I also like anything to do with zombies. I know they've become so overdone in gaming, and it's been a while since there was a zombie game worth playing, but I still really enjoy anything to do with zombies. Hell, it's the reason I keep watching The Walking Dead, despite me admitting time and time again that it's not that good of a show.
Zombies games have stagnated, much like their subject matter left out in the rain, but there are a few games worth playing. Below are some zombie games that I don't hate, in no particular order. Please note, some of these games are not that good, and I like them only for reasons known to me, take each game with a grain of salt and decided for yourself whether you'd like it or not.
State of Decay
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State of emergency.
Easily the best zombie game in recent memory. I won't spend to much time on this, as I already wrote about it in my last post, but it's worth mentioning again. State of Decay is an excelent idea of what a zombie game should be, mixing stealth, survival, resource management, and a whole lot of zombie killing together in an awesome budget cake. I strongly suggest the Breakdown DLC that does away with the bland story and lets you craft your own tale of survival. The Lifeline DLC also offers a cool new map with some interesting ideas, but it's only worth it if you groove on the base game and want some more. Definitely worth getting for any serious zombie fan.
Day Z
http://vgboxart.com/boxes/PC/48108-dayz.png
people suck.
I'll admit, I haven't had a chance to play the standalone version of the popular ARMA 2 zombie mod, but I do have a few dozen hours logged on the original mod, and I've been informed there's not that much different in the full game. This is a good thing, since I think Rocket Hall nailed the idea of Day Z on the first try. Day Z isn't about the zombies, it's about the people. A reoccurring theme in zombie fiction is that man is the true monster, and the undead are just a reflection of our most basic selves, empty husks that only seek to feed on others. Day Z is the first game to get this idea right, removing all NPC interaction and letting the players have the run of the place. There have been plenty of stories to come out of Day Z that prove that just letting people go nuts can create better ideas then the best head writers at a dozen AAA developer teams.
A caveat: Day Z is still in Alpha, meaning that there's a long road ahead before this is fully released. A recent interview with Rocket Hall, Day Z's creator, has revealed that the game will be moving to a new engine, so clearly the full release is a LOOOOONG way off.
Dead Island: Riptide
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Almost as hard to recommend as it is to play.
I give the Dead Island series way more credit then it deserves. These are the "not good" games I mentioned in my introduction paragraph, and I'll repeat it. The Dead Island games aren't that good. Between the two of them I chose Riptide because it is, sort of, the better game. It actually delivers on the promise of an open world, there's a greater variety of weapons, and it doesn't even pretend to be serious, instead going for a schlocky low-budget horror movie vibe, complete with god awful dialogue. Dead Island prides itself on it's melee combat, but it probably shouldn't because the melee combat barely works. It's hard to judge distance between yourself and your target in the space of a video game because there's no real depth to what your looking at. It's a 3d world on a 2d monitor. Dead Island can be fun, especially with friends, but I really don't suggest paying full price for this, and you have to be in the right headspace to actually enjoy it.
ZombiU
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the best game no one played.
I'm constantly disappointed that Ubisoft decided to drop the ZombiU IP to focus on other series. I don't want another Watchdogs, the first one was awful. I'd rather they spend some time and make a proper sequel to this surprise WiiU launch title because there's so much good about it, it just needs a second go to get it right. ZombiU is still one of my favorite WiiU titles, taking cues from the likes of Metroid, Silent Hill, and even Dark Souls. You'll suffer through authentic London landmarks in your struggle to survive, saving bullets for precious headshots and learning to control the horde. Brought down by a boring story and some boring repetitive melee combat, this is truly the most saddening game on this list.
Left 4 Dead 2
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A good time for friends and family.
Left4Dead doesn't try to be anything else. Where other zombie games try to crowbar in a plot or even a message, L4D is just happy to let you slaughter and massacre your way through literally thousands of crazy fast zombies. I decided to pick L4D2, since the PC version now contains the entire first game anyway, and the numerous additions it made like melee weapons and special ammo make it a better package then the first game. L4D is perfect for killing an hour or two with friends, and it's barely connected campaigns mean you can pick and choose whatever fits your taste. A nearly flawless co-op or competitive game with a wide selection of game modes and modifiers to keep you coming back time and time again.
Dead Rising 3
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Sledgehammer...fireaxe.
Any of the Dead Rising games would've worked, but DR3 is easily the best. It's story is simpler then the previous entries and it's ability to through thousands of zombies on screen is truly commendable. There's a simple, cathartic pleasure in the Dead Rising series, a pleasure that only plowing through 150 zombies with a sledgehammer/fireaxe hybrid can bring. The third entry is the best because of it's numerous additions to the series, namely the craft anywhere ability, vehicles, and a truly open world free of load times. And now, thanks to Capcom's very loose definition of "exclusive" you don't even need an Xbox1 to play it, so there's that too!
The Walking Dead
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You can't save everyone.
No, I'm not talking about The Walking Dead: Survival instinct, although rest assured one day that game will feel my wrath proper. Of course, I'm talking about the award winning and heart wrenching Teltale series of point&click adventure games. I won't talk to much about them since I don't want to ruin anything. Both seasons are exceptional, for different reasons, and replaying through the series again and again is a wonderful experience. I strongly recommend bringing tissues for the season one finally, and a strong stomach for most of season two.
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
http://img.gamefaqs.net/box/3/3/6/169336_front.jpg
The Good, the Bad, and the Weird.
Red Dead Redemption is one of my all time favorite games, so when they announced the zombie themed DLC I was somewhat skeptical. "What if they ruin everything good about RDR?" I wondered. Boy was I wrong. Undead Nightmare takes everything great about RDR and makes it zombified in the best way possible. There's still a massive open world to explore, a host of interesting characters to interact with, and a never ending flow of side quests and dynamic world events. The story is appropriately stupid, casting RDR's stoic hero into yet another situation he barely understands, and brings back many of the best RDR character to see how they would survive in a zombie apocalypse. There's new weapons, enemies, and side quests, and even some new mutliplayer modes. Enjoyable either as a standalone, or packaged with the already perfect main game.
And the rest...
That's my not so short list of zombie games that I liked. There's a lot of games not on that list because I didn't feel they accurately represented the zombie genre, so I'll list them here in quick succession:
Resident Evil 4 - not zombies, it says so in the game
Last of Us - barely about the zombies, more about the people
Dead Space - Not zombies
Resident Evil 4 - not zombies, it says so in the game
Last of Us - barely about the zombies, more about the people
Dead Space - Not zombies
Train Sim - way to weird, even for me
Minecraft - not about zombies
Contagion - fun, but a budget ripoff of Left 4 Dead
Killing Floor - really fun, not really zombies
System Shock 2 - technically the enemies are zombies, but not really
Contagion - fun, but a budget ripoff of Left 4 Dead
Killing Floor - really fun, not really zombies
System Shock 2 - technically the enemies are zombies, but not really
Space Pirates and Zombies - takes WAY to long for the zombies to even appear
Typing of the Dead - edutainment done right, but not quiet good enough for the list
Zombies ate my neighbors - Old school co-op, but doesn't always hold up
I have my hopes for the future of zombie games, and I love seeing what devs will do to try and make them relevant again. Dying Light and Dead Island 2 might not be as terrible as they both look, and Day Z has a long road ahead of it, so maybe one day we'll all get that zombie game we're hoping for. Until then, I'll just keep bashing brains till it stops being fun.
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