Dead & Buried Impressions: A Lively Demo at GDC 2016

Dead & Buried is one part zombie game, one part spaghetti western shooter, complete with Old West environment. This online multiplayer game was built to work with the Oculus Touch controllers and provides one of the most enjoyable VR shooting experiences I have witnessed to date.

The demo was a 2v2 showdown inside of a saloon. Players can duck, dodge, and move within a 4x4 foot square. Each time a player dies they spawn in a different part of the saloon. Players have to grab for their guns as if they were in a holster and flick them sideways to reload. My opponents had trouble grasping some of the controls, and I proceeded to unleash the fury in a way that only the inexplicable CEO of Shacknews is capable.

My team won 25-2. Sadly, I did die twice, but I was responsible for 22 of my team's kills! The Dead & Buried developers took notice of this sheer domination that had just unfolded in virtual reality, so I had a chance to chat about the long history of Shacknews and ask about further plans for the game.

Dead & Buried supports online multiplayer with the Oculus Touch controllers. The developers said that Internet lag was not anymore more of a concern than it is for standard console or PC games. They have also been developing some Gear VR software using a Mac, and we talked about how we all wished there was a Macintosh capable of running the Oculus Rift.

Dead & Buried will launch later this year with the Oculus Touch controllers and will be another game with solid replay value. There are still plenty of announcements to come from the developers regarding different game modes and how many people will be able to play a game simultaneously. The demo at GDC showcased a 2v2 game mode, but we can all hope that they will support larger groups at launch. The demo was extremely intuitive and fun, and showcased the Oculus Touch controllers as well as any other demo I have experienced.

Asif Khan

CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Asif Khan is the CEO, EIC, and majority shareholder of Shacknews. He began his career in video game journalism as a freelancer in 2001 for Tendobox.com. Asif is a CPA and was formerly an investment adviser representative. After much success in his own personal investments, he retired from his day job in financial services and is currently focused on new private investments. His favorite PC game of all time is Duke Nukem 3D, and he is an unapologetic fan of most things Nintendo. Asif first frequented the Shack when it was sCary's Shugashack to find all things Quake. When he is not immersed in investments or gaming he is a purveyor of fine electronic music. Asif also has an irrational love of Cleveland sports.