[h2]Very underrated zombie game[/h2]
I started playing [i]State of Decay 2[/i] a little bit last year, but then I thought to myself that I should give the first one a try as well before that. And, boy, am I glad that I did. I mean, I generally really like zombie games, so the [i]SoD[/i] games were something I was curious about and wanted to check out for a while, because the idea of managing a group of survivors during a zombie apocalypse sounded like something that I’d like and that could be really fun.
For me, this game really scratches that zombie survival itch so very nicely.
What makes this game stand out is that it’s not just about killing zombies. The focus genuinely is on survival, managing a base and a community of survivors, collecting resources for your base, and dealing with the consequences of your decisions. You can swap between the survivors you managed to find and recruit to play as most of them. They have different perks and you gain levels with each of them and can upgrade the perks they have. Every time one of them dies though, they’re permanently gone. Losing a survivor you spent time levelling and building up can really hurt, so it’s actually better to swap between at least some of them instead of keeping a single main. This kind of bothered me at the start, and it still somewhat does, but I acknowledge that the way it’s handled contributes to the gameplay.
The world itself in the game can feel a bit rough from a gameplay standpoint though, especially considering its age, but the general atmosphere is really nice because it genuinely feels like a zombie apocalypse with zombies everywhere you go, and especially if you’re loud.
It’s kind of hard to describe, but just the general vibe of this game genuinely feels spot on.
Oh, and, ploughing through a zombie horde and zombies in general with a car is satisfying af, but I must say, cars in this game are seriously way too op. It’s a good thing to showcase the use of cars as such an effective tool - the zombie genre rarely does it - but there’s not a single issue in this game you can’t solve with a car:
- Want to clear a zombie horde?
Sure, straight through them with a car.
- Want to clear an infestation?
Honk in front of the building and mow down the emerging zombies with a car.
- Need to do a defence quest?
Circle around the building with a car and just drive into any zombies you see.
- Need to bring back many resources to your base?
Load them into the trunk of a car and drop them off.
Etc. Etc. Cars = op.
And one thing I really appreciate is that the different types of cars feel distinct when driving, such as sports cars being super-fast, trucks being heavier but able to transport more, etc.
The gameplay actually reminds me a little bit of the GTA games honestly; you’re kind of on a huge map with several neighbourhoods and do-little runs/errands for resources and sometimes quests for other survivors. The quests are basic and there aren’t many of them though, which is unfortunate, they should’ve expanded a bit more on that. Same thing with the other groups of survivors you encounter; they kind of set up their own bases at random somewhere on the map, and you can do quests to assist them and even recruit them at times, but other than that, it kind of feels like they’re just there doing nothing.
The biggest flaw and main issue with this game is that, while it’s very enjoyable, it lacks depth as a whole when it comes to many mechanics, which then leads to many aspects of the gameplay starting to feel repetitive after some time. For example, the base building aspect is a genuinely great addition for this type of game; you can claim several spots in the world as your base, and then collect resources to build, upgrade the base and keep it going. In theory, fantastic, but in practice, the truth is that the number of spots which can be claimed for establishing your base is just a few, and some are simply way better than others due to the amount of space for upgrades and buildings they offer, so you basically don’t get much of a choice in the end if you want a good base. Same goes for the upgrades for your base; you can choose what you want to build in fixed locations inside of it, like a medical tent, ammunition shop, storage area and such things, all with their own pros, but the problem again is that the number of options for the buildings and their upgrades is also very limited. If this entire base-building system had more depth, it would genuinely bring this game to a whole new level.
You can also claim most buildings as outposts, which establish a circle with a sort of area control to serve as safe haven, and you can connect those areas of control to each other and even to your main base to establish quite a large area of influence. Again, I think it’s a great mechanic, but it, too, lacks depth. I just wish that you could also fortify those outposts you claimed by building walls and other defences. You kind of just claim them and that’s it, so claiming a normal house for example, or a shop or something is just a building with a safe area around it, having no actual defences at all, and standing there as it was before you claimed it, sometimes even wide open.
In any case, this [i]Year One Survival/YOSE[/i] edition contains the base [i]State of Decay[/i] game and its two DLCs, called [i]Breakdown[/i] and [i]Lifeline[/i]. The base game campaign is, as I said above, an open world map with several neighbourhoods and you have to survive until you can escape. The second campaign in [i]Breakdown[/i] is played on the exact same map, with some minor changes and adjustments, and you play it like some sort of roguelike mode – you have to survive and then you get a chance to also escape and take some of your survivors with you into the next playthrough. The map then resets completely and you start a new run with the survivors you took with you, but each time you do this there are fewer resources and the zombies are tougher. Personally, I don’t like roguelike stuff in general because I don’t understand how having your progress wiped and reset could be enjoyable, so I didn’t really like [i]Breakdown[/i] either, but it’s fine, I guess. The third campaign in [i]Lifeline[/i] is different. You play as the military and not as civilians, and it takes place on a different map, basically the outskirts of a city. Although the map isn’t all that big, it’s a welcome change of scenery. You basically have a military base this time around and you can get your resources directly delivered by helicopter. Your mission is to save civilians, especially priority targets set by HQ. The campaign is also a top-notch vibe in terms of atmosphere, especially while being under siege in the military base (waves of zombies come at your base from time to time, and you have to repel them).
Worth mentioning is that some people say that they were having serious technical difficulties and such stuff, but, personally, I didn’t have any issues so I can’t speak to any of that. Just keep in mind that it’s probably a possibility if several other people encountered such issues.
If you are looking for a different kind of zombie game that focuses more on survival and managing a community rather than just shooting everything that moves (you can do that too though), this one is definitely worth checking out. So, yeah, just keep in mind that this is an older game, some rough edges are to be expected. Once you get past those though, there is a really enjoyable zombie survival experience to be had here; I ended up really liking the game.
As I mentioned at the start, there’s also [i]State of Decay 2[/i] if you end up liking this one, and [i]State of Decay 3[/i] is coming in the near future as well:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/495420/State_of_Decay_2_Juggernaut_Edition/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1340720/State_of_Decay_3/
