Overkill's The Walking Dead: First Hands-on Impressions

When it comes to virtual reality in gaming, Oculus VR and Sony's Project Morpheus have dominated the conversation for a while now. With that said, there are some who feel that while the technology is impressive, there hasn't really been a "killer app" kind of demo experience released just yet. Something that, if it were turned into a finished product, would send gamers running into stores in droves.

So when I first heard earlier this week that Starbreeze was coming out with its own headset called the StarVR to support Overkill's The Walking Dead, I wasn't immediately intrigued. There's plenty of other VR horror titles out there, after all.

But then they put a shotgun in my hands.

I had an opportunity to play a very hands-on demo of The Walking Dead during the first day of E3 2015. The experience had its flaws certainly, but it also presented a couple of new ideas that have left me wondering if Starbreeze and Overkill are on to something here.
As I was escorted back to the demo area, the developer asked me to take a seat in a wheelchair. So, that's a first.

It was then explained to me that during the demo, I would be handed a "shotgun" at some point both in virtual reality and in the real world. Overkill has come up with a very convincing accessory for this game, complete with realistic shotgun pumping sounds. The shotgun, once handed to the player, moves realistically inside the game in conjunction with your real world motions.

But first, back to that wheelchair. Unlike many other virtual reality experiences I've had an opportunity to try, The Walking Deadis entirely on rails. You take on the role of someone who is getting pushed in a wheelchair, all while fighting off zombies left and right. While one might think that being forced through the level by someone else would hurt the immersion gamers are supposed to get from VR, this actually worked perfectly for this game. I was at the mercy of the person pushing me as the bad guys came at me. Not being in control of my movement created a greater sense of dread as I moved down the darkened hallway.

When it was finally time to (poorly) aim my gun, I felt empowered by being given some control back, but this also put me on edge, as I had to quickly aim the gun and fire without knowing which way the wheelchair was going to pivot next.

I talked to Almir Listo, Starbreeze's Global Brand Director, after the zombies took me out. (Hey, it ends that way for everyone. It wasn't my fault. Shut up.)

The first question out of my mouth was if the shotgun was a final concept, because yes, I'll take some more of that, please. Listo crushed my dreams by making clear that the entire E3 experience is an early version of the game and that everything is still in development, remaining non-committal about my new favorite toy. Listo was just doing his job, of course, but as far as I'm concerned, that thing is a keeper.

All that said, I'd be remiss if I didn't also point out some of the flaws I encountered, again keeping in mind that this is a prototype.

While the headset, combined with some headphones completely, immersed me inside the experience, I found it a bit uncomfortable to wear, and it took help from two game reps to get the headset positioned properly. Even when it was properly set up, I still found it a bit blurry at times, although the graphics were otherwise great.

Finally, It's worth noting that while co-op wasn't available in the demo, it's been confirmed that the final game will include the feature. That idea brings back visions of picking up those plastic guns side by side with a friend at the local arcade back in the day. Maybe that's not anyone's idea of a first person shooter in 2015, but if Starbreeze can work out the kinks in its headset, we could be looking at the most fun anyone's had with a gaming accessory since taking out ducks with the NES Zapper.

The Walking Dead demo was a fun experience with some interesting new ideas on how to present survival horror. If Starbreeze and Overkill can clean up the headset with some further development, find a way to mass produce the shotgun without price gouging early adopters and maybe create a version for Oculus as well, we could be looking at that long-awaited "killer" VR game everyone has been waiting for.

Jason Gallagher is a staff writer. Follow him @MuckrajerJG