Think about the world that we are in now and that world getting flipped around due to a virus that so happens to be caused by a mad scientist and his experiments that happen to cause a zombie outbreak. Would you do what you could to hopefully be a survivor or sit back and hope that it would all pass by? As the world that we are in does Developer Visual Light give us a way to have some fun while trying to forget about the pandemic? Let’s find out with Throw Anything for PlayStation VR.
In Throw Anything, a scientist named Scientist X has decided to take it upon himself and go against all odds and try some experiments to revive corpses using a zombie virus. Yes, what we all need right now is some mad scientist who did not get the credit he thought he deserved only to have the “I’ll show the whole world” mentality and try to infect corpses with a zombie virus with a Ubiquitous Cube. I mean what could possibly go right with this situation?
But you see, when Scientist X didn’t want to listen to the voices of reason, the voices of reason were led by five scientists who opposed what our friend Scientist X had in mind by dividing this cube into five pieces and hide them throughout the world. So we have one evil mad scientist trying to take over the world and five scientists who are betting on the plan of hiding the five pieces of the cube throughout the world. Ok sounds like a plan, except, when you add to the feeling of not getting the credit you think you deserve with anger issues of not liking what the five scientists had up their sleeves, our friend has decided to invade the world with zombies to try and find the cube. It sounds like the five scientists should have tried to contact The Guardians of the Galaxy to hide the pieces of the cube and not leave it on Earth. But then, I am sure Scientist X would have become even more enraged and speed-dialed Thanos and…wait a minute.
So before you try and save the world from the zombie apocalypse, you will need some training. So make sure your Move controllers are charged so that you can learn the skills that will hopefully allow you to survive and be the hero that everyone needs. I will say that I like how I was just simply introduced with everything from rotating around to picking things up to using objects as weapons. I didn’t get a sense of being made to sit through something, but instead, I just had fun with some of the weapons that were introduced (oh Lucille, you trusty one you) and just what was presented.
At the beginning of each stage, you will get an analysis for that stage that will show the layout of the room, what is breakable, and in how many pieces it can be broken into, what’s weldable to swing around as a weapon, and if something is controllable. It really does help in the sense of what you can use and how you might use what may be within the room.
But its when you actually start to play that you realize that it’s best to not try and rush through a life lesson of survival that the training was trying to prepare you for as it is not going to show you everything and that is part of the fun in Throw Anything. Just see what you can use and see how you can interact with the different objects and how you can use that to defeat the zombies.
One thing that you don’t want to forget when you play Throw Anything is that you are high up in a building overlooking at the zombies who will climb to come and get you. This is important as I learned the hard way of not leaning too far forward or you will fall to your death, which I thought was very amusing to add that element to the experience. Now being that the zombies are on the ground level and climbing up to get you, you have some choices to make. You can start throwing everything from the beginning or just have some patience and use the objects and timing to your advantage.
Objects can range from a video game system where you can insert games into and objects will appear, you can start throwing furniture, pictures, use weapons from bats to throwing objects into a freezer to have that ice cold advantage to guns to even NPC. Yes, you will notice a human on most of the levels that you can actually throw to the zombies the human NPC will come back a little bruised. But, if you throw them too many times, they will then become infected and join the horde and try to climb their way to have you for a snack. So remember kids, it’s not nice to throw an NPC down the side of the building, but if you can do it in a way where they hit more than one zombie at a time or use them as a last resort when a zombie boss comes at you along with the horde, it’s survival of the fittest and plus it is kind of humorous to see them and gravity have that last dance. On each level, you will hear a sound and that sound can be a lifesaver as it is a delivery robot that will bring a package. The thing is you don’t know what’s in the package, but like the human NPC, these delivery robots can be thrown as well, which can be an added bonus depending on how hectic the situation becomes.
Now, some zombies can take a little bit more work to get rid of than others such as zombies that carry bombs and boss zombies. The thing about the zombies that carry the bombs is that if you can inflict enough damage and when they fall, the bomb will explode causing other zombies within the radius to explode, which is quite satisfying.
Depending on how well you did, you will earn points that you can use to buy new weapons. Just remember, it’s not an unlimited use of the weapons, but depending on how difficult your experience is and if you have to repeat the level, you may want to play it smart on how you spend your points.
Let’s talk about the controls. In Throw Anything, you will need to look behind you, but if you want to move 180 degrees, you just need to use the X, Triangle, Square, and Circle buttons to do so. Yes, you can look to your sides and even over your shoulders, but an option to have smooth turning for rotation would be nice. There are some things that I wish were added. For one I do wish there was a way that you could have different turning options as sometimes the 180 degrees was a little too much. Secondly, it would be leaderboards. Being able to compete against your friends or others around the world to see who got the best score or the quickest time would be a welcomed bonus. And third, would be some co-op or multiplayer. It would be hilarious if you could just throw your friend towards the zombies below if you reached a certain score or grabbed that certain item first. I just hope this becomes available in a future update.
But being able to pick up objects, break objects and then use those broken pieces as objects has this nice feel about it. When throwing objects down as the zombies are climbing up, sometimes where I threw them, missed. But I will say it is nice to get those combo shots in. Plus, you never know what you may spot or find while trying to fight against the zombie outbreak.
I know these are crazy times we are in with a pandemic going on, but even though Throw Anything lets you escape to take on a different type of virus outbreak, it does it with the fun of the chaos that it provides while allowing you to just smile at what it provides you with. And with all that is going on, we could all use a little more of that?
Throw Anything is out now via the Oculus App Lab on the Oculus Store, PlayStation VR, Steam, and Viveport. A review code was provided.
To learn more about Throw Anything, please visit the site. To learn more about Visual Light, please like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, follow them on Instagram, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
Also, check out the interview.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I am going to see what else I can throw.