Releasing almost exactly two years ago,The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinnersis still one of the best VR games available right now, on any platform. A complex and mind-blowing physics system, incredibly intuitive controls, and combat that’s as terrifying as it is satisfying,Saints & Sinnersis an absolute must-play for any VR owner. With widespread acclaim, there’s no wonder then that Skydance Interactive would want to develop a sequel.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners- Chapter 2: Retributionwas just announced, and while details are extremely scarce right now,Skydance has said that the game will be a standalone experience, allowing newcomers to just hop right in. While the first game is still an excellent VR experience, it isn’t quite perfect, and there’s a few areas which could be improved on in the sequel.
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Reworking Saints & Sinners' Human AI
One of the few real criticisms of the firstSaints & Sinnerswas its somewhatdisappointing human AI. While some AI interactions, like conversations and moral decisions, worked seamlessly in most cases, combat encounters could be a little more frustrating.
Saints & Sinnersusesa fairly basic stealth system, whereby players can crouch to sneak around the environment, remaining hidden from enemies if they don’t make too much sound. This mechanic works quite well when it comes to the zombie horde, but against human AI, the game can get a little confused.
The vast majority of the time, if a player is spotted by a human enemy, all they need to do is run around the corner and crouch, and the enemy will completely forget the encounter. This isn’t really anything new in the video game world, asstealth games have had this problem for decades, but it’s extra noticeable in VR - especially with how well the rest of the game immerses the player into its world.
InSaints & Sinners Chapter 2, the human AI should be reworked a little, given specific actions and behaviors to follow if the player is spotted. If Skydance wanted to make the sequel even more intense than the original, the human AI could be set to hunt down the player when they’re spotted, adding a new threat of being chased both by the undead horde as well as human enemies.
Adding Even More Weapons to Saints & Sinners Chapter 2
The firstSaints & Sinnershad a pretty good selection of melee weapons, throwables, and firearms, with each one having its own advantages and disadvantages in a fight. The variety of weapons inSaints & Sinnersis one of the core reasons behind the game’s satisfying gameplay loop, as the player is constantly making decisions on what weapons they should take with them and keep, what weapons they should only use when absolutely necessary, and what weapons are right for that specific scenario.
InSaints & Sinners Chapter 2, this already-great element can be elevated even further by simply adding more weapons to the game. A more varied selection of knives, with individual abilities, could be added, along with some more throwable weapons. The number of firearms could also be increased significantly, with both one-handed weapons and two-handed weapons receiving a range of varied additions, perhaps requiring some unique controller inputs to differentiate the gameplay interactions, like manually pulling back the hammer on a revolver.
The firstSaints & Sinnersalso had a decent range of craftable weapons, offering that uniqueWalking Deadlook and feel with some cobbled-together, home-made weapons. Again, all a sequel needs to do to improve on this is add more to the game.Saints & Sinners Chapter 2shouldtake a page out ofDead Rising’s book, giving the player a vast selection of craftable weapons and using a range of absurd components to create truly unique weapons.
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Fleshing Out ‘The Trial’ Mode
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinnerswas made even better after release, with Skydance Interactive adding two free DLCs to the game that added end-game content, along with a horde mode titled The Trial. Offering just three maps, The Trial has plenty of room for improvement.
Saints & Sinners Chapter 2can easily improve onthe first game’s Trial modeby increasing the number of maps, or alternatively, making those maps a little larger and more varied. Similarly, the amount of purchasable weapons in this mode needs to be increased, along with the number of character upgrades that are available to the player.
In “The Trial” mode in the first game, the player racks up “Bitecoins” by killing walkers, which can then be used to buy weapons and upgrades. The sequel could improve on this concept by giving the player more Bitecoins if they get more stylish kills. For example, a simple kill with a knife could get the player 10 Bitecoins, but a skillful kill with a throwing knife could get them 20. This would encourage the player to experiment with the many types of weapons that are in the game.
Making The Most of PlayStation VR2
Although an official announcement of available platforms has not happened yet, it would make sense forSaints & Sinners Chapter 2to be ported to every available headset at the time of release, as long as it can support it to the best of its ability. The firstSaints & Sinnersis available on the majority of headsets, so it only makes sense that Skydance Interactive would want to do the same again.
So embracing this theory,Saints & SinnersChapter 2will likely come to PlayStation VR2. If that’s the case, then the sequel could make great use of the headset’s new technology. The adaptive triggers onthe new PSVR2 controllerscould make the firearms feel even more responsive and satisfying, while the haptic feedback in the headset could make the game even more intense, with the player being able to feel the vibrations as a walker grabs them or brushes past their head.
The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinnersis available now on PC and PSVR, and Oculus.
