This game was, regrettably, very annoying at parts.
From the initial setup, the game demands technical adjustments to advance beyond the preliminary controller configuration prompt. As a Meta Quest user, one is required to switch to community-created controller bindings, as the native software fails to recognize non-HTC Vive hardware. The game was evidently engineered for the HTC ecosystem with negligible consideration for alternative VR platforms despite being sold on Steam. Such oversight is inexcusable; it is tantamount to developing a game exclusively for a single, uncommon graphics card while disregarding optimization for the myriad hardware setups prevalent among consumers. Although a version exists on the Meta Store, presumably configured more appropriately for Quest devices, I favor PCVR for the enhanced graphics. I imagine HTC's hardware users can proceed without hindrance, but the developers’ apathy towards ensuring compatibility with a range of VR devices is a significant detriment, especially considering this is not a free-to-play title.
Another gripe lies in the game’s annoying time management system, which is not explicitly disclosed on the store page. I’ve always found timed mechanics distasteful, like the notorious 72-hour system in Dead Rising, which pressured players to rush rather than savor exploration. While I understand the intention is to evoke the tension and stress inherent to a zombie apocalypse, the rigid penalties for missing strict time windows are unreasonable. For instance, early in the game, you’re tasked with exploring a "blue mansion" for the main quest. An NPC offers you a quest linked to the same location, serving as a secondary warning about the looming time constraints. However, the urgency is poorly conveyed, so you quickly learn, perhaps too late, how little time is actually afforded. To be precise, you have 22 minutes of real time to explore. Should you indulge in thorough exploration, the bell will ring, summoning a zombie horde and rendering escape from the map nearly impossible at this stage. The real issue is not simply being overwhelmed, but rather that quest-giving NPCs disappear after these timed events, never to return, even though it would be logical for them to resurface once the threat has subsided. This poorly-explained mechanic is likely to frustrate many players within their first hour.
Cleverly, the developers tie the bell-ringing mechanic into the core narrative: the dominant faction in New Orleans uses loud noises to herd zombies for human safety. This, among other faction interactions, plays into the game’s lore, but after experiencing its disruptive impact firsthand, I was staunchly opposed to their methods and did not side with The Tower. Screw them for herding zombies to the map I've chosen to explore.
In an attempt to avoid overwhelming players under time constraints, map sizes are relatively modest, with only a few explorable interiors per area—a smart design decision. However, this is quickly undermined by the infinite spawning of zombies, introducing artificial difficulty and forcing players to waste scarce resources. It becomes impossible to truly clear an area and make navigation easier. The Ramparts map is a glaring example: after methodically clearing the gymnasium for a quest, I attempted to leave the building and multiple zombies had already respawned behind me and chased me outside, endangering my progress and breaking immersion. This relentless spawning ultimately makes the game feel unforgiving and poorly balanced.
While the premise leans towards hardcore stealth survival, with daily increases in zombie spawns and diminishing loot every time you sleep the night away, the stealth mechanics themselves are deeply flawed. For example, firing a .357 Magnum inside a house does not alert nearby enemies or zombies, which breaks any sense of realism. Upon realizing this, I ceased bothering with intricate stealth tactics and resorted to direct combat when supplies allowed. The AI, also, is uninspired—the least sophisticated I’ve encountered in recent memory. You can walk up to an armed NPC, shoot at them but miss, and it'll take seconds for them to actually react to the fact you just tried to murder them.
The "hardcore" aspect is further exaggerated by the game’s punitive death system: dying sends you back to your skiff, and if you perish a second consecutive time before retrieving your dropped inventory, all is lost, a system reminiscent of "souls-like" mechanics. Moreover, there’s no option to manually save your progress, nor is there a traditional checkpoint system. If you must quit the game mid-day for any reason, you’ll be forced to replay the entire day from the beginning. These design choices, often touted as “hardcore,” only serve to make the game tedious rather than challenging.
Additionally, there is a flashlight available, which you must awkwardly attempt to grab from your character’s left side—often with mixed results because VR headset cameras and sensors are still not 100% accurate in detecting your range of motion and what you might be trying to grab at from your person. Unfortunately, this flashlight is almost entirely ineffectual, failing to function as a proper light source until the DLC where it is improved. It casts only the faintest illumination directly ahead, rendering it virtually useless in darker environments. It's another sad, overdone symptom of a horror game: intentionally employing inadequate lighting to heighten tension and foster an eerie atmosphere.
For many, the game’s primary appeal is the satisfaction of scavenging resources and decorating one’s base of operations—a fun loop for those who enjoy the thrill of stockpiling supplies. What completely flies over the heads of many players is that this is essentially the moral of the story. The game gives you a compelling choice to make at the end regarding this mysterious bunker that the entire city is searching for, where players who make a certain choice prove how selfish they are in order to get more loot.
Now, I don't wish to be too overly critical about the game as if it's entirely bad and doesn't have any redeeming features. I was intrigued by the developers creating a story surrounding a 20th century serial killer of New Orleans, the Axeman. There's many references to this figure throughout the game and the DLC basically confirms somebody embodying the mythos and taking the mantle, to which I assume is explored even more deeply in the sequel game. I guess even in an era where most people cannot read and are mostly uneducated, certain legends and horrors still persist.
When the game works, it's good. When the game isn't spawning zombies up your derriere, it's good. Mostly, I had more fun collecting resources, decorating the home base, and interacting with NPCs. Basically, any moment I wasn't having to bother with zombies. The freedom to just shoot and kill any named NPC in the game, major or not, and to either be a saint or sinner, is something amazing and not properly explored in many other video games and I can see why people enjoy that agency. You can work for one faction, work for both as a double agent, kill them both and be your own boss, betray the allies you've made by just executing them pointblank, or just kill them as soon as you encounter them. You can kill one NPC early in the game and basically eliminate an entire fetch quest chain by taking the key she is keeping from you and using it as leverage to make you work for her.
I just don't think the game is as great as what people hail it to be. With the VR market still relatively under-served, many games seem extraordinary simply due to a lack of meaningful competition. While The Walking Dead as a franchise is theoretically well-suited for VR, my conclusion is that the developers’ inexperience is evident, resulting in a substandard and unnecessarily cumbersome product with all of its flaws.
