Skydance Interactive is the studio behind this new virtual reality game called The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on the Meta Quest 2 back in December 2022. It launched as a new game on PCVR and PlayStation VR2 on March 21, 2023, and I must admit that the PlayStation VR2 version is way better than the original standalone version.
The very first game, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, launched in 2020 on the Oculus Rift, the Oculus Quest and on PlayStation VR. Many gamers fell in love with this VR game based on The Walking Dead saga, providing an awesome adventure in a world filled with tensions and survival in a devastated New Orleans. Thanks to the hype around the game, it was a matter of time before the studio proposes a sequel.
Welcome back to New Orleans
Continuing with the events of the first part, the game puts us in the shoes of the “Tourist”, who is accidentally caught in a battle for power and personal revenge. Thus, we will have to fight to stay alive using everything we find around us. Weapons will become our most important assets in this intense game and trust me, there are plenty of them.
In Retribution, the variety of weapons, the use of physics, and the feeling of fighting or being quickly surrounded by zombies are awesome. Those who love to take down bad guys with a sawed-off shotgun or to cut them in half using a chainsaw will sure be more than satisfied! Beyond weapons, there is something else that this game provides that sure is really cool: the game delves way deeper into infiltration, especially with its night expeditions, giving us the advantage of the darkness around us to hide. These expeditions are usually the best moment to try to find resources that will be very helpful for our survival.
Since the action in the game is pretty fast, I have to say that I was really surprised by the visual quality of the game compared to its standalone version. The game looks pretty clean, from the menu letters to the texture details as well as the character animations that have improved. The sharp graphics combined with the smoothness of the gaming experience makes it a quite neat experience on PlayStation VR2.
There are some bugs, though
Of course, I have to mention a few issues in the PlayStation VR2 version. In particular, there is ghosting throughout the game and it affects even more in dark scenes, which can affect the visual quality of the gaming experience. Ghosting is a minor issue since it can be solved by lowering the brightness of the lens, please take note of this.
Even with lower brightness, the fact of playing the game through an OLED lens is simply astounding. Walking into different dark rooms with your flashlight generates an indescribable feeling of tension. Combine this visual experience with the haptic systems in the PlayStation VR2 headset and VR2 Sense, it sure brings the excitement to another level.
The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution is worth a visit even if its narrative shambles along
To be honest, if you want to play a zombie game and shoot to kill, Retribution is clearly an awesome experience, especially on PlayStation VR2. The rest, honestly, is quite disappointing. The dialogues are vapid, long and non-interactive, combined with the use of decisions that don’t seem to matter much compared to the very first game. Exploration in empty areas is not quite entertaining and you end up opening doors, pillaging places and going back to your camp like any other VR game would propose.
This results in an adventure with intense adrenaline and spectacular fights on one side and, on the other side, a dull and boring moment with someone who can’t keep is mouth shut, bringing subtitles up your nose all the time. In VR games, I feel like we need action and we need to be doing something as quickly as possible, not talking with a useless NPC for five long minutes because I have to choose what to answer to him even though my decisions will be totally neglected. Give these moments to players sitting on their couches looking at their TV, will you?
Verdict
The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution on PlayStation VR2 is a game worth playing. The stunning visuals, the great fights, the urge for adrenaline and the tension make this a great experience. Although there are some minor bugs and there is ghosting if your brightness level is too high, it doesn’t really affect the gaming experience. Overall, if you are a fan of survival games and love your PlayStation VR2 headset, this is a nice game to add to your library. If, however, you wish for a game with a great story, great decisions with impacts and top quality narrative, you may pass on it.
[A copy of the game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
