This Game Uses The DualShock 4 In A Really Scary Way
For all the technology packed into the PS4's DualShock 4 controller, you don't really see a lot of it used. When's the last time you bothered with the touchpad (besides pressing down on it)? When — outside of P.T. — have you ever used the microphone? At least one game is making interesting use of the DualShock 4's speaker, which is another under-the-radar feature of the gamepad.
But look out — that game is doing so in a way that might have you diving into the nearest closet.
Zombie Army 4 dropped yesterday onto PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It's basically a survival shooter, where the beings you're trying to survive are zombies. And not just any zombies – Nazi zombies. Think Wolfenstein, but if all the Nazis were raised from the dead and you got a rather graphic slow-motion look at each bone-shattering bullet you fired.
You won't find much difference in the various versions of Zombie Army 4 across platforms. But the PlayStation 4 port is special for one reason and one reason alone: the way it uses the DualShock 4.
"Play with me"
One surefire way to confirm your home is haunted is if you start hearing voices. Are there other people present? Did Alexa get activated by accident? Did you unintentionally butt-dial a friend? If none of the above check out, you might have a spirit on your hands.
Either that, or you paused Zombie Army 4 a little too long.
In one of the greatest tricks we've seen with the DualShock 4, the folks behind Zombie Army 4 actually set things up so that an extended pause session causes your controller to talk to you. It whispers "play with me" and "come back" in that raspy, echoing whisper you'll probably recognize if you've ever seen a horror movie in your life. It's incredibly disturbing — so much so, in fact, that we almost wonder if there's an option to disable it. Some people might be too creeped out.
We love it, though. It shows how much more immersive a game can be when it takes the time to use the console features available to it. Not every PlayStation 4 game has gone to such great lengths, and sometimes it can feel like the extras on the DualShock 4 weren't worth the trouble. Zombie Army 4, however, just showed us all why the speaker was a worthwhile addition. Kudos.