5 Most Powerful Weapons in Into the Radius

There are all sorts of guns in Into the Radius VR, but which ones are worth your hard earned cash? There’s some debate and personal preference as to what weapons people use, but some clearly stand in a class above all others. Which are the most effective against the many enemies you will find in the Pechorsk Zone? Time to find out. Here are some of the most powerful weapons that you can find and buy in Into the Radius VR.

1. M9

The M9 is commonly regarded as the most powerful pistol in Into the Radius VR. For good reason, as far as a sidearm is concerned the M9 is extremely accurate, to the point that it even puts some Submachine guns to shame, and fires the fairly common 9x19mm cartridge.

It does great damage, especially when using P+ ammunition, and carries a healthy amount of bullets in each magazine. The M9 is perfectly viable throughout the game, and you can acquire it very early, so if you don’t want to spend too much money on a reliable and accurate sidearm, go with the M9 before anything else, and save your cash for other investments.

While they are less cash efficient and far less capable at range, the OC-33 is also good if you want your sidearm to have full auto capability. The same can be said for the Glock 18.

2. PP-91 ‘Kedr’

As far as submachineguns go in Into the Radius VR, you might be surprised to learn that the PP-91 ‘Kedr’ is much more powerful and versatile than it looks.

It sure is cheap, and since it uses 9x18mm ammunition the ammunition is plentiful throughout the game as well. You can even get a Kedr for free in Bolotky Village by searching the water in the destroyed boat next to the red valve sticking out of the swamp. It is just slightly south of the anomaly field with the white flowers surrounded by rocks and trees, and west of the construction site.

Cheap doesn’t make a powerful weapon though, so what is so great about the Kedr? Well it’s pretty accurate, despite it’s short barrel and small bullet. You can hit shots with it even at medium range, especially with the help of a holographic sight attached to the gun. What really makes it strong though is its fire rate. A Kedr gets a lot of bullets out very quickly, and puts them right on target. While you’ll use a lot of 9x18mm rounds with this weapon, it will melt enemies very quickly.

3. Mosin-Nagant

The Mosin Nagant is perhaps the most legendary and widely used bolt action rifle in history.

In Into the Radius VR it is a fantastic sniper rifle. Despite its low rate of fire due to its Bolt action, this rifle delivers devastating 7.62x54R rounds accurately at very long ranges. The bolt can be a little finicky, but once you get used to it chambering a new round becomes very quick and easy.

Especially with AP rounds loaded the Mosin will stop basically anything with one or two well placed shots. Of course this weapon is not great for short range engagements, though it’s cousin the Tiger rifle does better there since it is semi automatic and has a larger magazine. Though the Tiger is more expensive and not as great for sniping, it is more versatile.

4. VSS ‘Vintorez’

Another legendary Russian weapon, the VSS ‘Vintorez’ is perfect for those who want something stealthy that packs a punch. While it is allegedly a marksman rifle, best to use this gun at short to medium ranges. It is pretty accurate, but it’s no sniper rifle.

That being said the VSS has a lot of other things going for it in Into the Radius VR. It does great damage with its 9x39mm rounds, and makes practically no noise thanks to its integrated suppressor. Unlike other suppressors you won’t have to clean it separately, since it is a part of the weapon.

While the magazine doesn’t hold a lot of rounds, those that it does are very effective and very silent, making the VSS a great all around weapon for stealthy players.

5. FN17 Rifle

The FN17 Rifle, also known as the ‘SCAR’ was a potential candidate to become the United States’ military new battle rifle, but was rejected. Luckily it fits right in in the Pechorsk Zone as the most powerful assault rifle available to you. The only downsides are it’s high price, and the fact that it degrades more quickly than other weapons.

Once you have the funds to afford this beast though, you will never go back to another rifle in this game. There is nothing but upsides. The FN17 does enormous damage per shot with its 7.62x51mm rounds, which are also expensive like the weapon itself. The FN17 is also very accurate, capable of sniping about as effectively as the Tiger rifle, just swapping in a longer range scope on the top rail will turn it into a very effective long range tool.

The SCAR absolutely destroys enemies at any point in the game, though its magazines are limited to 20 rounds, you’ll rarely need all of them if you put your shots on target. Even armored foes can’t stand up to it at any range. There is no weapon in the game more versatile and powerful than the FN17.

Requisition VR Singleplayer First Look and Review

First of all, a little disclaimer. The folks over at Arcadia gave me an early access key to Requisition VR before its Steam release on October 20th. Since there doesn’t seem to be anyone on the Multiplayer yet, I decided to get my feet wet and review the Singleplayer Campaign.

While Requisition VR bills itself as a Cooperatively focused experience, there is a Single player option with a light story, which at this time consists of two missions, though I’m sure more will be added. Still, I got a pretty thorough impression of the game as it stands right now.

For a video version of this review check it out on our Youtube channel.

Unique Crafting and Zombie Destruction

So what kind of experience is this game that we’re reviewing? Requisition VR has a very important and fundamental thing going for it, and that is a very interesting premise that utilizes and innovates with Virtual Reality.

