Arizona Sunshine

77%
Game Brain Score Based on 6,296 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Arizona Sunshine Game Cover
Arizona Sunshine is a short game that leaves you wanting oh so much more. Worth the ticket to ride, and OH what a ride.
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"Arizona Sunshine" is a first-person shooter game set in a post-apocalyptic southwestern America overrun by zombies. Players must navigate through various environments, scavenging for weapons and supplies while fighting off hordes of the undead. The game features both single-player and multiplayer modes, allowing for co-op gameplay with up to three other players.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Virtual Reality
  • Windows
  • Cloud
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Oculus Quest
  • Oculus Rift
  • Play​Station
  • Play​Station VR
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

77%
Audience ScoreBased on 6,296 reviews
story397 positive mentions
stability234 negative mentions
  • story1,173 mentions

    The story in "Arizona Sunshine" is generally described as simple and straightforward, often revolving around a lone survivor navigating a zombie apocalypse while searching for other humans. While some players appreciate the humor and voice acting of the protagonist, many criticize the narrative for being short, predictable, and lacking depth, with most campaigns taking around 3 to 5 hours to complete. Overall, the game is seen as more focused on gameplay and shooting mechanics than on delivering a rich story experience.

    • “The story is fun but can be challenging in some parts if you're playing alone.”
    • “The story is lighthearted with levels that excite while still offering chances to explore at a slower rate.”
    • “The story is engaging and the voice acting is superb.”
    • “The story is basically just a dude with one-liners trying to escape from the zombie horde-ridden Arizona landscape.”
    • “The story is lackluster, the graphics are bland, the audio is dull, the gameplay is monotonous and gets boring quickly.”
    • “The story is short, simplistic, and not very engaging, making it feel more like a series of missions than a cohesive narrative.”
  • gameplay871 mentions

    The gameplay of "Arizona Sunshine" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its dated mechanics and repetitive nature. While some appreciate the fun gunplay and intuitive controls, others criticize the simplistic reloading system, lack of melee options, and overall clunky interactions that detract from the experience. Despite its entertaining moments, the game is often described as feeling primitive compared to more modern VR titles, leading to a consensus that it may be best enjoyed on sale rather than at full price.

    • “The gameplay is fun too and the reload system is quick and easy to learn.”
    • “The gunplay is enjoyable, though my only gripe is that throwing grenades remains somewhat challenging, even after getting used to the mechanics.”
    • “The gameplay is solid and the graphics top notch.”
    • “The gameplay itself is very primitive.”
    • “The shooting mechanics are laughably bad, with hit detection that's about as accurate as throwing darts blindfolded.”
    • “The gameplay is linear and repetitive.”
  • graphics692 mentions

    The graphics of "Arizona Sunshine" have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they feel dated and reminiscent of older gaming standards, often comparing them to titles from the early 2000s. While some appreciate the game's vibrant environments and decent visual quality for its time, others criticize the lack of detail, poor textures, and graphical glitches that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the consensus suggests that while the graphics may not be cutting-edge, they can still provide an enjoyable experience, especially in a VR context.

    • “The graphics are great, the movement is flawless, and the game is simply so fun to play!”
    • “The graphics are nice enough and run smoothly with the proper PC, where you won't get dizzy.”
    • “The graphics are incredibly bland for a game that's been praised for them.”
    • “The graphics look like they came straight out of the early 2000s.”
    • “At the moment in 2023, the graphics are horrible, the controls very dated, your hands have no collision with almost anything, the level design is awful.”
  • humor259 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating the quirky, sardonic commentary from the protagonist, which adds charm and levity to the zombie apocalypse setting. While some find the constant jokes and one-liners entertaining, others feel they can become repetitive or annoying over time. Overall, the humor enhances the experience, especially in co-op play, where the absurdity of the gameplay and character interactions often leads to hilarious moments.

