If you loved the first game, will find reward in returning for its gameplay loop, but this entry does little to advance what was established before
It's no secret that I absolutely adored The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners on the Quest 3, as you can gauge by my review, so I was pretty excited to finally buy and play its sequel, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2 Retribution, even thouugh I had heard some "bad" things about it. Well, after finishing the sequel, I have to say that while the core gameplay remains robust, the lack of optimization for Quest 3 holds this sequel back from building upon its predecessor in every way.
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You resume the role of the Tourist, picking up directly after the events of the first game. One cool thing that this game does is that it allows you to import your save from the first game so all my resources, weapons and things I had collected prior were available directly in the game. While I loved being able to do that, I kinda wish I didn't as it made the sequel so incredibly easy as I was basically overpowered straight from the beginning. Anyway, The Tower has tightened their grip on New Orleans, seeking out any survivors who dare oppose their rule. You find yourself hunted by Tower soldiers as well as a new terrifying armored enemy known as the Axeman. There is a strong sense of being pushed into corners with limited options on how to proceed, though narrative choices do provide some flexibility in your approach.
Interacting with the factions of New Orleans results in missions that focus heavily on combat over thoughtful dilemmas. Yes, Retribution is way more action-y that the first game, with some pretty insane and challenging encounters where you will slay and shoot your way through tons of zombies and human combatants alike. The main villain Gerik is menacing, but the other, Mama, you don't really see or interact with her at all apart from the final mission where you basically just talk to her. The plot takes you from one set piece to the next without much substance in between and well, that's kinda how the first game went. However, the finale that's Retribution, that I really liked cause it was the culmination of my version of the Tourist.
Gameplay remains mostly unchanged and still grounded in scavenging supplies to craft tools of survival. Resource management maintains a delicate balance of risk and reward when exploring the remnants of New Orleans. All of the previous areas from the first game return with a couple of new additions. New territories like the hotel and bourbon street provide more vertical level design, with more areas to climb and buildings to explore.
But perhaps the biggest expansion comes from night expeditions, where phosphorescent materials are found. Darkness swarms you with walkers while your flashlight guides the way. And although I was fully decked during these night raids, it was still scary as I never knew what I would encounter as soon as I went around a corner. Survival becomes a test of resourcefulness amid the terrors of the night.
Gun and melee combat still remain as visceral as the first game with dismembered limbs flying on impact. New additions like the chainsaw and explosives add welcomed carnage. There's a set piece where you are inside a bar, music starts to play loudly and tons of zombies come rushing in. The best part? You have a fricking chainsaw! Yeah, it was absolutely glorious.
What's also new this time around is the side objective of finding and delivering specific items to characters at night all over the different maps. This is an interesting addition to the core scavenging loop as it expands it from the simple "grab everything to scrap for resources" to "I need to specifically be on the lookout and find 5 headsets" type thing.
Now as for the presentation and this is the biggest gripe I have with Retribution, it falls short. Unlike the first game, Retribution has not gotten an official Quest 3 patch upgrade and that means it looks way worse that the first game. Environments lack details, textures are extremely low-res or just non-existent for many objects like walls, buildings, streets etc. Zombies and the other characters also look worse than they do in the first game. I don't really understand why they haven't released an official Quest 3 upgrade yet, as that would take this game to a whole another level. At this point, I don't think Skydance will ever release this much needed Quest 3 patch as they are busy with their next upcoming VR title called Behemoth.
In the end, Saints and Sinners - Chapter 2 serves up satisfying zombie combat within New Orleans. However, it represents a missed opportunity to showcase improved visuals and AI on Quest 3 hardware. If you loved the first game, will find reward in returning for its gameplay loop, but this entry does little to advance what was established before. Skydance Interactive could have taken greater advantage of Quest 3's processing power to elevate this follow up to new heights. Still, it's a very enjoyable experience and I recommend it to any Meta Quest players. Thanks for reading!
The game was reviewed on a Quest 3 via a bought copy. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2 Retribution is available on Meta Quest, PicoVR, PSVR2 and PCVR.