Requisition VR is a Coop zombie survival game that not only gives you guns and melee weapons, but also the ability to combine them in countless ways and create some insane and deadly zombie crushing instruments. It also gives you the ability to create and set a very wide variety of traps that can be triggered with pressure plates, trip wires, buttons, a ton of things.

As for story it’s your standard zombie stuff, a fog appeared one day and people started turning into zombies and civilization rapidly splintered. You and your compatriots are from a small colony of survivors seeking a solution as the fog spreads ever further. While not the most original story, this is a zombie game, and so it doesn’t need one.

The Bugs

Now that we know what Requisition VR is about, let’s get the elephant out of the room first. This is a modern VR game, and like all modern games and VR games especially, it has bugs, and will release with bugs. Also like all modern games and especially VR games, those bugs will probably be fixed over time, so I won’t talk about them too much, but right now Requisition VR feels really janky and looks kind of ridiculous at times.

Zombies will climb over air, attack air. Hit registry is… weird. Stabbing especially feels odd, with the thing you’re stabbing with being awkward to pull out of the zombie, and therefore twisting your arms at weird angles. Overall the bugs as they stand right now are pretty immersion breaking, and I mention them only because some of them seem so ingrained in the basics of your arms interacting with the enemies and environment that they may take a very long time to fix, if they are fixed at all.

This is basically a long winded way of saying that Requisition VR does not feel smooth to play, and it is easy to lose your sense of immersion in the game. Most of these bugs can and likely will be fixed, but some, like when hitting zombies feels odd and sometimes jerks your arms out of place, may take a very long time to get right. Overall I doubt Requisition VR’s interactions will ever feel as smooth as something like The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners.

Mission 1: The Hut

Okay so the game is a little janky, but what is the gameplay like? Well if you’re looking for a desperate defensive mission against waves of zombies that will make you prepare as thoroughly as possible and use every ounce of cleverness you have, the first mission does not deliver that. If you love to smash some zombies and maybe bait them into an explosive trap or two, then that’s what you’ll get.

When you start you’re given a few objectives, mainly looking for a battery in a nearby house so you can open a shed. So you go into the house and get the battery, killing a few wandering zombies along the way, and even a great big fat one. All throughout the house are drawers and cabinets that you can loot. The loot inside them seems to be totally randomized. I’ve found toast and detergent in a drawer one round and then an assault rifle and beer cans on the next round.

A Digression: Finding Weapons

This can be a little annoying, because you need to get pretty lucky to get a gun and also a decent amount of ammunition for that gun. The only guaranteed spawns of items are those sitting outside of cabinets, and in both of these missions they are rarely items that go together, such as a gun and its ammunition. More importantly, they are hardly ever items that combine into unique weapons.

Unique weapons are made by certain items that are combined into an especially powerful weapons, they’re preprogrammed. So a metal baseball bat and a worklight creates an electrified spiked bat, or a leaf blower and a blowtorch create a flamethrower. These weapons are super powerful and super fun to use.

To get them, though, you’ll need to get really lucky and hope that the items to create them spawn in these random containers. Otherwise you might end up with three metal bats and no lights to make them really effective, just like you might end up with one of every firearm, but only one magazine of ammunition for a couple of them.

This is frustrating in Singleplayer, but I imagine Co-op would make this worse, with one person having managed to scrounge a gun, and another having found the ammo, but each one holding onto it and making both pieces useless. Or, one person finding a blowtorch and one finding a leafblower, but never combining the two together into a fantastic weapon.

So unless you get lucky and both know what junk you need to create a great weapon and also manage to find that junk, you’ll probably end up just duct taping random sharp or heavy items together to create insane weapons, which is really good fun too. Or you might just never bother with that and hack all your enemies apart with an axe. Still, there’s definitely some charm to be had in weed wacking a zombie to death, there are a lot of interesting weapons in Requisition VR.

Back to Mission 1: The Hut

Anyway back to the first mission. Hopefully you both played and payed really good attention to the tutorial, because otherwise you’ll be really lost here. I didn’t pay enough attention, so I had to go replay the tutorial a second time, turns out the tutorial room with the crafting tables was the most important, go figure. What you’re going to want to know is that every item has certain materials that it is made out of.

Some of these materials are needed for creating “trap boxes,” which allow you to set up traps, and explosives to be activated by those traps.

Also if you want to create barricades you’ll need to know that you can’t just use a wrench you found to break up furniture into scrap wood for boarding up windows. You also can’t use a literal hammer that you found. You need to use the permanent hammer that you can take out of the left side of your chest, otherwise furniture won’t break into wooden scraps that you can use for barricading, and you can’t hammer in nails. Only the special hammer in your chest will do either.

The first mission forces you to create two traps, and barricade three windows. Now, maybe there are more zombies in Multiplayer, but as far as the Singleplayer goes, I found these preparations to be not only unnecessary but unhelpful.

First of all the barricades. You can only barricade windows, so you’d think the best course of action would be to barricade the first floor of the big house to buy you some time to thin out the zombies before maybe retreating upstairs or outside if you get overwhelmed. Well it isn’t, because the doors won’t close. What is the point of barricading windows if the doors don’t close at all? I’m not sure if this is intended design or a bug, but you can’t even grab the door handles.

