Can you escape the zombie-ravaged post-Soviet city of Zalupinsk?
[b][i]Post Soviet Zombies[/i][/b] is a top-down shooter with pixel art graphics set in an early 1990s fictional post-Soviet city which is overrun by zombies. There're 2 modes: Campaign & Survival, and in both you select 1 of 4 playable characters: Militian (policeman), Fireman, Military (KGB), or Mercenary (looks more like a mobster), each with varying stats, their own passive ability/skill, & their own unique special ability (that recharges over time). Each character starts with an upgradable melee weapon; the Militian, Military & Mercenary all have a club, while the Fireman has an axe (that's noticeably better/more damaging to start).
In Campaign mode, you fight your way thru 8 levels in an attempt to escape the zombie-ravaged city. The levels range from an apartment building, city streets, sewers, hospital, & military base. There are 3 different zombie types: normal zombies, zombie dogs (the fastest), & large zombies (the strongest). Some levels feature other humans such as unarmed civilians and armed police, military, & marauders, with marauders also acting as enemies. Throughout Campaign mode you find different types of firearms, including a handgun, shotgun, submachine gun, & sniper rifle (that shoots piercing bullets), all of which can be upgraded, though it's possible to find fully upgraded versions of some. Your firearms & melee weapon are upgraded in-between levels where you get 1 upgrade each time. Select the weapon you wanna upgrade and proceed to the next level (you're actually required to upgrade a weapon before moving on unless all your weapons are already fully upgraded). You can carry up to 3 firearms in addition to your melee weapon, and any firearm can be dropped anytime during a level so you can pick up a better/different one. The damage output & ammo capacity of each firearm varies from one firearm type to another, and from each version of a firearm type to another. In addition to the full capacity of a firearm, you're able to carry up to 300 extra rounds of ammo for each one. Ammo is dropped randomly by zombies when killed, and armed humans can also randomly drop ammo when killed and always drop the firearm they had. You always get ammo for your equipped firearm, but if you have the melee weapon equipped when walking over an ammo box then you simply don't pick up ammo. The amount of ammo you get per pickup all depends on the equipped firearm's max capacity, so if your equipped firearm has a 10-round capacity, you get 10 more rounds of ammo. There's 3 difficulties: easy, normal, & hard, and the only major discernible differences I saw between them was the amount of zombies in each level, and when playing on hard, the first level in the apartment building notably starts out with the lights off (turned back on via a breaker box) and level 4 notably doesn't have an arrow to point you in the direction you need to go the couple of times it does on easy & normal. Interestingly, zombies don't seem to do more damage on hard than on easy, contrary to what one might expect.
In Survival mode, you simply survive as long as you can before being overcome by zombies or until the timer runs out. There're 3 levels to choose from: Sewers, Town, or Military base, and then you choose your character and play. You begin with 30 seconds on the timer, but hourglasses, which upon pickup add more time, appear around the level. You start off with only your melee weapon, but firearms are never far from your starting position and are scattered about. What firearms (types & versions) you find on any level is randomized each playthrough. In addition to the aforementioned firearms from Campaign mode, Survival mode also features explosive weapons: a grenade launcher & a rocket launcher, both of which easily take out groups of zombies. I assume explosive weapons are exclusive to Survival mode because I never came across them in my 4 full playthroughs of Campaign mode.
Now regarding the gameplay of [i]Post Soviet Zombies[/i], I'd say it's smooth most of the time, but there can be slowdown (occasionally considerably so) when there are a lot of zombies (& humans in some levels) on-screen & on the map. I think it's an optimization issue because my system most definitely exceeds the recommended system requirements. It was by far the worst when playing level 4 on hard difficulty, but usually slowdown isn't much of a problem or no problem at all. The aiming is smooth & works really well as the vibrant yellow reticle is easy to see & tell exactly where you're aiming. Clicking the left mouse button swings your melee weapon & shoots your firearm and continuing to press it down keeps swinging your melee weapon or shooting your firearm until its load is expended, at which time the firearm automatically begins reloading. When your firearm is reloading, a bar which fills appears over the reticle helping to gauge how long before the firearm is reloaded & able to shoot again. The only downside is firearms can't be reloaded until you fully expend their load. Overall, PSZ's gameplay is good & enjoyable for this type of game, easy to learn & get into, and the game is never too difficult, even on hard.
And onto PSZ's graphics, music, sound, & story. The graphics are done in an old school pixel art-style, and while they're nothing amazing, they look good for what they are, and you can easily make out what you're looking at & what everything is. The pixel graphics are nicely done & suit this style of game well, and the blood spatter from striking/shooting zombies is a neat gory visual. The music has a dramatic & foreboding quality to it and fits the game aptly. The sound is excellent overall, particularly the sound of footsteps, doors opening, & gunfire are all superb, with perhaps the sound of the melee weapon striking zombies being the only rather underwhelming game sound. Finally, the story, which while there is one in Campaign mode, is quite sparse & bare bones, and the game really doesn't have much of an ending either. I certainly wouldn't expect a deep story in a game like this, but it would've been nice if there was a bit more depth to the story & backstory. I will say that some of the banter & comments from characters is amusing, at times simply because of the mediocre English translation.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed [i]Post Soviet Zombies[/i] and had a fun time playing it. So much so that I got all 29 achievements & 100%ed the game, which I don't do with many games. It took me about 14 & 1/2 hours to obtain 100% achievements, but I've no doubt it can be done faster as I'm someone who tends to take his time with games and doesn't really rush. I also got all achievements while playing Campaign mode as there aren't any specifically tied to Survival mode, but I imagine some could be completed in Survival mode, though I don't know that for a fact. I admittedly didn't play too much Survival mode, really only enough to be able to discuss it a bit in this review since I'm not much into such modes. [i]Post Soviet Zombies[/i] is a good little top-down shooter, and the price point is fair/right for what it is, so I definitely recommend it!
P.S. I really appreciate that on the walls of apartments in PSZ's first level are posters referencing the films [i]Cyborg[/i] (1989) & [i]Terminator 2: Judgement Day[/i] (1991), and the bands AC/DC & Ария (Eng: Aria). Ария, dubbed the "Russian Iron Maiden", weren't the first Soviet era/Russian metal band, but were the first to break thru to the mainstream & find commercial success in that part of the world. They've been around & recording for 40 years as of 2025 and still going strong. Most metalheads like myself (much less general music fans or people who've played PSZ) from outside of Russia or Eastern & Central Europe probably aren't familiar with Ария and wouldn't recognize their logo, but I am & I did. Check out their song "Герой асфальта" (Eng: "Hero of Asphalt"). \m/
