When opening up your shiny new VR headset for the first time, you have to ask yourself, “What are the must haves for VR?”. It’s easy to say; Arizona Sunshine should be a top contender on that list. Currently, in the VR landscape there isn’t much regarding games that can deliver on both story and gameplay. Arizona Sunshine combines the two into a thrilling story-driven apocalyptic survival shooter, which is sure to please even the biggest skeptics of VR.

Being one of the first games I played in VR, I was incredibly impressed with the scale of its world. The immersion of Arizona Sunshine comes from simple environment interactions and its fast paced panic inducing combat. Movement in the game is accomplished through the point to move method, in which the player uses a cursor to designate where the player will teleport to next. It feels smooth and helps balance the chaos a player is usually managing while handling waves of the zombie horde. Arizona Sunshine smartly handles inventory management by using an “ammo belt” to clip items to the player's body. The player's chest holds pinned grenades and crucial UI elements such as the player's ammo count. Main, secondary and even tertiary weapons, clip to the sides of the player's waist. The mix of items and UI elements lend to the sense of immersion by creating a seamless experiences from reloading a weapon, switching to a secondary, all while monitoring ammo count and health by looking down at your chest or wrist.

When zombies begin to encroach on the player's position, there is a feeling of panic and intimidation that isn't felt in a standard FPS. Take that aspect and combine it with some traditional game modes such as a campaign (co-op or singleplayer), and horde mode which pits up to four players against brutal waves of zombies, and you have a VR game that feels like it can stand on its own two feet. The only downfall of this game in a world of VR “experiences” and cash grabs, is its price point. If Vertigo Games could bring this down in price it would certainly pull more people into this incredible VR experience. Although, don't let the price point prevent you from playing a "Must Have". I assure anyone looking for a unique and thrilling VR game; you've found it! The $39.99 price point is well worth the time you will spend in the Arizona Sunshine.