Ever since George A. Romero gave the world Night of the Living Dead, entertainment patrons have been fascinated with stories about worldwide apocalypses.
Particularly ones that involve the undead.
Throughout the decades, Romero’s infamous zombie film has had multiple spinoffs and inspired other new undead franchises.
When The Walking Dead premiered on AMC on October 1, 2010, it introduced the world to a new era of zombie-based storytelling.
One of the resulting stories came in late 2021 in the form of a virtual reality game.
If you didn’t know, horror games are a staple of VR gaming due to the format’s capability to immerse the player in the story.
And people like to be scared.
After the Fall Drops
On December 9, Vertigo Games released After the Fall, a cooperative first person zombie shooter set in the frozen post-apocalyptic ruins of a 1980s-era Los Angeles.
After the Fall is a spinoff of a VR game called Arizona Sunshine that Vertigo released in late 2016.
Set approximately 20 years after cataclysmic event, players must battle their way through hordes of undead foes for survival.
The game supports one to four players, but AI bots can stand in for humans when there aren’t enough people to fill a team.
If you want to play solo, you can start a private match with three AI characters.
The primary game mode involves going on harvest runs through different parts of the city; Skid Row, Chinatown, Boulevard, Union Tower, Quarantine Center, and Relay Tower.
Horde mode and Tundradome matches are also available in the game.
Players do game selection, weapon modification, and player outfit changes from arcade cabinets in a mission hub called The Line.
To begin a game or make a modification, the player must grab a light gun from one of the arcade cabinets and use it to make selections from the screen.
The gun looks somewhat similar to what one might find attached to an NES.
California is a Frozen Hell
In story mode, your team is on a mission to eliminate undead called Snowbreed and a spreading tentacle-like growth called sprawl.
Along the way players can pick up ammo, grenades, health syringes, and floppy disks that enable weapon upgrades.
Players can also find keycards in some locations that unlock secret rooms filled with guns and ammo.
After clearing certain areas, players must shoot the sprawl and get it to retreat from the path ahead before continuing the run.
The cast of foes includes hordes of various Snowbreed, some fast, some slow, and other larger enemies, each of which has unique traits.
Eaters will explode when you kill them, Juggernauts will pick you up and pound your skull, and Smashers will tank their way right through you.
The climax of the story mode happens when your team reaches the top of the Relay Tower to battle more sprawl, Snowbreed, and the final Smasher boss.
Let’s Play Our Way, Again
While there are only six maps in After the Fall, the game has a high replay value due to randomized elements.
In each area, enemies will emerge from wide cracks in walls, holes in ceilings, climb over barriers, and drop down from rooftops to get to you.
But where the Snowbreed emerge from, and how many attack will change with each game.
The unpredictability keeps things interesting.
The difficulty also gradually ramps up with subsequent playthroughs.
With a selection of customization options, After the Fall players have the freedom to play the game in their own style.
Players can choose which weapons, modifications, configurations, and difficulty levels suit them best.
Also, depending on your preference, you can select rapid or manual reload.
Manual reload involves ejecting the magazine, grabbing a new one from your belt, inserting it into your gun, and cocking the weapon.
For rapid reload, press a button to eject the magazine, slap the weapon to your belt, and you are ready to serve up some lead poisoning.
Regardless of which reload style you prefer, you’ll still feel like a badass mowing through hordes of Snowbreed.
The action in After the Fall is intense and satisfying, with plenty of chances to feel like the hero in a zombie movie.
It’s Fun Being Frightened
My favorite scene in the story would have to be the movie theater at the end of the Boulevard map.
There’s something epic-feeling about an arena where hordes of Snowbreed are practically pouring over the theater seats to get to you—all while a movie stutters about on the silver screen behind you.
It’s exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time.
After the Fall retails for $39.99, though the price occasionally drops during a sale.
I picked up my copy with some other VR titles when it was part of a fanatical.com bundle.
In addition to SteamVR, After the Fall is available on Quest, Rift, and PSVR platforms.