You need to open the doors to get into and out of the place, so the zombies will just march through the open doorway. If you’re leaving multiple open entryways to the house, what is the point of the barricading mechanic? I never once saw a zombie try to get in through the windows, they just walked through the empty doorway.

Not that I spent much time defending the house. The zombies are slower than you, so confining yourself to the small rooms of the house is actually a bad tactic, because you can get cornered there. What ended up being far more effective was just running around outside and smacking zombies as they got close.

As for the traps, they were effective for what they were, but they only really killed one or two zombies apiece and weren’t really worth the time it took to set them up. Despite the janky melee combat I was only really in danger once or twice. Running away and chugging a beer or bottle of wine was an easy to way to survive in those situations. The enemies couldn’t keep up, and I topped off my health pretty quickly.

After three waves the mission was over. All in all I got an impression not of a desperate defense while surrounded by walls and traps, relying on my cleverness and preparation to survive, but rather an action packed romp around a field, slapping zombies as they came at me without any regard for traps or defenses.

Not to say that it was an unenjoyable experience. The guns in particular were actually much more satisfying than VR guns usually are. Just that if you’re looking for a more defensive and planning oriented experience, you won’t find it here despite the game mechanics that seem to point to a game that is more oriented that way.

If the best and most fun way to fight zombies is to run around an open space and whack them, why patiently sit behind traps and barricades? It seems that there is a gap between the implementation and what was desired by the designers. As it stands gameplay was much more fun without bothering with barricades and traps, at least as far as the Singleplayer is concerned.

Mission 2: The Gas Station

Mission 2, unlike the first, did not start with the game forcing you to do useless things like set traps and build barricades. Instead it changed the pace of things a little, and asks you to gather some items for your bus to repair it. More fuel, some oil, new tires, new battery, the works basically.

So instead of a purely defensively focused mission, you’re encouraged to look around and loot while fighting the wandering zombies, cool. There’s also some great weapons to be found like the sledge hammer, which is great even without the part needed to make it more powerful. There are a few times though, such as when you fill the new tire with air, or charge the battery and install it in the bus, that the noise summons a big wave of zombies, so there’s still plenty of action.

Mostly this level is a scavenger hunt, but it is a great change of pace from the first level, and looking for the required parts was genuinely fun. This means that when more missions are added they will probably have similarly interesting variation between them. Maybe they will even get hard enough that setting a bunch of traps will actually be necessary for victory.

Conclusion

Requisition VR is not a very impressive game as it stands right now, at least as a Singleplayer experience. Like most games that feature a multiplayer option, Requisition VR is probably much better with some friends. It is meant to be a Cooperative experience after all. Still, I don’t believe that will fix the gap between the intention of the game designers with mechanics such as barricades and traps, and the end result of those barricades and traps being either useless, or more time than they are worth.

If you are are a real VR or zombie enthusiast then you will definitely enjoy taping random objects together to make crazy weapons to bash zombies with. Though that alone does not make up for Requisition VR’s downsides. As a Singleplayer experience, you can do better elsewhere, though as far as fighting zombies cooperatively in VR there aren’t many options, and if that is what you are looking for then Requisition VR might be worth a closer look. Regardless, as long as the folks at Arcadia keep fixing and refining this game, they could have a real unique gem on their hands.

Every Weapon Recipe You Can Craft in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners

Want to know more about the craftable weapons in The Walking Dead: saints & Sinners? Well here is your ultimate source for every craftable weapon in the game with some information and pros and cons for each, whether they’re guns, bows, melee weapons, or explosives. Most of these recipes can be acquired by upgrading your workbenches, while some can only be made by finding secret recipes out in the wilds of New Orleans.

Note that this list does not include the Tourist Edition weapons, as they are simply reskins of already existing weapons, though they might be added in the future. This article is also confined to weapons craftable in the first game, newer weapons added in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners - Chapter 2: Retribution are coming soon.

Categories:

• Melee Weapons

• Bows

• Explosives

• Pistols

• Shotguns and Rifles

Melee Weapons

Shiv

The Shiv is the very first weapon that you can craft from the Gear Workbench in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. It is a very basic knife that falls apart quickly and is not very sharp, so it will have some trouble getting through a walker’s skull. While it may not see much use outside of your first few scavenging runs, it is very cheap to make a lot of them to use as throwing knives, if that’s your sort of thing.

Bayou Slugger

The Bayou Slugger is the first two handed melee weapon that you can craft from the Gear Workbench in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. While it is much better at getting through a walker’s skull than the Shiv, it will use quite a bit of stamina every swing, so be careful using this against a large crowd of walkers. Still, this is a pretty easy melee weapon for beginners to use. It is far easier to land hits with this than with the Fire Axes, Hatchets, or Crowbars that you might have scavenged.

Night Shift

The Night Shift is an improved version of the Shiv. It is more durable and stabs through a walker’s skull more easily. Extraction from the skull is also faster and easier than with the Shiv. While it is not the most durable single handed melee weapon it is the fastest one handed knife and can be awfully satisfying to use in a crowd of walkers. It is also arguably the easiest melee weapon to throw.

