Arizona Sunshine 2
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| Arizona Sunshine 2 | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| VR/AR | VR |
| Developer | Vertigo Games |
| Publisher | Vertigo Games |
| Platform | SteamVR, Meta Quest, PlayStation VR2, Pico, Android XR |
| Device | Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro, PlayStation VR2, Pico 4, Samsung Galaxy XR |
| Operating System | Windows, Meta Horizon OS, Android XR |
| Type | Game |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Shooter |
| Input Device | Tracked motion controllers |
| Play Area | Seated, Standing, Room-scale |
| Game Mode | Single-player, Co-op, Multiplayer |
| Release Date | 7 December 2023 |
| Price | US$49.99 (Standard Edition at launch); US$59.99 (Deluxe Edition at launch) |
| App Store | Steam, Meta Horizon Store, PlayStation Store, Pico Store, Google Play |
| Website | https://www.arizona-sunshine.com/ |
Arizona Sunshine 2 is a virtual reality first-person zombie shooter developed and published by Vertigo Games. It is the direct sequel to Arizona Sunshine (2016) and was released on 7 December 2023 for Meta Quest headsets, PlayStation VR2, SteamVR and Pico headsets.[1][2] The player travels through a zombie-overrun Arizona with a dog companion named Buddy, using firearms, melee weapons and manual reloading. The campaign can be played alone or in two-player co-op, and a Horde mode supports up to four players with cross-platform multiplayer.[3]
It holds a Metacritic score of 73 on PlayStation 5, 80 on PC and 77 on Meta Quest, and an OpenCritic average of 78.[4][5] Vertigo's website and the Steam store now list the game as Arizona Sunshine VR 2. In June 2026 Vertigo announced a third-person, non-VR game titled Arizona Sunshine that builds on the sequel's story.[6][7]
Gameplay
Arizona Sunshine 2 is set in a post-apocalyptic Arizona, where the zombies are called "Freds". Vertigo described the plot as the "surprisingly light-hearted" story of a "profoundly lonely man" looking for another living person.[1] Road to VR described the search for "Patient Zero" as the game's apparent main objective.[8] The protagonist narrates the game with dark humor, and UploadVR credited his dialogue to voice actor Sky Soleil.[2] Vertigo said the campaign can be played without knowing the events of the first game.[9]
Combat uses full manual reloading. Vertigo added new ranged weapons such as flamethrowers, and a new melee system adds machetes, crowbars and pickaxes. Players scavenge and craft their loadout, and severed zombie limbs can also be used as clubs.[9] Road to VR's review noted pump-action shotguns and, later in the game, a grenade launcher and a gatling gun.[10] UploadVR reported that the player can holster one large weapon and up to four small ones, with Buddy acting as a carry-all.[2]
Buddy, the player's dog, attacks zombies, digs up key items and carries gear.[9] Road to VR listed pet, sit, fetch and attack commands. UploadVR said Buddy is directed with point-and-click commands for crowd control, fetching ammunition and solving puzzles.[10][2]
The campaign supports two-player online co-op, and Horde mode is a wave-based mode for up to four players. Both support cross-platform multiplayer.[3][10] Road to VR listed snap, quick and smooth turning; teleport and smooth movement; blinders; standing and artificial crouch modes; subtitles; and adjustable difficulty among the comfort options.[10] Campaign length estimates vary. Vertigo's senior narrative designer Nick Witsel said it was designed to last eight to 12 hours. UploadVR's review put it at about six hours, and Road to VR's at about seven.[11][2][10]
Platform features
On PlayStation VR2 the game supports sitting, standing and roomscale play and requires the PS VR2 Sense controllers. Sony's store page lists eye-tracked scripted events, foveated rendering, controller haptics, adaptive-trigger resistance and headset vibration. Online play there requires PlayStation Plus.[12] On Meta Quest 3, Vertigo gave the game a higher resolution than on Meta Quest 2 at launch.[11][13] The Steam version requires a 64-bit copy of Windows 10. Its minimum hardware is an i7-9700K processor, 16 GB of RAM and an RTX 2070 graphics card with at least 8 GB of video memory.[14]
Development
Vertigo Games developed the game in Rotterdam. UploadVR has called Vertigo's Rotterdam studio "the team behind the Arizona Sunshine games".[15] Peter Deurloo was game director.[16] Rob Yescombe, who had worked on The Invisible Hours and Farpoint, was lead writer, and Nick Witsel was senior narrative designer.[11][16] In an interview on Meta's blog, Witsel said the idea of a dog companion came from Vertigo's CEO, Richard Stitselaar. He said it worked as a focus for the sequel "from a VR interaction, combat and narrative perspective".[11]
The game was revealed on 24 May 2023 during Sony's PlayStation Showcase. Vertigo announced it for release that year on PlayStation VR2 and PC VR platforms and opened wishlists on Steam and PlayStation VR2.[1][17] On 26 October 2023 Vertigo announced the release date and opened pre-orders on PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest and SteamVR. The first gameplay trailer premiered on IGN the same day.[9] Deurloo presented a 15-minute gameplay showcase in November 2023 that confirmed co-op, cross-platform multiplayer and three additional Horde maps planned for the first year.[16] A trailer released later that month was captured entirely on Quest 2.[13]
Release
