Into The Radius is STALKER in VR

Do you enjoy deadly anomalies? Dangerous mutants? Exploring the unknowable and untamable? Maybe a certain Ukranian series of games set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone? Do you also like VR? Well then you must try Into The Radius.

Its the STALKER experience, but in VR. Well, it’s not exactly the same. The core elements are there, and the gameplay often feels very similar, and even more immersive. Just minus the other people. There are enemies, just as enemy STALKERs and mutants would oppose you. Yet in Into The Radius they are… stranger. Shadows of something strange, not human and yet shaped like humans. Some with tentacles made of dark particles, others with guns, and all overwhelmingly hostile.

Everything is stranger. The zone of STALKER has many intact buildings, vehicles, roads. All of the scenery there forms some coherent semblance of what once was, though it is covered in mutants and anomalies. The zone of Into the Radius is… different. Eerily still and constantly covered in immovable ash. Rocky black figures stand motionless and crumble to the touch. Like silhouettes in the wake of the raw energy of a nuclear bomb. Buildings can be recognized, and vehicles too, but just as often they float in the air, or their twisted remains stand in the air. As though some invisible giant froze while dismantling it. Gravity is not a hard and fast rule anymore.

Just as the buildings of Into the Radius are recognizable as something that once was familiar, though they are mostly husks, so too is the DNA of STALKER. The hostile black figures, some made of dark swirling matter, and some just like humans but completely devoid of color, fill the role of enemy STALKERs and mutants. The anomalies, and the artifacts which are inside them, are just as common and just as deadly. Though they work in different ways, some infest buildings and are pacified by light, some twist their ways between the trees, barely visible and waiting for an unwary traveler to walk between them. The elements of STALKER are all present, but stranger, different. More unbelievable and more unnatural. Overseeing it all, in the fabled center is not a powerplant, a thing of human construction, but a giant black orb which bends light as it bends the clouds around it. Something unknowable in its makeup, origin, or purpose.

The feeling of traversing the zone of Into the Radius is akin to that of one of STALKER’s underground laboratories. The places where no other STALKERS dare roam. Danger is almost guaranteed, but what form it comes in can be unexpected, and so the oppressive and dilapidated atmosphere leaves the player constantly on their guard.

All that Into The Radius lacks is the camaraderie of other STALKERS. Instead it doubles down on an oppressive and alien atmosphere. There is nothing but the automated systems of your home base and the alien unknown of the zone to keep you company. This is possibly the most alarming difference. Nowhere in the zone of Into the Radius has friendliness or the comfort of friendly NPCs, just degrees of danger.

There is still the excitement and dread of wading through a field of anomalies, detector beeping as you draw closer to an artifact. All the while you wonder if your next step will land you in a anomaly and your death. The tenseness of a firefight and the knowledge that the report of weapons might bring more horrors down on your head. The quiet melancholy of the ruins and monuments to long gone normalcy that you pick over for stashes of supplies. So many moments just like STALKER can be found in Into the Radius. So if you’re hankering for the release of STALKER 2, but want something to tide yourself over, then try Into the Radius. It’s pretty great.

The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Factions - The Reclaimed

The waterlogged and zombie infested world of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is filled with living people. People fighting and struggling to survive even after a year of trying to live in a world where everything is upside down, even the cycle of life and death. In the city of New Orleans most of these people are part of one of two societies. That of the Tower, or that of the Reclaimed. Those lost souls that are left to fend for themselves and are considered doomed to become another member of the hordes of the dead which roam the city streets are called “Exiles”.

The Tower has already been covered here in a previous article. So let’s delve into the product of The Tower’s heavy handedness, and it’s worst enemy, The Reclaimed.

Rebels Without a Cause

The Reclaimed began with the exile of Jean-Baptiste for insubordination. He, being a ruthless person of great will, did not simply perish like so many others. JB, as he is also known, was not one of the weak who were kicked out for not pulling their weight, and not one of the strong who were willing to do anything just to remain in the Tower fold. After his exile he began raiding Tower supply lines and depots. Other exiles began to join him, and as the ranks of what would become known as The Reclaimed grew, Mama of The Tower took notice.

They sent messages, and threatened him to stop or suffer the consequences. Jean-Baptiste refused. So naturally The Tower began to send death squads to hunt him down and kill him. JB outfoxed them time after time, and left their bodies behind. One was someone who used to be a friend of his during his time in The Tower. Trip was his name. While Jean-Baptiste slept, Trip tried to sneak up and cut the rebel’s throat. He was not successful, and after besting Trip JB dragged his still living body to the Southern Bump, a highly trafficked exit from The Tower, and hung him upside down. Trip bled out there, with a note pinned to his chest saying “Keep ‘em coming.”

