When you hear the words, The Walking Dead, many things come to mind. The comics, the show, the characters, even dead that walk. The Walking Dead is no stranger to invite you into the world where people are trying to take what once was the normal everyday type of world and flip into a world where you must try to survive within it all without trying to become infected. But does Developer Skydance Interactive allow us to enter the universe of the dead in hopes that you can survive it all? The answer is yes. Let’s find out with The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners for the PlayStation VR.
Before this review begins, I do want to make a note that not all my gameplay footage recorded for whatever reason as there are more than enough great moments that I wanted to share, but the more I thought about it and the parts that I am not able to share, might just be a blessing as it will not spoil for what’s in store as you embark on the journey. With that said…let’s continue.
Now, like any journey you would embark on, you want to make sure you are somewhat prepared. So there are four rules that you will want to follow. The first rule, make sure your Move controllers are fully charged as you will be defending yourself against not only walkers but other groups as well. Your Move controllers have multiple uses from movement to grabbing objects and swinging weapons to ejecting ammo. So you will want to get accustomed to the layout of the controllers.
The second rule is you will want to make sure that you actually pay attention to what is being said through the tutorial and not rush it as it could be what actually helps you survive in this world. This is where you will learn how to use weapons and reloading them and from shaking off and killing walkers. Because you really don’t want to get a bit as this world is already messed up.
The third rule is simply paying attention to any weapons that you have or ammo. Using weapons do not last forever and will eventually become unusable and ammo can be in short supply and it’s not like you can just go by more down the street. Luckily, you can craft weapons to make things interesting, but it’s when you may have a weapon in your hand and I found one more than one occasion where I dropped the weapon in the dark and could not find it and then here comes a walker and we will get into that more a little bit later. Just remember you do have access to a flashlight that you may have to shake from time to time, but just be careful of going for the flashlight and turning it on and having a walker’s face right there. It may wake a few people up in a good way.
And the fourth rule is simply to listen to what some people may have to say. If you go in like you run the place, I promise you, you will not like the outcome of how it’s received. Not saying don’t go in with confidence, just now that now you interact with others, may send a wrong message even when you think your heart is in the right place. So with these rules (there are more) let’s get into more of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.
In The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, you play as the one called the Tourist in the southern parts of Louisiana. And I will say, that Skydance Interactive could not have picked a better setting. From the beginning of the game, hearing the music with the lights reflecting off the water in the nighttime as you ware watching the city that once had this life to it in a bit of a sinking ruin that really adds to the spirit of The Walking Dead universe. And it’s when the narration at the beginning that helps set the tone, it’s when it stops and you are just put in it that really brings the immersion.
As eerie as the world is right now with settings in the cemetery, the city with buildings as you are being watched even though you may not see who is watching you, it’s moving throughout the city that you realize can either become your part enemy or an ally in your mission. You see, within The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, the environment can play a part and the way you can use your arms to grab on to and hide behind things is used really well here. Being able to climb up on things or interacting things is done so well here, that you will want to try and see what and how you can interact with everything.
Earlier, I talked about the third rule. Paying attention to your weapons and ammo. One thing you want to keep in mind is when you are holding on to a weapon, that you do not let go of the trigger button because if you do, your weapon that you are holding, well it could be lost and if you moving somewhere that may have some water and it falls in the dark, and you can hear the walkers right there, you just me be out of luck. Just one thing to keep in mind, is if you have an item such as a weapon, reach over your left shoulder and drop it in your backpack which you can easily pull up the backpack to grab the item. It’s just another thing to remember when the action starts to get intense, you might want to be more prepared than I was at the beginning.
Let’s talk about some of the weapons that can be used. I came across some skulls that I could use but were not very effective at one point that’s all I could see. Some weapons are to be used with one hand, which like for a knife, you can have the blade be up or down with ease and some weapons require both hands and I will say the two-handed weapons can be quite effective. Using a one-handed weapon and having more than one walker come up to you, you can hold off one walker with one hand while using the weapon hand on the other walker. And if you find a spoon, do not disregard it as you might be surprised how effective it can be to a walker’s head. It doesn’t last too long, but it will work in a pinch. But not only can the weapon that you use be effective, but how you use it can determine the damage caused. A simple tap to the body or head may annoy the walker more than it does good, but a good swing right in the head while watching the blood splatter will have a better chance at making those walkers R.I.P. A cool thing that I found is if your weapon gets stuck in the walker’s head and you have hold its head while trying to use a little force to get the weapon out. It’s quite realistic and I really appreciate the amount of detail that went into not only the larger scale of things but the smaller ones as well.
There will be times after you explore different parts of the city as you collect items and interact with people both good and bad. Some people in the city may ask you to do something to help them, but if you have a weapon in your hand, they may get a bad feeling and react accordingly. Some people who you are just happy to see as they are not trying to eat you for dinner, may fire back at you and you will need to not only defend yourself but others as well. you will need to get back to your bus which also serves as a place to save (after drinking your fears away), crafting, and has radio contact. Remember, sometimes traveling at night may not be the best option and you will be notified if that is the case. If at any time you do feel like you are lost, you do have a notebook that helps with your objective as well as a map of where you need to go. Just be careful trying to look at the map while moving with walkers near. It may not end well for some. I know this as I wanted to test it out and see how well-doing of multitasking works. It worked…quite well…until I died. If you do find that are are a bit damaged and need healing, there are some things that you can use. Finding food such as bars or energy drinks will help as well as bandages that you actually have to wrap around your injuries just adds to it all.
If there would be anything I would love to see added it would be adding an online co-op experience or multiplayer. Imagine you and a friend and trying to survive and one of you is being attacked by walkers and dies and seeing the walkers eat your friend only to have your friend then turn into a walker to try and get you leaving you surviving alone. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners don’t really need this as you get a lot of time to experience the magic that Skydance Interactive has brought to The Walking Dead, but it still would be fun.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners does allow us to enter a world where things that used to be the norm until some infection is causing the dead to walk all while trying to survive what appears to be the new normalcy of things. It seems things are hitting closer to home with the world around us than anyone could imagine. Who knows what the next virus outbreak will be and how it may affect people? What if we have just been given the survival training we need and not even knew it?
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is out now on PlayStation VR in both the Standard and Tourist Edition and is also available on the Oculus Store (also with the Tourist Edition Upgrade), and on Steam (with both the Standard and Tourist Edition to select from). A review code was provided.
To learn more about Skydance Interactive, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, follow them on Instagram, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I am going to find some more creative ways to deal with these walkers.