Pre-orders were sold as a Standard Edition at US$49.99 (€49.99) and a Deluxe Edition at US$59.99 (€59.99). Both editions came with pre-order cosmetics, and the Deluxe Edition added the Undead Buddy skin and other items.[9] Deluxe pre-order customers on SteamVR and PlayStation VR2 got 48 hours of early access from 5 December 2023 at 10 a.m. PT.[3] According to Meta, the game also launched on the Rift PC VR store on 7 December.[11]
| Platform | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SteamVR (Windows) | 7 December 2023 | Deluxe Edition pre-orders playable from 5 December[3][14] |
| PlayStation VR2 | 7 December 2023 | Deluxe Edition pre-orders playable from 5 December[3][12] |
| Meta Quest (Quest 2, Quest 3, Quest Pro) | 7 December 2023 | Quest 3 ran at a higher resolution at launch[8][11] |
| Pico (Pico 4) | 7 December 2023 | [2][18] |
| Android XR (Samsung Galaxy XR) | October 2025 | Released on Google Play alongside Samsung Galaxy XR in the US and South Korea[19][20] |
Updates
Vertigo kept updating the game through 2024. Patch 1.1 on 20 December 2023 renamed and rebalanced the four difficulty levels as Story, Adventure, Survival and Apocalypse. It also added a toggle-grip option and support for the LIV mixed reality capture tool.[21] Patch 1.2, released on all platforms on 13 February 2024, brought 4K textures for Buddy, weapons and hands on Quest 3, along with upgraded zombie visuals, higher-quality models and shading, reworked particle effects and a higher render scale than on Quest 2. It also added an easy-reload option, a post-credits scene, extra grenade holsters on Buddy and a blood-overlay toggle.[22]
The free "Season of Chaos" update started on 23 February 2024. It added DLCorgi, a corgi that can replace Buddy as the player's companion.[23][18] Three free Horde mode maps followed, one a month: Trailer Park on 26 March 2024, Undead Valley on 30 April and Old Mine on 28 May. Trailer Park and Undead Valley were reworked versions of locations from the first game.[24][25][26][27] Patch 1.7 on 21 November 2024 added Brazilian Portuguese and Polish.[28]
Reception
On Metacritic the PlayStation 5 version has a score of 73 from 27 critic reviews, which the site rates "mixed or average". The PC version has 80 from 7 reviews, and the Meta Quest version has 77 from 4 reviews.[4] On OpenCritic it has a "Strong" rating, an average score of 78 and an 81 percent critic recommendation rate.[5]
| Publication | Score | Platform reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| UploadVR | 5/5 | Quest 3[2] |
| Road to VR | 8/10 | Quest 3[10] |
| IGN | 8/10 | [5] |
| Push Square | 8/10 | [5] |
| GameSpot | 7/10 | [5] |
UploadVR's Pete Austin gave the game five stars. He wrote that Vertigo had brought the series "back from the dead". He noted occasional glitches and one level that suffered regular freezes and eventually a hard crash, and the review reported that only one Horde map was available at launch.[2] Ben Lang of Road to VR gave it 8 out of 10 and said cross-platform co-op gave the game "a big boost to fun". He criticized the clunky holster and inventory system, slow pacing in the middle third, and, on Quest 3, a physics system that appeared to run at half frame rate or lower, which often let hands clip through objects.[10] In IGN's 8/10 review, Dan Stapleton praised "a long campaign of zombie slaying full of satisfyingly gory head shots, entertaining humor, and the bond between a lonely man and his dog". Digital Trends said technical problems held back an otherwise solid shooter.[5]
On the PlayStation Store, Arizona Sunshine 2 was the fourth most-downloaded PlayStation VR2 game of 2024 in the US and Canada and the third in Europe.[29]
Legacy
Vertigo released Arizona Sunshine Remake on 17 October 2024. UploadVR reported that it rebuilt the original game "using all the new assets and mechanics engineered for the sequel".[30][31] On 6 June 2026 Vertigo announced a third-person Arizona Sunshine for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2. Vertigo described it as built on the gameplay of the series and "the story of Arizona Sunshine VR 2", with split-screen co-op and Buddy as a playable character in co-op.[7][32] As of October 2026 that game is still listed as coming soon on Steam.[33]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Arizona Sunshine 2 Coming to PS VR2, PC VR Platforms Later This Year". Vertigo Games. 2023-05-24. https://www.vertigo-games.com/arizona-sunshine-2-coming-to-ps-vr2-pc-vr-platforms-later-this-year/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Pete Austin (2023-12-05). "Arizona Sunshine 2 Review: Reanimating A Dying Genre In The Best Possible Way". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/arizona-sunshine-2-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Arizona Sunshine 2 48H Early Access Announced". Steam. Vertigo Games. 2023-11-30. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1540210/view/5395937983661582485. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Arizona Sunshine 2". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/arizona-sunshine-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Arizona Sunshine 2 Reviews". OpenCritic. https://opencritic.com/game/15920/arizona-sunshine-2/reviews. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Arizona Sunshine VR 2". Vertigo Games. https://www.vertigo-games.com/games/arizona-sunshine-vr-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Award-Winning Co-op Shooter Series Arizona Sunshine Is Coming to PC and Consoles". Vertigo Games. 2026-06-06. https://www.vertigo-games.com/award-winning-co-op-shooter-series-arizona-sunshine-is-coming-to-pc-and-consoles/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Scott Hayden (2023-10-27). "'Arizona Sunshine 2' Coming to All Major VR Headsets in December, First Gameplay Trailer Here". