This game...is GOOD.
I have never even heard of this game until I saw it was on a Steam sale. I decided to read the reviews and they spoke highly of this game...so why not? Zombies plus a moveable/driveable base? What more could I want!
I just beat the Early Access version and what was available for right now. I wont spoil anything, but the game will tell you that there's no more for now. The Developer has added a New Game Plus so you can take everything you have including your train and restart from the beginning. Before I get into that, let me start from the beginning:
This game is unlike any other zombie game I have played thus far. As one would guess.... you have a train lol A train...called the Zompiercer! Now here is where the game shines... you can customize your train however you want to through a build menu. You can't change the main train engine itself, but you CAN put on some super sick armor and scoop in the front to make it look cool as hell. Otherwise, the freedom is yours. You can build 3 different floors on 2 different train..connectors? Train..platforms? I'm not a train expert, shoot me. Anyways, you can build however you want to and decorate however you want to. I personally built a little kitchen, living room, and bedroom in the far back. Then I added a second floor for crafting/storage. The top floor is my balcony with a table, chair, and all my plant stuff/rain collectors.
Outside of me gushing about the train, the train is your main base. You return to it during scavenging or to get some shut eye because yes, this is a survival game. There's hunger, thirst, and sleep you have to manage, but it's honestly really easy on default. You can customize how hard or tough you want the game to be, or even easy mode if you are struggling. To give a fair review, I played default all the way through.
I did see reviews talking about how tedious the back and forth was because of the limited bag space. Yes, this is true in the beginning. I did spend a bit of time lugging my loot back and forth between the train and where ever I was looting, but I promise you it gets easier as your progress through the game. I hope this isn't spoilers, but you do find a robot dog that you can slap guns, flamethrowers, healing pads, lights, and even storage bags. Then, you can mod those storage bags to carry even more loot. So, needless to say, I had a pack mule following me around while I dumped everything I could find into his pouches. By the way, thank you Dev for making him SO CUTE!! His little dance and the sound he makes when you both kill zombies never got old to me and I loved it every time because it does get lonely traveling alone.
The gameplay is pretty same/same to other games both survival and zombie. You clear buildings looting everything you can find, kill zombies that get in the way, and run back to base to dump everything so you can craft better stuff, cool gear, ect. The zombies are actually really cool. They are unique and are a play off of L4D zombies. I wont say the kinds of zombies you'll see because it was fun for me not knowing until they popped up lol. There are currently a handful of guns and 2 melee weapons in the game plus 2 kinds of grenades. Not a whole lot, but it was enough in my opinion. More melee would've been cool, but you can technically use your tools as melee weapons. I stuck with a nail bat and cool blade I found. There are skills you can dump perk points into each time you level up and it does help significantly, even with carry weight if you go towards strength.
The music is REALLY, really good. I don't know who the Dev got on board to make this soundtrack, but dang. While I'm on the topic, this game was really well made. It has it's bugs for sure, but what you get and how detailed it is, you can tell the Dev put a lot of time and effort into this game. This isn't a cash grab like what you see nowadays with Indie games. This was created for the love of the game and honestly, a stroke of genius. I'll say it again... A TRAIN...in a zombie apocalypse!
Now, some negatives. If you've read this far, thank you!
I posted a comment in the discussions thread complaining about controller support. I apologized for being brash about it, but at the time I was actually really excited to try this game and was bummed when it says controller support, but it's a bit wonky. The Dev responded right away and even was open for discussion on how to improve it for everyone. That's amazing. Now, the controller. I got used to the wonky-ness of the controller and it ended up not being too bad. In the menus the controller tends to bug out and you have to either close the menu and try it again or just use your mouse. This happened in the menu, inventory, status, and sometimes when looting containers. There are also keys missing for the buttons. You have to use keyboard and mouse for building, design, and connecting power lines. There just isn't a button implemented for any of these...and that was ok with me. I just clicked the appropriate key and moved on with controller because it does work once you get that key. I also didn't realize you have access to a F**ing map!! A MAP. Had no clue. It's never mentioned, never talked about, and a keybind doesn't exist on the controller. I literally was like, "Dang I'm lost. A map would be legit right now." And just for S**ts and giggles, clicked the M key. BAM! A map appeared. I was SHOOK. I went most of the game never having access to it because again, I had no idea I had one. Anyways, there are quirks about using a controller, but it is doable and it really is A LOT better than most games that say controller support but they mean you can click 3 buttons and that's about it lol
I think I've ranted enough and hope this helps make a decision on wether or not you try this game. IMO, a solid game that is going to be amazing when it fully releases and the content is done. I mean the fact the Dev could literally go anywhere with this is incredible. Maybe switching tracks takes you in another direction with more stuff. Multiplayer? Would be pretty neat, but I was hitting some latency issues with how big I built my train plus the stuff I was hoarding....so maybe multiplayer would break it lol
Anyways, 10/10 would've paid full price for sure. Keep up the good work Dev...the game is amazing and I can't wait for more.