Sheet Metal Cleaver

The Sheet Metal Cleaver is a very durable one handed melee weapon that can easily chop a big hole in a walker’s skull. While it may lack the finesse of a smaller blade there is a lot of power in its simplicity and ease of use. Though for the more theatrically inclined you can also use this cleaver to cut through a walker’s neck and decapitate it. Not to mention, decapitating a walker uses less stamina than chopping into its skull.

Grass Clipper

The Grass Clipper is basically a Katana, and it’s awesome. In terms of a two handed melee weapon it is the opposite of the Bayou Slugger. The Grass Clipper is light and does not use much stamina to either chop through a walker’s head or decapitate it, and it is very durable. Rapidly slicing your way through a crowd of walkers in a breeze with the Grass Clipper. Oh, and it’s a Katana during a zombie apocalypse, really what’s not to love?

4th And Pain

4th and Pain is a hidden recipe that is an upgraded version of the Sheet Metal Cleaver. It is a little more durable and cuts a little smoother. Overall a direct upgrade and arguably the best one handed melee weapon. At the very least it will last the longest out of all of them, and cuts the smoothest as well.

Samedi’s Hand

Samedi’s Hand is a hidden recipe and the only claw or fist based weapon in the game. It essentially amounts to a pair of brass knuckles with a couple of sharp blades coming out of it. Samedi’s Hand can be pretty unwieldly until you’re used to it, but offers similar stabbing action to the Shiv or Night Shift, while being a little more inflexible to use. Though it is very durable, and looks really cool.

Esteemed Mortal

The Esteemed Moral is a hidden recipe, and is definitely the largest and most menacing melee weapon in all of The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinner’s flooded New Orleans. The buzz saw blades at the head of this thing easily chop through and piece of a walker that you want it to, and this blade will last you quite a while. Though like the Bayou Slugger it is heavy and a little unwieldly, and will take more stamina to swing than a lighter alternative, like the Grass Clipper, would.

Bows

Laminated Bow

The Laminated Bow is your basic bow in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, and is made at the Survival Workbench. Bows are the only quiet ranged weapons in the game, so taking anything out at a distance will require one, or really great skill at throwing melee weapons.

The bow is intuitive to use, if a little hard to aim until you get good at it. Also there are three arrow types, your typical pointed sticks, noise making “lure” arrows which are some firecrackers tied to a pointed stick, and a hidden recipe for explosive arrows, which is a small bomb tied to a pointed stick.

Compound Bow

The Compound Bow is a hidden recipe that is basically an upgraded version of the Laminated Bow with more durability and greater shot power. Overall it is a direct upgrade, and there is no downside over the Laminated Bow except possibly for the look of the weapon making aiming it a little different.

Explosives

Nail Bomb

The Nail Bomb is made at the Gear Workbench like all other explosives, and packs quite a punch. They’re easy to use, just throw it far away, and if it hits the ground hard enough it will explode.

Just be careful not to drop it at your feet, because you will easily kill yourself that way.

Sticky Proximity Mine

The Sticky Proximity Mine is a hidden recipe in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. To use it just throw it at a surface, the ground, a wall, a doorframe, wherever enemies will be. When it contacts a surface the mine will stop moving and stick to it. After a second or two it will arm. Then when an enemy comes close it will beep for a few moments and explode. Overall it is a very easy and effective trap. Just throwing it into a crowd of enemies and then running away is also pretty effective.

Timed Noise Maker Bomb

The Timed Noise Maker Bomb is a hidden recipe and a very effective tool for getting walkers off of your back, or taking out a crowd of walkers. Just dial the egg timer on the back to however many seconds you want it to wait before it explodes, and throw it.

The bomb will then make a ton of noise, attracting all nearby walkers, until the time is up. When it is the bomb explodes. This is a great way to clear an area of walkers, or two get walkers chasing you off of your back. Though the explosion of the bomb might just attract more.

Pistols

.30 Revolver

The .30 Caliber Revolver is the first gun that you can craft at the Guns Workbench, and is the weakest gun in the game. Still, a .30 Caliber bullet can punch through a walker’s skull as good as anything else, though for such a weak round this gun as a lot of recoil, and the revolver shoots very slowly, with a noticeable delay between shots.

All of the guns in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners have a lot of recoil. While you can fight human opponents with this weapon, you would be at a disadvantage to do so. The .30 Revolver is reloaded by opening the chamber with the A/X button (on Oculus/Meta Devices) and bringing bullets from your bullet pouch to it one at a time, then closing the chamber with the A/X button or by closing it with your hand or using the force of moving your wrist quickly to slap it shut. At least this lengthy reloading process means it will never jam.

.45 Revolver

The .45 Revolver and its ammo are hidden recipes which are are basically better versions of the .30 Revolver and ammo. While it has more recoil, the .45 Revolver does significantly more damage than the .30 Revolver does. Though it still has a low rate of fire and must be reloaded in the same way as the .30 Revolver does, and also does not jam.

