21425_Zombie_VR

Fans craving more realism in the battle against the undead might not have to wait for hell to freeze over before they get their wish. Both augmented and virtual reality are growing in popularity by leaps and bounds. With these advances of technology and pop culture, you know that where there’s people, zombies will be sure to follow.

Pokemon Go has introduced a whole new world of possibilities of what augmented reality (or AR) is able to achieve. As AR continues to become more popular, who’s to say that someone won’t swap out the pocket monsters with the undead and allow people to battle (or even capture) zombies in the real world. Developers have long searched for ways to create a more dynamic experience within their games. One way that many creators are bridging this reality gap is by incorporating live elements into the game itself.

While not necessarily on the same level as something like Pokemon Go, one area that is making strides in this sphere is online bingo. Bingo is a popular pastime for thousands, but there’s something decidedly cold that jars you out of the digital experience when you just see numbers digitally displayed. Through the integration of live callers, however, online rooms are able to recreate the feel of a live bingo hall where players are forced to pay attention to what’s going on. As VR technology becomes more ubiquitous, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to incorporate the two together to allow for interaction with real people in an immersive virtual environment.

The undead are already shambling into the world of virtual reality with a game that incorporates both cooking and zombies to great effect. While a bit of a silly concept, Dead Hungry is remarkably well executed. You man a food stand as undead customers rush the window with an insatiable hunger for burgers as opposed to brains. As more developers continue to explore the possibilities of VR through new first-person shooters, some are already incorporating the classic trope of ravenous zombie hordes into the gameplay. These attempts are still relatively simplistic, but we’re well on the way to a full-fledged zombie VR game. Just imagine the possibilities of a title like Left 4 Dead optimized for virtual reality.

The zombie game itself is seeing a bit of a renaissance with the demo for the newest Resident Evil game receiving a large degree of attention. The latest title in Capcom’s terrifying flagship series, Resident Evil 7, looks as though it will be a welcome return to the legitimately scary early entries of the franchise. There are also reports that the game will support virtual reality and that the results are legitimately terrifying. To add to that, Capcom’s other successful zombie franchise, Dead Rising, is receiving its fourth game with a title planned exclusively for PC and Xbox One later this winter. And that’s not all! The popular Telltale games adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s now-classic comic book series, The Walking Dead, receives its third season this year with its first episode expected in the fall.

With several great new games on the horizon and plenty more sure to come, the future of video games is looking bright for zombie lovers.