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/arizona-sunshine-2-gameplay-release-date-quest-3-psvr-2-steam/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 "Arizona Sunshine 2 Launches December 7th 2023". Vertigo Games. 2023-10-26. https://www.vertigo-games.com/arizona-sunshine-2-launches-december-7th-2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Ben Lang (2023-12-12). "'Arizona Sunshine 2' Review - Head-popping Fun With Friends". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/arizona-sunshine-2-review-quest-pc-vr-psvr-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 "Fred Is Back: 'Arizona Sunshine 2' Brings the Zombified Apocalypse Back to Meta Quest". Meta. Meta Platforms. 2023-12-07. https://www.meta.com/blog/arizona-sunshine-2-launch-vertigo-games-nick-witsel/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Arizona Sunshine 2". PlayStation. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/arizona-sunshine-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Harry Baker (2023-11-27). "Here's What Arizona Sunshine 2 Will Look Like On Quest 2". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/arizona-sunshine-2-quest-2-trailer/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Arizona Sunshine VR 2". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1540210/Arizona_Sunshine_VR_2/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Mike Johnson (2026-06-05). "Metro Awakening Studio Vertigo Games Amsterdam Shuts Down". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/metro-awakening-studio-vertigo-games-amsterdam-shuts-down/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Adam Cook (2023-11-21). "Arizona Sunshine 2 showcase reveals co-op modes and cross platform". GodisaGeek. https://godisageek.com/2023/11/arizona-sunshine-2-showcase-reveals-co-op-mode-and-cross-platform/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Henry Stockdale (2023-05-24). "Arizona Sunshine 2 Announced For PC VR & PSVR 2". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/arizona-sunshine-2-announcement-pc-vr-psvr-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Josef Erl (2024-03-27). "Arizona Sunshine 2: Update brings new horde map "Trailer Park" to the game". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/arizona-sunshine-2-update-brings-new-horde-map-trailer-park-to-the-game/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Arizona Sunshine Remake and Arizona Sunshine 2 Available on Android XR". Vertigo Games. https://www.vertigo-games.com/arizona-sunshine-remake-and-arizona-sunshine-2-available-on-android-xr/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Henry Stockdale (2025-10-21). "Gaming On Samsung Galaxy XR: Every Android XR Game Confirmed So Far". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/samsung-galaxy-xr-android-xr-games/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Patch 1.1 is now live!". Steam. Vertigo Games. 2023-12-20. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1540210/view/5410576585125839789. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Henry Stockdale (2024-02-13). "Arizona Sunshine 2 Gets 4K Textures With Quest 3 Update". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/arizona-sunshine-2-quest-3-update/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Season of Chaos Free Update: Meet your new Buddy!". Steam. Vertigo Games. 2024-02-23. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1540210/view/5728086065185289788. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Trailer Park Horde Mode map - FREE for all players NOW!". Steam. Vertigo Games. 2024-03-26. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1540210/view/5686430301736623376. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Arizona Sunshine 2: Free Undead Valley Horde Mode Map". Vertigo Games. https://www.vertigo-games.com/arizona-sunshine-2-free-undead-valley-horde-mode-map/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Old Mine - The final Season of Chaos map is out NOW!". Steam. Vertigo Games. 2024-05-28. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1540210/view/5741605105625533854. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Henry Stockdale (2024-05-29). "Arizona Sunshine 2 Ends 'Season Of Chaos' With New Horde Map". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/arizona-sunshine-2-new-horde-maps/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Patch 1.7 is here!". Steam. Vertigo Games. 2024-11-21. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1540210/view/1783872411979599. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "PlayStation Store's top downloads of 2024". PlayStation Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. 2025-01-23. https://blog.playstation.com/2025/01/23/playstation-stores-top-downloads-of-2024/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Arizona Sunshine VR Remake". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2897700/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Pete Austin (2024-10-17). "Arizona Sunshine Remake Review: Proof You Can't Keep a Good Zombie Down". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/arizona-sunshine-remake-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Scott Hayden (2026-06-08). "Vertigo Games Announces Flatscreen Entry in Acclaimed 'Arizona Sunshine' VR Franchise". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/vertigo-games-flatscreen-arizona-sunshine-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Arizona Sunshine". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4308420/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.