With that the people of The Tower began to fear Jean-Baptiste, and more exiles who hated The Tower and its ever growing heavy-handedness and totalitarian practices joined him. The more The Tower exiled and killed, the more fled to the ranks of The Reclaimed. Skirmishes erupted all over the city of New Orleans. The Reclaimed ambushed Tower patrols and supply runs, killing many and hanging their bodies upside down just as JB had done to Trip. Mama and Georgia retaliated, but could not destroy the rebels. As Mama secluded herself and Georgia grew to greater leadership, then the reprisals became bloodier and crueler. The Reclaimed answered in kind, leading to the conflict over The Reserve that dominates The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.

The Reclaimed are the opposite of The Tower. While Tower policy focuses on extreme organization and the preservation of authority and order at any cost, The Reclaimed are basically anarchists. They are loosely organized at best, and receive little to no instruction from their de facto leader Jean-Baptiste, except through the form of his philosophical rants broadcast on the radio. While they are fierce they are more insurgents than a society.

The Reclaimed and The Tourist

The Reclaimed are not as hostile to The Tourist as The Tower are. While The Tower hold bases all around New Orleans, and will not shoot unless The Tourist attempts to enter. The Reclaimed can practically be seen as allies for most of the game. Where The Tourist must attack Tower strongholds in order to acquire parts or caches critical to finding The Reserve, often Reclaimed patrols will also attack those same strongholds. Unlike The Tower the Reclaimed never shoot The Tourist simply for occupying the same space as them. Of course they will retaliate if threatened or attacked, but who wouldn’t? It would be foolish to fight The Reclaimed for most of the game, because they pose no threat and do not bar the way to any resources or loot.

The Reclaimed are few in number compared to The Tower, and the results of their attacks can be seen in the upside down corpses dressed in Tower blue. As the game progresses this is seen more and more in buildings that were once Tower strongholds. The Reclaimed slowly reclaim New Orleans, and you help them in that by fighting The Tower. Though in the Aftershocks DLC all bets are off. The Reclaimed fight the player just as The Tower do, as they are just as desperate for the remnants of The Reserve scattered around New Orleans.

Conclusion

According to Jean-Baptiste himself The Reclaimed simply wish to “Live purposeful lives, reclaim the world and our humanity…” That is doubtful from the actions of The Reclaimed throughout the game, and Jean-Baptiste’s own. The Reclaimed live as The Tower do, simply without a single authority to hold them together. They scavenge New Orleans and fight The Tower over supplies. They do not start farms or schools, or reclaim any semblance of society or culture. They are simply rebels driven purely by hatred for the cruelty of The Tower that cast them out. If The Tower collapsed and ceased existing, then The Reclaimed would likely fight each other over resources or drift away into the flooded streets of New Orleans.

JB’s philosophy rings false, especially since his followers do not share it. He states a hatred for Survivalism and a dependence on doing whatever it takes to eke out a bare existence on the scraps of a world destroyed by the undead. It is clear in the actions of his followers that they do not share those views. They fight over The Reserve and, later, the Reserve caches, just as The Tower does. JB himself only lived through stealing Tower supplies. They are survivalists just as much as The Tower are, and the only thing binding them together is not a desire to reclaim or create, but to destroy. Since Jean-Baptiste does not have the control to direct The Reclaimed to a better path, then they will fail in time just as surely as The Tower will.

See our previous article on The Tower for the Stalinist police state that started this rebellion. For more on The Reclaimed, see what Jean-Baptiste has to say for himself on Youtube.

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is available on Steam for 39.99$. It is also available on the Oculus Store for 39.99$. This is one of the best Virtual Reality experiences out there right now, with extremely polished survival gameplay and a compelling story. Not to mention an unmatched melee combat system, focusing on piercing the skull of course, because zombies. If you like zombie games then this is one you should not miss. Even if you aren’t a huge zombie culture fan, this is a game that is well worth its price tag for even a single playthrough. There’s even an Arena Survival Mode, and more free updates.

The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Factions - The Tower

The waterlogged and zombie infested world of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is filled with living people. People fighting and struggling to survive even after a year of trying to live in a world where everything is upside down, even the cycle of life and death. In the city of New Orleans most of these people are part of one of two societies. That of the Tower, or that of the Reclaimed. Those lost souls that are left to fend for themselves and are considered doomed to become another member of the hordes of the dead which roam the city streets are called “Exiles”.

Let’s start with the group that most would likely consider to be the most heinous of them all. The Tower.

A Tower Made of Sand

The Tower began as a large group of survivors with the standard zombie apocalypse dream. Find a defensible place with enough room to house a lot of people and supplies, and make it safe. So they chose a large skyscraper in the business district and got to work. Many of them died while cleaning their new home of the undead. Now those who perished during the founding of The Tower are martyrs in a mythically poignant founding story. They are the dead half of the Romulus and Remus which founded their society. A society that the Romulus of the story, a Haitian woman called Mama, so quickly turned into an authoritarian society.