Overall the .45 Revolver is a direct upgrade over the .30 Revolver, but its ammo is not nearly as common to find, so you’ll have to craft it.

FS92M 9MM Pistol

The FS92M 9mm Pistol is the most powerful pistol in the game. While it does less damage per round than the .45 Revolver, it holds almost three times as many rounds as the .45 (16 in the clip and 1 in the chamber) and has a much faster rate of fire. This, coupled with possibly the lowest recoil of all firearms, makes the FS92M extremely deadly.

Since the FS92M is reloaded via magazine instead of via individual rounds, reloading is faster as well. Just get rid of the old magazine by pressing the A/X button (on Oculus/Meta Devices) and then replace it with a new one. If there is no round in the chamber you’ll have to pull the slide back.

Be careful when this pistol gets to about half durability though, jams will become very common, to the point where this gun becomes hard to use when about 1/4 durability is left. To unjam you’ll have to pull the slide back. This severely slows down how quickly you fire and so takes away the FS92M’s biggest upside. Generally you’ll burn through more ammunition using this firearm, but it quickly outpaces the competition with sheer volume of fire.

Shotguns and Rifles

Double Barrel Shotgun

The Double Barrel Shotgun is the first two handed firearm that you can craft at the Guns Workbench of The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. While it may not seem like much, it is very powerful at close ranges and easy to use. It has a huge spread of pellets, and so is best fired at close ranges. Still, it can easily take a walker’s head off if you just aim high. Though even at medium range the huge spread of the pellets can make it hardly effective at all.

After firing it twice, just reload it by pressing the A/X buttons (on Meta/Oculus devices) and taking two new shells from your ammo pouch and placing them into the empty chambers. Press the A/X button or flip the chambers closed yourself, and you’re ready to fire again. This means that the Double Barrel can be very slow to fire with this cumbersome reloading process. Though at least it will never jam.

Bolt Action Rifle

The Bolt Action Rifle is the opposite of the Double Barrel as it fires only a single bullet, and is very accurate and precise. Each bullet is extremely powerful too, capable of killing humans with a single body shot. Wherever you line up the sights, that is where the bullet will land, and whatever that bullet hits won’t forget it.

The big downside of this firearm is its reloading process. As the name implies you need to pull back the bolt after every shot, you don’t get two tries like the double barrel. Pulling the bolt back is a little clunky, and never feels really smooth or intuitive. This is a problem a lot of VR games have with bolt action weapons.

While you can quickly fire again after cycling another round, the precision of the weapon also makes it easy to miss shots in a high stress situation and quickly run through the five bullets in the magazine. To refresh the gun with bullets the magazine also needs to be replaced by pressing the A/X button (on Meta/Oculus devices) to drop the old one before replacing it with a new one.

This is what keeps the Hunting Rifle from being a great gun, how hard it is to cycle and reload. Especially because it is terrible at taking out walkers, since any bullet will do against a skull, all of that power goes to waste.

Nova 1014

The Nova 1014 is the last firearm that you get access to by upgrading the Guns Workbench, and wow is it worth it. This is arguably the most powerful firearm in the game due to its high rate of fire (when you get the hang of it), ease of aiming, and high damage per shot. Since the Nova 1014 is a shotgun its bullets have a spread to them, though a much less significant spread than the double barrel. This means that you won’t need to aim with exact precision, and the cone of pellets does a ton of damage, often killing human enemies in a single shot, and easily taking out a walker’s brain.

You won’t need to worry even if they survive though, the pump action of the gun to chamber another round is very quick and smooth, meaning you can get another shell out of the barrel in just a moment. Reloading individual shells into the chamber does take a while, but with a capacity of 8 shells (the same shells as the Double Barrel uses) you will hardly ever run out of ammo in combat. The one downside is that the Nova can jam, but to clear a jam you just need to work the pump an extra couple of times. Luckily jams generally only happen at very low durability with this gun.

If you want the classic zombie apocalypse shotgun experience, then the Nova 1014 Pump Action Shotgun has got it for you.

Lever Action Rifle

The Lever Action Rifle is a hidden recipe that is a fantastic upgrade to the Bolt Action Rifle. It uses the same ammo type as the Bolt Action and has all of the same strengths. Similar damage per shot and fantastic accuracy. The Lever Action has the upside of also helping one of the Bolt Action’s greatest strengths, its terrible bolt cycling and reloading times.

The Lever Action, as the name would make you think, rechambers new rounds by pulling the lever on its bottom, instead of cycling a bolt. While it can be a little annoying and unwieldly at times, it is far better and faster than the Bolt Action’s bolt, and so lets you fire many more of its powerful rounds far faster.

This makes the Lever Action a clearly superior upgrade. The one downside is each bullet needs to be reloaded individually into the side of the rifle. Though with a huge ammo capacity of 12 rounds this is hardly ever a problem.

AR-416 5.56MM Rifle

The AR-416 Rifle is a hidden recipe assault rifle that is the only automatic weapon in the game. Though if you’d prefer something slower there are burst and semi automatic fire modes as well, that can be selected by putting one hand over the selector switch on the side of the rifle and pressing trigger. This and the huge magazine capacity of 30 rounds (with 1 in the chamber as well) makes the AR-416 the gun capable of sustaining the greatest volume of fire in the game.

