Drop Dead: The Cabin Review (PC VR)

It feels as if I’m wedged in a star-crossed dream that waxes the ravenous camaraderie of Left 4 Dead and the high-octane, bullet-sweltering combat of Black Ops’ Zombies. A cabin; a horde of relentlessly tough zombies; a treasure trove of weapons and traps; and a constant need to keep the generator from exploding. Oh, I’ve definitely been here before. If it wasn’t for the Stranger Things infusions, I’d have thought that this was a spiritual successor to Back 4 Blood. But it isn’t; it’s an elemental force unto itself—a hybrid that, while still an underling of its most formidable forefathers, has a certain sense of pizzazz to it.

Drop Dead: The Cabin wears a simple premise like an iron cross, true. Moreover, it doesn’t do anything to reinvent the wheel or add to the existing format of a traditional zombie-centric shoot ‘em up. Yet, it finds comfort in its simplicity and its natural ability to make familiar things daringly bashful. A VR game at heart, too, it pulls out all the stops to bring you even closer to the action—to the epicenter of a booming world of apocalyptic events and dopamine-fueled violence. It doesn’t always hit the nail on the head, but it does make the simple act of bludgeoning a zombie’s brain sickeningly satisfying. And when all’s said and done, isn’t that sort of the point? Ten out out ten, team.

Of course, I’d hate to skimp out on Drop Dead: The Cabin and the other, slightly more intricate features that it puts out on a fleshy platter. And so, for the sake of lathering a bit of extra detail into it, I think it’s only right that we start at the beginning and chomp our way through. Sticking with us? Then let’s feast.

The Last Stand

Drop Dead: The Cabin is, first and foremost, a co-op shoot ‘em up game with tower defense elements. At the heart of its world is a flat and VR experience in which players must survive a night of undead hordes, and utilize their joint resources and skills to maintain certain beacons; a light, a power outlet; or the comms to keep you from falling behind. To add to all of this, players are also given the monumental task of peeling through endless waves of undead creatures—foes that, true to the nature of wave-centric battlers, gradually evolve as the night progresses. With that, there are small fragments of hope—a stat-boosting perk here, or a better weapon there, for example. Nevertheless, the objective is simple: work together to survive the night.

The Cabin isn’t a one-and-done affair; it’s a randomly generated expedition that spruces its world with new challenges, monsters, and avenues of play with each passing session. And that’s a great thing, too, as it not only adds more replay value to the experience, but it also keeps you on your toes as you desperately search for new materials or, in some instances, a better vantage point to use against your enemies. What’s more, it shakes up that tired formula with the addition of an eighties aesthetic that harkens back to pulpy lights and pungent greens, eccentric blues and powerful purples. And it looks fantastic, too, despite having rather bleak roots and a depressingly bland undead exterior. What I mean to say is, despite being shackled to a familiar formula, it does a brilliant job of standing out as its own enigma.

Popping Brains

Drop Dead: The Cabin is, of course, a satisfying game to romp through with friends. It has its limits, true, as with most arcade-like shoot ‘em up that adopt just the one generic gameplay loop. Even still, for what it does bring to the table—a relentlessly entertaining corridor hopper with exploding limbs and all the high-octane combat mechanics, to boot—I’d say that it achieves its goals, and then some. Would it benefit from having a few additional biomes and objectives? Absolutely. Is it still perfectly playable in its current condition? Yes — and that counts for a lot.

There is, however, one major gripe that I have to bring to the table here. The general setup of a game, while still largely self explanatory in its own right, doesn’t come with a tutorial or a helping hand to teeter you towards your objectives. What I mean to say here is that, while the latter portions of the battle are a blast to chomp through, it does take a while to wrap your head around the task at hand and, above all, how the world works. Without context or any thematically apt stepping stones to meander, Drop Dead: The Cabin can be a bit of a pain in the backside to learn. A small issue, but one that deserves to be addressed all the same.

With all of the above out in the open, I will say that The Cabin is a real treat to work through in VR and its flat version. It’s swift and it’s adaptive, grotesque and barbaric. It isn’t perfect, but it certainly makes the simple act of popping heads a tremendous amount of fun. And, when all’s said and done, isn’t that all that matters?

Verdict

Drop Dead: The Cabin delivers the exact type of action-oriented gameplay that I expect to receive in an apocalyptic shoot ‘em up. With thanks to its eighties aesthetic and dopamine-fueled combat, relentless foes and gripping tower defense elements, it immediately shines bright as a force to be reckoned with—a VR expedition that feels mindlessly entertaining and rewarding to romp through both as a lone wolf and with the aid of a companion. It has its limitations, of course, what with it still being in its teething phase and without the full breadth of a multi-biome world. That said, for what it does boast in its current state, I’d say that it more than justifies the price tag.

If it’s a well-oiled combination of Orcs Must Die! and Bulletstorm that piques your interest, then you should find enough to whet your appetite in Drop Dead: The Cabin. Granted, it could still do with a few more bits and pieces to help illuminate its potential as a shoot ‘em up game. For what it’s worth, though, it’s arguably one of the better post-apocalyptic zombie battlers on VR.