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‘Into the Dead’ Heads to the Oculus Rift This Year
The Oculus Rift hit store shelves today, ushering in a dazzling future of deeply immersive gaming that I suspect will prove particularly beneficial — revolutionary, even — for our favorite genre. Additionally, virtual reality is going to be an invaluable tool for developers to introduce a new way to experience many of the games we’re already playing.
This is what New Zealand-based developer PikPok is doing with their mobile horror hit Into the Dead. Originally designed for iOS, Android and Windows phones, this atmospheric first-person shooter tasks players with fleeing from a zombie apocalypse. Accomplishing this is pretty straightforward, just grab one of the guns that have been scattered about each environment and use it to carve an escape route out of a seemingly endless sea of the undead.
The goal is to survive, but there’s an assortment of optional side objectives, unlockable perks and leaderboards to keep the run ‘n gun ’em up gameplay feeling fresh.
Where Into the Dead really excels, as you can see in the trailer above, is in its visuals. It’s an attractive game, with environments and models that have a level of visual polish that betrays the technical limitations of its chosen platform.
Over the course of my playthrough, it managed, more than a few times, to be genuinely frightening. It squeezed a few yelps out of me, probably more than any mobile game has since I practiced some spectacularly poor decision-making on a crowded flight by playing Dead Space on my iPhone. I got about 4-5 shrieks in — or roughly the same number of worried glances from my fellow travelers — before I had put it away.
This game can be just as scary, only in a slightly different way. By forcing players to keep moving, it turns what could’ve been another vanilla, albeit way above-average, mobile zombie runner into a frantic, adrenaline-fueled race toward a finish line that always seems so impossibly far away.
PikPok has been steadily improving Into the Dead since it released three years ago with patches and content updates — the latest added new weapons earlier this month — and in November, Samsung Gear VR support was added, paving the way for its move to the Rift this year.
When that happens, you’ll find me in a corn field, rearranging zombie faces with a shotgun.
The countdown is on for IllFonic and Gun Interactive’s Halloween. During the Sony State of Play, the teams announced that the asymmetric stealth horror game will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on September 8, 2026! Alongside the release date announcement is a brand-new gameplay trailer, which you can view below.
Death comes to Haddonfield in Halloween, a chilling tribute to the iconic John Carpenter’s classic film. Survive or slay across the tense streets and dark corners of Haddonfield in this asymmetrical horror sandbox, taking on the role of either a desperate Civilian or the infamous Michael Myers himself. In each high-stakes cat-and-mouse match, every decision means life or death.
As a Civilian, protect the townsfolk by guiding them to safety, scavenging for weapons and supplies, and finding a phone to call the police before it’s too late. Danger lurks around every corner, and survival depends on strategy, teamwork, and quick thinking. Meanwhile, Michael Myers stalks the shadows, using terrifying abilities like Shape Jump to move unseen across the map and strike without warning in a heart-pounding experience.
“Our goal is to push the horror experience to the next level with single and multiplayer modes so players can get the most out of the game,” said Jared Gerritzen, CCO of IllFonic. “Whether they become the boogeyman or fight to protect Michael Myers’ victims, Halloween promises an unforgettable battle of fear and survival.”
In addition, the game will feature motion capture from the original Michael Myers himself, Nick Castle!
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