That being said it’s not perfect. Each bullet does decent damage, though like the FS92M 9mm its strength is in the amount of bullets being fired. So when your stream of rounds touches a human opponent they’ll melt away. Though the recoil, like all guns in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, is awfully high. This makes landing headshots on walkers a little difficult, and no matter what you’re shooting at you will likely use a lot of ammo.

Loading is done by pressing the A/X button (on Oculus/Meta Devices) to release the old magazine, and then placing a new magazine in the catch. If the chamber is empty you’ll need to pull back the tab at the rear of the firearm (just above the buttstock and above the grip, it will glow) to load a round into the chamber. The AR-416 is also prone to jamming when it is at low durability, and pulling that tab back will also clear a jam.

All in all if you’re a good shot there is no better weapon than the AR-416, though compensating for its recoil can be frustrating. As far as naked damage output goes though, there is nothing better in The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners.

Paradox of Hope VR Could Be the Next Best VR Survival Game

Paradox of Hope VR released to Steam Early Access on September 15, 2022. It has quickly become obvious that this game has a ton of promise. It takes mechanics and lessons of other successful and very fun VR games of the Survival Genre such as The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners and Into the Radius VR, and puts them into a compelling post apocalyptic setting.

This is a setting of dark metro tunnels and hulking mutants, of humanity struggling for survival in a darkness of its own making, in tunnels of their own construction. Basically the setting of the popular Metro 2033 series of books and games. Except now in Virtual Reality.

What’s so Great About it?

Paradox of Hope VR brings the same tense feeling of survival against the unknown and unknowable as Into the Radius VR does, in that way they are similar. They also both take place in Russia, though they are also different. While Into the Radius VR or The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners has you walk through a wide and expansive world covered in buildings and places to hide, Paradox of Hope VR takes place in decaying metro tunnels under post-Soviet post-Nuclear Russia.

The corridors are generally dark, damp, and full of strange radioactive weeds. Not to mention mutants, and when those mutants find you, there is no building to run and hide in. They’re faster than you, once they have your scent, there’s nothing you can do but win the fight. The cramped metro tunnels offer no other escape.

Since everything is underground, light is a resource you will constantly need. Since everything is old, lights won’t always work. While you always have a lighter on your chest, it’s glow is limited at best. Get your hands on a headlamp, though it’s expensive. So be careful, even that fancy headlamp will turn to dust if you perish out in the tunnels.

The constant ambience of the groans of old steel and concrete, and the quiet whispering that may be in your own mind, or may be something more sinister, are your other companion in the tunnels. When you are picking through the abandoned stations for whatever scraps you can sell you will be lucky if the corpses are your only companions. Mutants dwell in the darkness as well, and those mutants will not stop once they detect you. Try to sneak by, or shoot your way through, there are no other options.

Game Modes

So how are these explorations and fights through the old tunnels structured? Into two game modes, Story and Raid. Story plays out a lot like Metro 2033 does. It is planned to be a series of mostly linear missions that follow a narrative. What is available now during the limited Early Access release is already impressive, atmospheric, and intriguing. Saying anything more about it would spoil the surprise of the experience, but if you are familiar with any of the Metro games, or linear story driver shooters in general, you will know what to expect.

Until the story is completed the bulk of the game will lie in the “Raids” game mode. Where the story is a linear and set experience meant to follow a set progression pattern and series of encounters, Raids is exactly the opposite. Instead of doing the same mission again, each is randomized. Instead of always receiving the same equipment at the same time, what you have to survive with is up to your own discretion, and your monetary success at scavenging the metro tunnels.

The progression of the Raids game mode in Paradox of Hope VR is centered on scavenging for things to sell to get Rubles, and completing missions to unlock higher reputation levels. Reputation levels allow you to purchase more powerful, versatile, and expensive equipment. While Rubles are of course needed to afford anything, like new equipment, as well as bullets, health kits, air filters for your gas mask when traversing toxic areas, and accessories and mods for your guns.

There’s a whole modification system for weapons in Paradox of Hope VR. Oh, and make sure to keep your guns clean between raids, or they might jam. Not to mention keeping your magazines full of bullets. Overall the more you can afford, the higher your chance of getting to the exit and successfully leaving a raid alive.

If you die in a Raid you do not load a save, you do not start over. You are forced back to your home base with nothing but a Makarov on your hip. All your equipment, except for permanent upgrades, is lost. Hope you had some spares stashed, or some rubles saved, because otherwise you will have a really tough time in the next raid.

Broke and bulletless you might be able to take on one mutant with a knife, otherwise you’ll have to sneak through. Raids are procedurally generated and completely randomized. If you’re a little smart and a little lucky you can get through an entire map without running into a single mutant. Just keep your ears open, the breathing of the huge beasts can be heard, and stay in the darkness. If they can’t see you, they can’t eat you.

