Custom PC - UK (2020-06)

L

et’sgetstraighttoit.TheWalkingDead:Saints

andSinnersisoneofthebestVRgames

currentlyavailable.Thismightcomeasa

surprise,giventhatit belongstooneofthemost

exhaustedsub-genresingaming– zombiesurvival.

However,SkydanceInteractiveusesVRtobreathenew

lifeintothiswearypremise,producinga thrillingVR

survivalexperience.

SaintsandSinnersputsyouintheroleofa survivor

seekingsanctuaryinzombie-infestedNewOrleans.

Makingyourwaythroughthefloodedcity,youestablish

contactwithanothersurvivorhidingintheReserve,a

nuclearbunkerfilledtoburstingwithfood,medicine

andweapons– everythingyouneedtowait outthe

apocalypse.Unfortunately,theReserveisslowlyflooding,

whiletheonlykeytogetintoit ishiddensomewherein

thecity.Yourjobistotrackdownthekey,andfigureout

a waytopumpouttheReserve’sfloodwater.

Structurally,SaintsandSinnersisunusual.New

Orleansissplitupintoseveraldifferentdistricts.With

eachin-gamedaythatpasses,youcanchoosetoexplore

oneofthesedistricts.Onceyou’vearrived,you’refreeto

approachthelevelhowyouwish.

Youcanchasethemainstory,whichamountsto

around 12 missionsdottedaroundthecity,oryoucan

scavengetheareaforresources, plucking bits of wood

andotherjunkoffthestreet,or venturing into houses for

morevaluablesupplies.Whenyou return to your base,

thesesuppliescanbebrokendown and crafted into new

weaponsandequipment,giving you a better chance of

survivingthenexttimeyouventure out.

Meanwhile,ofcourse,you’llhave to contend with the

undead.Zombiefightingisatthe heart of Saints and

Sinners’systems,andit’sbothfascinating and grisly.

Becausegunsarenoisy,mostof your zombie fighting

involveshand-to-handcombat, and I mean that quite

literally.Tokilla zombiewitha melee weapon, you need

to‘brain’it,byholdingtheweapon in your virtual hand,

andswingingyourarmwithenough force to pierce the

walker’sskull.

It’sanincrediblyvisceralsystem, to the point where it

canbequiteharrowing.Blades can stick inside a zombie’s

body,requiringyoutoeitheryank them out with force, or

leavethebladestuckinthecorpse if you’re in immediate

danger.Equally,a weakstrikemight simply glance off the

zombie’shead.Thisisn’tmuch of a problem if it’s just one

zombie,asyoucanholdthemat bay with your off-hand

quiteeasily.However,if thereare others encroaching

onyourposition,thena poorstrike can be the difference

betweenlifeanddeath.

GAMES / REVIEWS

SAINT

+^ Great presentation

+^ Superbly designed
melee combat

+^ Underlying
systems cleverly
drive tension

SINNER

-^ Moral choice
system doesn’t
really work
-^ Crafting could
be better

The Walking Dead:

Saints and Sinners/£30.99 inc VAT

DEVELOPER Skydance Interactive / PUBLISHER Skydance Interactive

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