After the Fall (VR, most platforms)

[Asura]

Had my eye on this for a while:

It's essentially VR Left4Dead; like it's extremely similar - 4-player coop, semi-random enemies, regular zombies & special zombies, get from point-to-point without dying.

Its main innovation is that it's a VR game, and is both available and supports cross-platform play on SteamVR, Oculus PC, Oculus Quest 2 standalone and Playstation VR.

Honestly it looks fantastic. Anyone tried it yet?

[QualityChimp]

That looks mint, Asura!

I've added it to my wishlist. By the time I get to play it, it'll probably be in a sale.

Arizona Sunshine is a really great VR experience, so this sounds brilliant, cheers.

[Asura]

I've added it to my wishlist. By the time I get to play it, it'll probably be in a sale.

It's £30, which isn't a crazy amount, but at the same time, I want to find out how much content it has first.

[QualityChimp]

It's currently £35 on PSVR (I think there was a pre-order discount that has expired).

I suspect if you have some mates to play it with, it'll have more life in it. I've played Arizona Sunshine a few times with various friends because it's so good.

I think this one varies when the enemies attack, like L4D.

I stopped watching the video you posted as I think it's a bit spoilery, but I definitely want to play it eventually.

[Asura]

Hmmm... Something I'm seeing online about this is a concern.

So, I think all of us remember how when Halo 2 came out, Xbox Live, within the space of a month, went from being a relatively niche community of people who played a small number of games with a cordial atmosphere, to being a mainstream community with a strong focus on FPS titles filled with n-word streaming 12-year-olds; and whilst Live recovered a bit since the Modern Warfare era, most of us would still not use voice comms in online games except for in private games in 2021.

The release and success of the Quest has led to the same problem. I'm seeing many complaints from people who've said these newer multiplayer games are ruined because in VR titles, they typically require a bit more coordination/you're more "connected" to other players due to being able to see each others' movements, and typing-chat just isn't really possible - and all the public parts of them are, again, full of 12-year-olds screeching obscenities, trying to neg/dry hump anyone who sounds remotely like a woman, and generally being a pain.

One of the reasons Live slid into a quagmire was because it was a paid service; Microsoft could ringfence users but they generally didn't, because those people might unsub/swap to PS+ which ultimately was worse for them. They generally would only do this if they felt that person's actions were so disruptive as to cause others to unsub (like those old gotcha images where MS's moderators had to break to an irate parent that their teenage kid was banned from Live because they had exposed their genitals to someone on their Live Vision Camera).

I'm not sure there's much of a solution, but certainly it puts me off playing multiplayer titles. I'd observed a similar problem in Echo Arena, though not to quite the same degree - but I was playing it over a year ago. I suspect Christmas Day 2020 might've been the start of the "Eternal September of VR".

[MartyG]

It shouldn't put you off playing MP titles, just playing MP titles with randoms with voice chat turned on. I plan on picking this up on PC, just waiting to see what discounts the Steam sale brings up on 22nd Dec.

[Asura]

just playing MP titles with randoms with voice chat turned on.

The concern, I think, is that this is more difficult on VR than on PC where you traditionally type to communicate (though console users might have more experience with this).

L4D had this fantastic system where the characters automatically spoke critical dialogue, which removed the need for voice comms (they shout "reloading!" etc.). I wonder if VR developers should look at these sorts of things?

[QualityChimp]

I'm definitely more of a co-op gamer and I think it attracts a different audience.
If I'm not playing with a team of mates, I normally end up finding a group of like-minded gamers trying to help each other out.

Occasionally, you're going to get an oaf who wanders off, but it's not long before they're trapped by bloaters/webbed by spiders/outnumbered by zombies. When they don't use teamwork, they get left behind and either get with the program, get booted or leave when people stop saving them.

Don't let the potential vitriol of playing online stop you from having a go, Asura.
Most of us wouldn't play anything!

[wakka]

Asura is worried about logging onto an online game and being ganked by a gang of Bordersdown forumites. Can't blame him.