Continuing Development

The story of Paradox of Hope VR is not yet done, and the Raids mode, as fun as it is, definitely has a ceiling of progression that you hit really quickly. Soon you’ll be able to recognize the rooms you’ve seen before, and the repetition of it will sap away the suspense. Fortunately, being an early access game, Paradox of Hope VR is still in development, and there is bound to be loads more content coming.

The entire development team currently consists of one person, and despite all the early access bugs and jankiness that are present at the time of writing, their ability to accomplish so much already only adds to the sense of anticipation at the potential of this Virtual Reality Survival Shooter. If you want to see what’s been done so far, you won’t regret it, give them some love on Steam where you can buy it for 19.99$.

All Into the Radius VR Maps and Locations

Into the Radius VR, whether on the Oculus Quest 2 or PCVR, has 5 dangerous locations that comprise the Pechorsk Radius. Here are the maps for each of those locations and a quick rundown on what to expect and how to be ready to explore each of them.

• Pervomay Route

• Bolotky Village

• Pobeda Factory

• Kolkhoz Zarya

• Pechorsk Castle

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Pervomay Route

The first map of Into the Radius VR is Pervomay Route. It marks the edge of the Pechorsk Radius and is lightly wooded and hilly with a scattering of buildings. As you would expect, this map is the least risky to explore. You can navigate your way through it with just the Makarov and Shotgun available to you at the beginning of the game. You enter this map from your home base at the bottom, and can exit to Bolotky Village in two places on top of the map, and to Pobeda Factory on the right side of the map.

There are enemies in the Pervomay Route, but they are the weakest in the game, primarily Fragments, with some Phantoms and Spawns thrown in. Mimic Policemen are the first real challenge here, so be especially careful when you start exploring past the large field of craters covered in anomalies. The two story building in the center of the map spawns at least two Mimic Policemen and the train station will have quite a few as well.

The anomalies of this area are mostly distortion and reflector anomalies, which are generally easy to see with the naked eye and can be detected with bolts. Though the interiors of buildings often have the Black Grass anomaly inside, especially in the small walled in base with the semicircular quonset huts. Luckily Black Grass is easy to deal with provided you have a flashlight or two. There is a gas anomaly in the top right section of the map here, which you can tell by the clouds that glow green. Make sure to wear a gas mask when entering them

Despite being the least dangerous area, Pervomay Route remains relevant even when you have explored further into the Radius. Even in the late game there are a number of anomaly fields that will spawn valuable artifacts after every tide, and valuable devices such as Weather Monitors and Camera Traps to be found. Clearing out all of the Pervomay Route map will net a few thousand at least.

Bolotky Village

The next Into the Radius VR map is Bolotky Village. It is hilly on the bottom, though it quickly levels out into a large swampy center and a densely wooded northern section. There is a route from your home base in the bottom left corner of the map, as well as entrances from Pervomay Route in the bottom right corner of the map. The top of the map contains exits to Pobeda Factory, and there is also a route to Kolkhoz Zarya in the top left corner of the map.

While you can go to Pobeda Factory first, you should not as Bolotky Village is much more manageable, and the main missions will take you here first anyway. While it is possible to fight your way through Bolotky Village with a Makarov and a Double Barreled Shotgun, it is much easier to defeat the enemies here if you upgrade your weapons to something from security levels two or three.

You may also want to upgrade your ammunition to AP or P+ rounds, though it will be expensive, as Bolotky Village is the first location to contain armored enemies. There aren’t too many, so more expensive ammunition is not really worth it. Enough regular FMJ rounds will still punch through armor sooner or later. In addition both Seekers and Mimic Commandos make an appearance in Bolotky Village. While Seekers are all over the place, Mimic Commandoes are only found in the large construction site with the yellow crane hanging over it in the top right hand corner of the map.

More anomalies are also added to Bolotky Village. In addition to those found in Pervomay Route, Bolotky Village includes the Web Anomaly, which is especially dangerous at night, and cannot be detected or disarmed with bolts. Be careful and try to spot the wispy tendrils of the web, especially in areas with a lot of trees.

The Bolt anomaly can also be found in the flooded basement of the construction site next to the crane, and also in the woods on the north of the map, and beside the nearby entrances to Pobeda Factory. The Bolt anomaly is the quickest killer, so be careful when you hear its snapping and popping.

The village section of the Bolotky Village in the bottom left part of the map, and the construction site with the crane in the top right part are the most dangerous. While the village is more manageable the construction site is by far the most difficult combat challenge so far and will be your first big test of your fighting capabilities. Just like in Pervomay Route there are plenty of anomaly fields scattered about, with enemies that won’t take a ton of resources to overcome between them, so this is a very profitable map even in the late game.

Pobeda Factory

The third map in Into the Radius VR is Pobeda Factory. It is largely flat and covered in roads and other industrial leftovers, with the exception of the deep ravines and canyons in the top left side of the map. The Factory itself dominates half of the map, and consists of a few large warehouses, offices, and production buildings ringed in by a wide fence.

There is no entrance to Pobeda Factory directly from your home base. However it is accessible from both Pervomay Route on the right side, Bolotky Village on the bottom right and bottom left, and Kolkhoz Zarya on the top right and top left. While you can go to Kolkhoz Zarya First, it’s much easier to tackle Pobeda Factory before Kolkhoz Zarya, and the main missions will lead you to Pobeda Factory first anyway.

