Death Horizon in the test: Zombie apocalypse in the experimental laboratory

In the VR first-person shooter "Death Horizon" for Samsung's Gear VR you have to fight a whole horde of zombies. The background story is a little reminiscent of "Resident Evil" or "House of The Dead". The T12 virus broke out in a chemistry lab. So once again we have the classic one against all undead situation. The slavering mutants that are now rampaging all over the lab were surely all once valuable employees. No matter, you have to mercilessly mow them all down and better kill each of the aggressive creatures right away so that you can find your way to the reactor that triggered the virus.

The graphics look pretty snazzy for a Gear VR title. And that's not all. The makers of Dream Dev Studio do not rule out bringing the game to PC headsets later, since the Unity-based engine is scalable. That makes bloodthirsty arcade shooter fans like me sit up and take notice for a moment. So I put on my slightly dusty Gear VR again for a change.

VR in arcade style

In the zombie apocalypse you are led through various corridors. The Gear VR Controller becomes either a heavy machine gun, a shotgun or an assault rifle. This means that heavy projectiles are only available in later sections of the game. If you are still familiar with "The House of The Dead" from the arcade era: This is how the title actually plays. Even if the gameplay feels a little slow, you need to be able to react very quickly, because the flesh-eating undead come from all directions.

It's best to stand or find a good swivel chair if you don't want to strain your neck on the TV armchair. Headphones or normal in-ears also give you the ability to hear more precisely from which direction the modern companions are approaching.

Sometimes a little difficult

In the first 10 minutes, I didn't quite warm up to the game at first because I would have hoped for a bit racier gameplay. The difficulty level was a little unbalanced in the preview version. You aim, you shoot and sometimes you shoot a lot. Namely, mostly when a monster suddenly bursts out from one side, although you still have to get rid of two of its cronies left and right. Reload? No time. It happens automatically and sometimes at exactly the wrong time.

If I wasn't a patient person, I would have given up after the first five corridors, when I had to get used to dying about fifteen times in one place. Then it suddenly becomes easy again, then difficult again. Fortunately, the checkpoints are set fairly. You also have an infinite number of attempts and can continue the game on the spot at any time.

Details, Details

It is particularly fun to pick up a heavy gun in full zombie corridors, which you have to shoot at like a bonus pack. Most of the time, the more intensive weapon is quickly emptied. Never mind. It's exactly this kind of variety that appeals. The environments are also quite varied, despite the laboratory wasteland. Background effects like toxic clouds of intoxication or bursting window panes are as surprising in diversity as the infested mutants with their dying limbs. There's the evil witch lady who throws slime balls at you, the fat guy who whacks you with an axe and the many normal-undead zombies. Another detail: The game's graphics engine is very opulent, but also very demanding, so that occasional stutters can occur. This can be remedied by using the flight mode in Gear VR mode. But perhaps this stability problem has been solved in the final version.