    • “The commentary from the character is hilarious.”
    • “The protagonist talks to himself and the outcome is that his lonely ramblings are quite humorous and he calls every zombie 'Freddy'!”
    • “The main character's dialogue is funny and at times downright sad.”
    • “The protagonist's lines get annoying and are not funny; most of his jokes are awful.”
    • “Makes unfunny comments constantly and ruins any immersion.”
    • “It's just not funny and the dialogue is just grating when it happens.”
  • stability249 mentions

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting it as "extremely buggy" and "unplayable" at times. Common issues include frequent crashes, glitches in weapon handling, and problems with multiplayer functionality, leading many to recommend avoiding the game or purchasing it only at a significant discount. While some players find enjoyment despite the bugs, the overall consensus is that the game's technical shortcomings significantly detract from the experience.

    • “It's easy to set up and runs great.”
    • “The game runs great (solid VR 90 frames on a GTX 980, i7 4790k), looks great and has a good amount of replayability.”
    • “Graphically very nice looking and in my short first playtime, no glitches or bugs so far.”
    • “The game is really buggy and kind of short.”
    • “It's a pretty fun game when it works, but the lack of proper Oculus support means having to run it through SteamVR, which makes it quite buggy for me on my Oculus.”
    • “This game is currently a buggy mess.”
  • optimization123 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including stuttering, lag, and crashes, even on high-end hardware. While some users experienced smooth gameplay, particularly on specific setups, the consensus indicates that the game is poorly optimized, especially in later levels and during intense action sequences. Many reviewers suggest that further optimization is needed to improve the overall experience and performance consistency across different systems.

    • “Simple fun, well optimized VR game.”
    • “Beautiful, perfectly optimized VR goodness.”
    • “The graphics are nice enough and run smoothly with the proper PC, where you won't get dizzy.”
    • “It was probably good when it first came out but now it's pretty bad, lots of noticeably reused assets to an extreme degree, guns are not that bad but not very realistic mechanically, controls are slow and unresponsive, performance is bad even on the highest end hardware, store is bad, but still a little funny.”
    • “Your guns disappear, zombies stutter lag all over the place so it's hard to hit them, performance is really bad so either you get low fps or tiny resolution making some ironsights on guns impossible to use, grabbing things is atrocious and slow (grab something, wait a few seconds for it to register and then you can move the thing), and the gameplay itself is shallow.”
    • “Optimization issues plague the game (I have a rig well in keeping with the recommended specs) and often times when there is frantic action going on the game will load without pausing gameplay - something that has killed many of my record horde attempts.”
  • replayability111 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed, with many players noting that while the campaign is short (around 3-5 hours), it offers some replay value through co-op modes, horde challenges, and varying difficulty levels. However, several reviews highlight a lack of depth in the story and gameplay, leading to a perception of low replayability for solo play. The multiplayer and horde modes are often cited as the main sources of replay value, making the experience more enjoyable when played with friends.

    • “The overall length of the campaign is pretty short, but with co-op, DLC, horde mode, and various difficulty levels, it's a pretty replayable title that offers a lot of fun and thrills for its price tag.”
    • “Arizona Sunshine is a hard fight with plenty of replayability and hours of gameplay, especially if you can find someone to join you in co-op or multiplayer - because killing zombies with friends in VR is twice the fun.”
    • “The campaign mode was a lot of fun, but the horde mode is what makes the game replayable.”
    • “Replayability is quite low for me since there isn't much of a story, but a great introduction to the VR genre for those who like shooting things and a little bit of adrenaline.”
    • “Very short with no real replayability.”
    • “I don't think that this is worth the price because I don't see a lot of replay value out of this game.”
  • atmosphere102 mentions

    The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its immersive and engaging qualities, effectively capturing a post-apocalyptic setting with a mix of tension and dark humor. Players appreciate the detailed environments, sound design, and the ability to evoke feelings of isolation and suspense, particularly in darker areas like caves. While some critiques mention inconsistencies in atmosphere and gameplay disconnection, the overall sentiment highlights a strong atmospheric experience that enhances the gameplay.

    • “Great zombie VR game, with amazing atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere is great, the setting is awesome.”
    • “The atmosphere, the drama, the gunplay - all top notch.”
    • “No music when playing does not build any atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere is also disconnected from the gameplay.”
    • “There are bugs, not a surprise, but my big disappointment is the atmosphere of the game.”
  • music48 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, likening it to soundtracks from titles like "Deus Ex: Mankind Divided" and "The Last of Us." However, others criticize the volume levels and the lack of music during gameplay, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated by many for its inspirational and immersive qualities, there are notable concerns regarding its implementation and effectiveness in certain scenarios.

