“All The Fun, None Of The Gore”: Arizona Sunshine 2 Review

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The long-awaited sequel from Vertigo Games, Arizona Sunshine 2, has finally arrived with plenty of immersive zombie-killing fun for VR players. After a lengthy seven-year gap between the original Arizona Sunshine and its sequel, there’s still a high bar – the original title was a groundbreaking VR advancement in its time.

Stepping into Arizona Sunshine 2, players will reprise the role of the unnamed Lone Survivor as he fights his way through zombies that he affectionately refers to as Freds. Our protagonist isn’t alone this time – Buddy, the dog, not only works as a companion for players but has some decent zombie fighting skills of his own, increasing both the amount of gore and fun to be had.

VR Immersion That Stands Out

Arizona Sunshine 2 is a first-person-shooter style of gameplay, so aim is the first thing that should be prioritized. Vertigo Games has managed to create something that feels almost 1:1. Almost every movement in Arizona Sunshine 2 is about as close to life as possible – everything from essential mechanics like reloading and melee weapons is finely tuned, but it’s not just the core aspects of the game that shine.

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While exploring, players may encounter several little side activities like a vacant basketball hoop where they can test their VR hoop skills. However, Arizona Sunshine 2 is not without its flaws. The reloading mechanic is very lifelike, requiring a player to grab clips from where they’re located on their chest and manually reload their weapon. While this is appreciated as it adds to the immersion, it is not functionally the best thing for VR in its current state.

At any point, players may recalibrate the height of their belt in the main menu so that it is synced up to their actual waist, but the overall zone has slightly too wide of a registration radius to be efficient. Notably, any time a player moves their hand even slightly within range of their chest while holding their clip, it will automatically go back to inventory and need to be removed again. This can make for a very panicked reload situation if players are not careful. However, even with this notable annoyance, the pros vastly outweigh the cons regarding the technical details.

Zombie Slaying Fun That Lacks Polish

Unlike some of the more serious titles in this general genre, like Resident Evil 4 VR, Arizona Sunshine 2 takes a more comedic, still-gory approach to its zombie killing. However, don’t expect to be impressed by the gore itself, as it is unfortunately not very detailed. Despite the obvious enhancements in the technical VR area of this game, the actual visuals themselves bear a striking resemblance to those of its predecessor.

While players may not be expecting 4K-level graphics like the hyper-realistic gore seen in Dead Island 2, there is some level of detailing that is expected when experiencing games like this. For example, when attacking a zombie’s head, many of the pieces will appear to be just one texture with no level of detail to them. Though this isn’t essential to the gameplay by any means, it typically is an aspect of zombie survival games that many players look for and expect in modern gaming.

Interesting, But Potentially Unnecessary, Features

All that said, when it comes down to enjoyment, Arizona Sunshine 2 has everything required for a good time in VR. Ammo and weapons are plentiful, so players never need to worry about being strapped for supplies. As long as even a minimal level of exploring is done, it’s virtually impossible to be left defenseless. However, players should note that melee weapons are particularly challenging for those utilizing teleport movement controls. To use the melee weapon, players are forced to teleport within range, leaving them vulnerable and, since they’re not utilizing normal motion control, they won’t be able to move away without teleporting again.

Another aspect that often feels arbitrary is the crafting mechanic. Players are encouraged to find and gather various materials while exploring, which can then be used to craft various types of explosives. Though this is a nice addition to give players more to do, it feels forced. Instead, just having explosives hidden around the levels seems like it would have been more appropriate for this game. Once again, however, many of these minor inconveniences are overshadowed by the generally enjoyable gameplay.

Final Thoughts & Rating

Arizona Sunshine 2 is sure not to disappoint players who are looking for all the fun of a zombie slayer and none of the gore. While the gore itself isn’t heavily detailed, it’s still fun to mow down a horde of zombies, all while listening to the protagonist’s colorful humor. On top of that, the VR mechanics themselves make this a must-play title for any VR gamer, as Vertigo Games truly does its best to showcase the limitless potential of making VR feel as lifelike as possible. Overall, this short, zombie-killing survivalist adventure seemingly has something for everyone and is worth checking out, if for no other reason than to experience some of the best that VR technology has to offer.

Arizona Sunshine 2 will be released on December 7th for PS VR 2, Steam VR, Pico 4, Rift, & The Meta Quest. Screen Rant was provided with a Meta Quest access code for the purpose of this review.