in smaller numbers to amp problem.

Ultimately, Zombie Military VR’s boss fights are considerably of a letdown, as they’re few and much between. There may be some continuity in find out how to beat them, though bosses typically felt extra like summoners who solely spawn your commonplace vary of zombies in no explicit order. I used to be ready for some large one-off reveal, or one thing to make me go “wow,” however that by no means got here.

Immersion

Zombie Military VR has most of the trimmings of a real VR-native, though I believe it has a little bit of an identification disaster on its fingers.

At first, manually reloading a weapon felt actually participating, and a great supply of friction to intensify the zombie menace. Because the hordes develop although, and also you begin expending extra bullets per second than you’ll be able to moderately discover, it turns into obvious that Zombie Military VR simply isn’t paced for this to essentially make sense in later phases of the marketing campaign. Not less than not for me.

I’ll admit this proper right here: midway via the sport, I toggled on ‘computerized reloading’ within the settings, and was a lot happier for it. Even now, after having crushed the sport’s 5 hour marketing campaign, it felt like an all too unlucky sacrifice on the altar of immersion to maintain friction low so I might preserve tempo.

I hate to really feel “comfortable” for deliberately making a VR recreation much less immersive, however when 4 kamikaze bombers, an armored mega-zombie, and a half-dozen helmeted runners are on the best way to stomp me to dying and ship me again the final checkpoint, all of the whereas a sniper zombie is taking pictures overhead, in simply doesn’t really feel like a scenario the place I ought to be moderately requested to eject a spent magazine, seize the brand new magazine from a pouch, cost the primary spherical, after which should do it once more lower than 30 seconds later.

Possibly it’s a ability problem, however perhaps (simply perhaps) Zombie Military VR is aware of that reloading is usually too fiddly for such a fast-paced recreation; therefore the automated reloading toggle, which exists throughout the entire recreation’s difficulties—simple, medium, arduous.

That stated, the sport’s visuals are fairly spectacular when performed on Quest 3. Ranges are pretty darkish, though there’s a number of fascinating decay and environmental selection round to maintain you gawking. Your commonplace swath of normal gadgets, like wine bottles, a pair of trainers, and motivational posters in German litter the sport too, making the apocalypse really feel prefer it simply occurred a number of days in the past. Quest 3 has some environmental fog as properly in bigger ranges, however I by no means discovered it distracting.

As for object interplay, it’s a bit on the ‘low cost’ facet, as within the recreation expects you to force-grab highlighted gadgets in any respect time. The sport nonetheless makes a terrific effort by making weapons bodily objects which have acceptable weights.

Oftentimes I’d have my three-slot stock full, and a one other hand devoted to maintaining one other earlier bait grenade in-hand, leaving me to push a button with the barrel of my gun. In that respect, the world works as you’d count on it, which is a good feeling. Change weapons from left to proper felt rather less intuitive, requiring you toss it within the air barely and catch it with the opposite hand.

Consolation

Zombie Military VR provides all commonplace locomotion choices and rotation strategies. Kill cams and narrative reveals can rapidly speed up you out of your physique midway throughout the map although, which will be jarring should you’re not prepared for it. Kill cams will be toggled off within the settings, and there are solely a handful of narrative reveal ‘zooms’, making the sport principally comfy for many anybody.