Pobeda Factory is the first area where wearing armor becomes very necessary, as there are a ton of Mimic Commandoes here, accompanied by Mimic Policemen and every other creature you have fought so far. The amount of armored enemies also increases dramatically in Pobeda Factory, so be ready. A rifle of some kind is highly recommended here. There are even Mimic Snipers, both in the tower above the ravines in the top left hand corner of the map, and at the blockhouses guarding the entrance to Kolkhoz Zarya there.

More new anomalies make their appearance in the Pobeda Factory. There is the Stomper Anomaly, which looks as though a giant invisible monster is stomping along the ground. The stomps of force will continue in a straight path, so simply keep your distance and you can avoid this anomaly easily. Getting caught in it will crush you and detonate any explosives stored on your body.

The Scythe anomaly can be found in the Factory Complex itself, and is most recognizable for the long translucent circle that expands when you are near it, as well as the loud noise it creates. This noise will attract enemies in a fairly wide radius, so once you hear it prepare for a fight, unless you’ve already cleared the area.

Pobeda Factory has some great stashes if you know where to look, and some storehouses and other places where you might find some technological loot and supplies. There are also a few anomaly fields that can yield artifacts. Overall Pobeda Factory is a less dangerous if you avoid the large factory buildings, walled in office building in the southwest, and the blockhouses at the end of the ravine. There are large concentrations of enemies there and outside of the main missions, little reward for fighting them.

Kolkhoz Zarya

The fourth map of Into the Radius VR is Kolkhoz Zarya. This map is a mixture of flat plains and tree laden hills, with a large village, greenhouses, and a train station to explore. An entrance from your home base can be found in the top left corner of the map, right next to a path to the final area, Pechorsk Castle, on the top. A path to Bolotky village is in the top right, while the bottom right and bottom left hold avenues towards Pobeda Factory. Kolkhoz Zarya is where the end game begins. Only come here if you are well equipped and prepared for a lot of fighting.

That is because the enemies in Kolkhoz Zarya are denser and more numerous than ever before, not to mention more dangerous. Mimic Commandoes are joined by Mimic Hunters, which are basically Mimic Commandoes but better armed and more accurate.

Sliders also join the fray, which means a deadly combination of close quarters and ranged enemies for you to deal with. Even if you clear out the whole map of enemies, you will never be completely safe in Kolkhoz Zarya due to the BTR wandering around. Be alert for its searchlight, and run if it spots you. There is no viable way to destroy the BTR.

Sniper Rifles can be very useful in Kolkhoz Zarya due to its numerous ranged enemies and long distances, but some fighting in close quarters is also inevitable in locations such as the greenhouses. By now you have seen every anomaly the game has to throw at you, so you will have nothing new to contend with there. Be careful in the wide open spaces of Kolkhoz Zarya. It is very easy to get pinned down by the BTR or the excess of Mimic Hunters while Sliders or other melee enemies close in on you.

If you never seriously considered stealth before in Into the Radius VR, then Kolkhoz Zarya might be a good place to use a silencer and travel at night. Otherwise bring a lot of ammunition and don’t get caught in the open. Even the spaces in between large concentrations of enemies are very dangerous.

Pechorsk Castle

Pechorsk Castle is the final map of Into the Radius VR. It has a single entrance from Kolkhoz Zarya, and can be quickly accessed due to it being so close to the Kolkhoz Zarya route to your home base. Pechorsk Castle is the most dangerous area in the Zone, and sits right below the large floating orb that dominates the area. Out of all locations this is the one to be the most prepared to tackle. It is recommended to fully equip yourself with the best gear before entering the gates of Pechorsk Castle.

The outskirts of the castle consist of a couple of dilapidated buildings, one of which you can sleep in, and a few Phantoms milling around. Past the buildings is the bridge leading across the moat and a little section underneath the wall that can be walked. The outskirts and moat have a few crates to loot and some other odds and ends to pick up. The real danger and the real reward lies inside of the castle, but its gates will remain closed until you pick up the final main mission.

Once you are on the final main mission of the game the front gate will swing open and you can walk inside. Inside is a maze of tight corridors ending in several wide open spaces on the walls and inner plaza. You will need to fight both in close quarters and at medium to long ranges. Mostly you will need a lot of ammunition and healing items to shoot your way through. Be careful of being picked off when rounding a corner.

Quickly peaking out and back in can minimize your deaths. If multiple ranged Mimics keep a bead on you while you are standing still you can easily get picked off. Some areas have only one entrance. There are also multiple anomaly fields to navigate through. Once you are in Pechorsk Castle your goal is the keep at the center. Good Luck.

There you are, all of the maps in Into the Radius VR and some information on them. Into the Radius is a fantastic game for both PCVR and the Quest 2. Pick it up on the Oculus store for 29.99$ or on Steam for 29.99$.

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• All Anomalies in Into the Radius VR and How to Survive Them

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• 9 Into the Radius VR Tips and Tricks to Help You Survive the Zone