All the same mechanics of the first title are carried over to this new entry in the series. The weighted weapon handling, inventory system, and scavenging aspect are all back and still feel great. The weapons all feel like they have their own weight, which adds to the immersion. I really appreciate that lead pipes and other two-handed weapons are all handled correctly in the game. If you try to swing a two-handed weapon with one hand, you probably won’t do as much damage and the swing will be slightly offset to compensate for the extra weight. It’s here that Saints and sinners shines. The immersive combat and zombie killing are top notch.
Walkers are dangerous in packs and fun alone. One can simply grab a walker by the head and stab them in the brain with any edged weapon for an instant kill. There were times when the game didn’t recognize the kill and at first I thought that was a problem. It turns out that if you don’t stab the walker with enough force for the knife to actually penetrate the skull, it will still try to bite you. I loved little details like this that made the world feel more alive, even with the streets riddled with the undead.
There are times in this game where you will encounter human enemies and it looks like the AI has been improved since the first game, but not much. During my 17 hours of gameplay, I noticed that the human AI didn’t always react to environmental cues such as doors opening or closing and, in some cases, throwing objects. It wasn’t a constant problem, but it did make my stay in New Orleans a bit easier at times, and unfortunately not very immersive.
The sequel also brings new weapons, including the fan-favorite chainsaw, new shotguns, and dual pistols, to name a few. The talk of the town is undoubtedly the chainsaw, and it’s fun to play with! Sawing off the undead is quite fun, especially after having a vendetta against a particular walker who killed you just before a checkpoint, but that’s beside the point. It’s a great addition to the game. I just wish it was a bit more detailed when it comes to hacking members. For example, legs cannot be severed for strategic dismemberment (thanks dead space) which requires you to just use it on their face or chest. I guess that’s a small complaint, but again, VR is all about immersion and trying to keep the player immersed at all times.
Is the gameplay different from the first game? Not really. Is this a bad thing? Not really. See, Skydance definitely played it safe with this title and gave us more of what worked well with gamers. The inventory system returns which adapts very well to the survival aspect. The game also brings back your graveyard “home base” which allows you to sort your scavenged items and upgrade your weapons. Again, it’s not the same thing.
Speaking of “same”, the game only has a handful of new areas to explore. That was my biggest disappointment, along with the frame drops, and it’s a shame that some of these new areas might feel a bit shorter than the original ones. Now you’ll have to backtrack to all the home areas at some point and now you can explore them at night which gives these maps a bit more intrigue but honestly I would have preferred to have a whole new set of areas to recover. and survive.
As I mentioned earlier, the final boss is very disappointing and really felt like a waste of time. I would appreciate the effort put in, but unfortunately there didn’t seem to be a lot of creative thinking going into this fight and it shows.
