How to Survive

This one holds a special place in my heart because I really liked the crafting system in it. The (first) trailer briefly touches on it at the end, but you can build your guns with parts you discover around the islands. Sometimes that means starting with a grip, manual compressor, a small tube, and a 'hardware box' (think all kinds of scrap like duct tape) to make a pistol. But if you find, say, a diving tank venturing forwards, you can- at any point of the game, disassemble your gun and rebuild it. Replacing your manual compressor with the tank and turning it into an automatic pistol. Adding different tubes (muzzles) will change the gun dramatically- and that's just guns. Sooo mannnnny games nowadays just toss a recipe for a crafting station (or worse: give you an NPC), tell you to gather the stuff, press a button and you're done. That's always felt so boring to me. Here, though it is a lot of extra steps, you feel like you're crafting your weapons from scratch. You're interacting with your parts: You're making a Stablizer for your bow with the junk you find. You're making a lens scope out of trash- because that's all that you would find in some sort of vacation island. No military to come bail you out or to find some M60 laying on the floor so you can Rambo it up. You MAKE the freaking Machinegun! You MAKE the explosive bombs and arrows, the molotovs: tying it to fresh meat and tossing it at a crowd of zombies to watch them burn. Everything feels personal, like YOU created all of this from nothing. Not some NPC, not some workbench that "magically turns 10 copper ingots into a breastplate". Your survival relies on what you can find and your creativity here. The game is really showing it's age now, and the second one... Falls into the same tropes like so many others did (especially on the crafting systems). How To Survive has its problems nowadays, but there's also just something so... Special about it. Something you can't find elsewhere in other games. That's probably why I keep coming back to it every few years, and I highly recommend it on sale. Not so much the 'Third Person version' of the game either (aiming is a little wonky there) but if you're looking for an old but interesting crafting concept, this is one I really wish was brought back.

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I didn't have great hopes starting it but I eventually found some fun aspects about the game. The mix of survival tactics and zombie chaos is addictive. The character progression and crafting system are great as well. Story/campaign was progressive and leveling was fair. I don't mind picking up the game to play again at a later time.

How to Survive is a fun zombie survival game with a good crafting system and co-op play, but it can feel repetitive and lacks real challenge. It’s a good casual game for short sessions, especially in co-op, but might not hold your attention long if played solo. :)

I was really enjoying this game to start, but inventory management has begun to rear its ugly head and just take away from the fun of the game for me. Putting this down for now, but recommended for those who like a more casual survival game and/or zombies.

[h1]A Solid Blueprint for Zombie Survival Fun[/h1] How to Survive is an action-RPG and survival game that throws players onto a remote tropical archipelago overrun by zombies. Unlike many horror-focused survival games, this title leans heavily into the addictive mechanics of resource management and action combat, delivering a highly functional and engaging experience. The game is highly praised for its core loop, which involves scavenging materials (wood, food, water), crafting over a hundred useful tools and weapons, and progressing through a skill tree to make your character more resilient against the endless zombie horde. The atmosphere is often elevated by the presence of a quirky, sometimes morbid sense of humor. This is best exemplified by the constantly present Kovolsky, a mysterious survival expert who guides the player through sarcastic and heavily illustrated survival tips. These tips, presented in a handbook format, provide genuine gameplay advice alongside dark comedic commentary on the apocalypse, giving the game a unique, tongue-in-cheek personality that sets it apart from its genre peers. The game is at its best when emphasizing the strategic element of survival, particularly the distinct day and night cycles. During the day, threats are manageable, allowing you to focus on gathering and crafting. However, once night falls, the atmosphere becomes tense and dangerous, as faster, stronger zombies emerge from the darkness. This constant need to prepare for the night is a compelling motivator. Furthermore, the game excels in its cooperative mode, providing satisfying local and online co-op play that makes facing the challenges alongside a friend genuinely enjoyable. However, the game is not without its flaws. Reviews often point out that the quest design is quite repetitive, mainly boiling down to fetch quests that send you across the islands. The writing is generally weak, and the plot is minimal, serving only as thin tissue connecting the survival zones. Despite a few technical quirks and occasional visual monotony as the environments blend together, How to Survive delivers a deep, satisfying, and highly replayable survival experience. The progression system, while robust, eventually reveals a substantial grind. To truly tackle the late-game zones and boss variants, maximizing the skill tree and fully upgrading high-tier weapons becomes mandatory. This often forces players into monotonous farming loops, where the necessity of accumulating large quantities of specific rare materials or experience points replaces pure survival tension with repetition, dulling the excitement of exploration in the endgame. [h3]The Good:[/h3] Deep and addictive crafting/survival mechanics. Excellent implementation of local and online co-op multiplayer. Tense and meaningful day/night cycle that dictates strategy. [h3]The Bad:[/h3] Repetitive quest structure and minimal story depth. Occasional technical issues, including some frame rate hiccups. Combat can become monotonous later in the game. [h3]Ratings:[/h3] [b]Overall:[/b] 7 / 10 [b]Visual:[/b] 6 / 10 [b]Gameplay:[/b] 8 / 10 [b]Story:[/b] 4 / 10 [b]Audio:[/b] 6 / 10 [b]Playability:[/b] 8 / 10

I like to replay this game every once in a while. Its still fun after many years!