Vertigo Games first released Arizona Sunshine in 2016 on Oculus Quest headsets, creating a VR survival horror game that quickly became iconic, at least in the virtual reality landscape. Now, in 2024, following the success of the sequel Arizona Sunshine 2, an updated version of the first title has debuted. Although it lacks some of the modernized gameplay features of the new episode, given that the remake aims to maintain its original soul, there is no shortage of various graphical and mechanical improvements, such as new textures, a lighting system improved and more responsive gameplay. As a remake, the new Arizona Sunshine is completely reprogrammed, that is, it is not a common remaster, but it remains absolutely faithful to the roots of the original game. The protagonist then finds himself once again in the Arizona desert, struggling to survive against hordes of deadly zombies, armed with all manner of instruments of death. Or rather, in this case of re-death. Even the structure of the game has not changed: you still have to advance through relatively linear levels (but with some exploratory digressions), collect ammunition and weapons, kill zombies, advance again and start again from the beginning while the narrative part takes place. A plot that, remember, but still gets the job done, telling the story of a trigger-happy Arizona survivor who, following an intercepted radio transmission from his trailer, finds himself more deeply involved in the ongoing zombie apocalypse than he would have liked. The central point of Arizona Sunshine therefore remains its tense atmosphere and the constant adrenaline that players feel in the headset, while navigating through levels filled with numerous and brain-hungry zombies.