    • “It's a very entertaining zombie apocalypse game with great quality, great milieu, amazing soundtrack, and the player's voice is also great.”
    • “The music helped set the mood without being intrusive.”
    • “The soundtrack brings back that 'The Last of Us' feel and the hordes will have you in a joyful panic.”
    • “The main character dialogue is annoying to the point I wanted to turn off in-game sounds, put on some music, and speed-run the game.”
    • “To make things worse, once all those zombies were killed, the game did not trigger to continue for several minutes, leaving me confused and wondering aimlessly about the area trying to progress while battle music played with no enemies in sight.”
    • “First level of campaign mode I didn't get the feeling to go on, maybe because of the calm music in the background or the feeling the game was forced to push out before deadline; but so far I would not recommend this game until at least it's patched up properly.”
  • emotional32 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a range of player experiences, from deep engagement with character struggles and immersive voice acting to moments of genuine physical discomfort and emotional investment. While some players found the narrative lacking and the humor ineffective, others praised the emotional journey and the ability to evoke strong feelings, culminating in moments of laughter and tears. Overall, the game successfully creates a unique emotional atmosphere, despite some technical issues that detract from the experience.

    • “His emotional journey from sarcastic detachment to sincere excitement, and through other experiences I won't spoil, is deeply engaging, and delivered 100% during gameplay through voiceover - no cutscenes.”
    • “Really enjoyed his emotional struggles, the ups and downs and the finale.”
    • “It's impossible to describe the feeling of emotional investment you get in this game; by the ending, I was lying on the floor crying/laughing (from what, I won't spoil) even as the credits rolled...”
    • “The story is extremely short (90 minutes) and boring, filled with fighting the same enemy over and over.”
    • “I don't want to touch the boring story mode; I just want to play it for fun.”
  • grinding23 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and time-consuming, often requiring repetitive actions that can lead to frustration and boredom. Many reviews highlight the cumbersome controls and mechanics, which exacerbate the grinding experience, making it feel like a chore rather than an engaging part of gameplay. While some enjoy certain modes, the consensus is that the grinding becomes predictable and tiresome over time.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Simply picking up an object is tedious; you frequently have to repeatedly do the same action several times, squeezing as hard as you can before it registers the grips and picks up the item.”
    • “Hugely boring grinding, exacerbated by terrible and shaky controls, slow reloads, until you're eventually zerged to death and end up rage quitting.”
    • “Lastly, it got tedious as it went on... ironically, the character began talking about how tedious it was becoming.”
  • monetization15 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game has drawn significant criticism, with players labeling it as a cash grab due to its high price point of $40, which many feel is unjustified given the game's quality and content. Additionally, deceptive advertising practices have been noted, including misleading promotional materials and the locking of core content behind the requirement for newer Intel processors, further fueling concerns about the developers' greed. Overall, the game's monetization approach has left players feeling frustrated and wary of its value.

    • “It is rather broken and doesn't get very regular updates, no fixes. It really is the definition of what gamers are afraid of when they think of VR games; the lacking content and greedy cash-grabbing devs.”
    • “So... yeah, to me at least, at $40 this game feels like a cash grab or early access game that should be charging $10-15, $20 max.”
    • “Shady business practices are currently being employed by Intel and Vertigo Games on this game, by locking out a selection of core content for users who are not using recent generations of Intel's processor line, for the sole purpose of advertising Intel's newer, more expensive product lines.”
  • character development5 mentions

    Overall, the reviews indicate that the game suffers from a lack of depth in character development, with many players noting minimal growth or meaningful storytelling. However, some users still found a connection to the protagonist, suggesting that while the character development is weak, the engaging gameplay can somewhat compensate for it.

    • “Character development and audio are hilarious.”
    • “Fun, but could improve with more meaningful story and character development.”
    • “And don't expect any depth or character development, because you won't find it here.”
    • “Even though there is a lack of character development, I still felt a bit of a connection to this average Joe by the end of the main campaign.”
    • “While the game is short and lacks story and character development, it's extremely fun and engaging.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

66% average critic score

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Play time

5hMedian play time
5hAverage play time
3-7hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 63 analyzed playthroughs

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