Even with a secure home things were not easy. People desperate for any kind of security flocked to the new safe haven. The Tower inevitably had a strain on resources, and so sent patrols all over New Orleans to gather what was needed. The strain became greater and greater as the population grew. Though Mama was powerful she had a great burden to a great many people, and so quotas on supplies had to begin. Those quotas, if not met, would likely result in harsh punishments from a leader who felt a great obligation to feed her people. So, inevitably, corners were cut to meet those quotas. A group of hunters put human meat on the menu to make ends meet and numbers add up to the correct amount.

They were caught when the human meat caused an outbreak of disease that killed many, and so the hand of control had to tighten. It tightened into a society of secret policepersons. After the cannibals were sentenced to death, paranoia began to reign. People caught going against Mama’s will were either exiled, a fate many considered akin to death, or simply killed by forcing them to walk off of the heights of the skyscraper itself. That is how The Tourist meets The Tower. As a desperate regime that becomes more brutal by the day, and mostly to its own members, but also as the most powerful and omnipresent force in New Orleans. Other than the dead themselves, of course.

The Tower is the ultimate representation of the order that is created in trying times of interregnum. Brutal because it has to be, and when times get tough even more brutal. All in a vain attempt to hold on to order in a world thrown into chaos. Mama might have been a good leader, but she stepped down when things became too difficult, and her right hand woman Georgia took over. It was likely Georgia who encouraged such harsh measures in order to keep control. While not stated explicitly, Georgia’s will seems to have overtaken Mama’s own, and the strain was too much for the old woman, so she secluded herself. While it seemed that Mama was the one imposing harsh laws, in reality it was likely Georgia’s bloodlust and desire for absolute control that caused those orders to be given.

It is by Georgia’s hand that The Tower becomes the Stalinist society of snitches that it does. Closed off to outsiders and quick to use force against any threat internal or external. Georgia encourages even harsher measures as the game’s story goes on. Those thought to be weak are thrown out, not worth resources which are becoming more scarce. No more exiles, just execute those who dissent. Do not simply ignore Exiles. Kill all of them in an area before they become a threat, or join The Reclaimed.

The Tourist vs. The Tower

The Tower’s patrols are well armed, organized, and numerous. So they are naturally a suitable enemy for The Tourist. Throughout the game The Tourist is forced into conflict with The Tower in order to gain access to The Reserve, via the auspices of May, who will be discussed more later. Even if the player, as The Tourist, feels no disgust or hatred to The Tower by learning of their atrocities, or is convinced of the necessity of their harsh stance by reading their propaganda posters, they are forced to infiltrate Tower strongholds. Unless they sympathize with the tower so much that they kill May, who sends them against The Tower in exchange for good opportunities to steal supplies and weapons. In the Aftershocks DLC it is even harder to avoid fighting The Tower, as they are the main opponent guarding multiple Reserve caches. It seems that conflict with The Tower is inevitable for The Tourist.

It may not be impossible to never fight The Tower without killing May, but if it is it would be damn hard, and require sneaking around their guards in order to steal the objective. It is much simpler to fight them, and at the end of the day feel some comfort in knowing that the people who were killed likely would have stabbed their own family members just to stay safe. Those are the people that remain in The Tower. Those ruthless enough to do anything for survival, or those physically strong enough to be accepted, but weak enough to not want to strike out alone no matter what they are told to do.

Conclusion

Georgia’s brutality is easy to hate when taken at face value. It is easy to judge such actions on moral grounds when playing a game in comfort, for relaxation. It is easy to not think of the pervasive fear that must accompany a world gone to hell, and the desire of regular people who simply want security so badly that they will trust someone who is clearly a ruthless despot in order to get it. It is unfortunate that Georgia’s ideology is simply not suited to longevity. Such a system inevitably collapses sooner rather than later, because fear of being executed overcomes fear of the undead chaos that lurks outside those walls. One day those walls may seem more of a cage to be escaped from than a bulwark of safety. It was that fear that lead to the creation of The Reclaimed.

See our article on The Reclaimed for more on the factions of New Orleans in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners. They are The Tower’s worst enemy, and also a product of its own beliefs.

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is available on Steam for 39.99$. It is also available on the Oculus Store for 39.99$. This is one of the best Virtual Reality experiences out there right now, with extremely polished survival gameplay and a compelling story. Not to mention an unmatched melee combat system, focusing on piercing the skull of course, because zombies. If you like zombie games then this is one you should not miss. Even if you aren’t a huge zombie culture fan, this is a game that is well worth its price tag for even a single playthrough. There’s even an Arena Survival Mode, and more free updates.