I’m fairly sure that zombies are the perfect video game enemies. They’re relentless, for one thing, happily chomping their way through anyone who gets in their path. The undead are faceless as well, so you don’t feel too bad about escorting them back to their graves. Yet they can be poignant, dramatic reminders of friends and family that meant a lot to characters too, depending on who the shambling corpse used to be. If I was going to hire any enemy for a game, I’d hire a zombie. Then they’d eat my brain. That’s why I hired them! So to celebrate our very iconic, vitality-challenged friends, I've put together a list of my favourite zombie games.
]]>Undead Labs did not come to Gamescom with news on the next game in their zombie survival sandbox series. No, they announced State Of Decay 3 in July 2020 with no information then fell silent on the topic. But Microsoft do have new news on old things. In a free update for State Of Decay 2, they're revisiting and revising Trumbull Valley, the original map from the original game. Everything old is new again. Or in this case, new again, again.
]]>Undead Labs have just revealed the next instalment of their zombie-fest survival horror, State Of Decay 3. From the reveal trailer it looks like it's set in a snowy wilderness, complete with scary wolves, and even scarier zombified-wildlife. We also see a lonely lady just trying to get by, aptly armed with a crossbow. Take a look for yourself:
]]>Microsoft may be experimenting with bringing support for Xbox One games to PC, or so suspect cybersleuths poking around in recent test versions of Windows 10. Microsoft have released Windows 10 editions of all their own Xbone games for several years now but if this turns out to be what some suspect, Windows may in future directly support any and all Xbox One games. Maybe. If this is what some suspect. What's clear is that Microsoft are definitely testing something to do with games for future versions. Definitely a thing. Of some sort.
]]>If the zombies don’t get you in State of Decay 2, then the boastful barista will. Sure, he brews a mean cup of joe, but his self-confidence is beginning to grate and the community’s morale is sinking. This might be the first survival game to be derailed by a braggart with coffee breath. As such it can feel like the world is conspiring against you, so what better time to watch a video of tips and tricks to help even the odds. Not to boast myself (RPS has a high morale community), but it’ll make your life easier.
]]>Zombie survival adventure State of Decay 2 lurches on to PC next Tuesday - though it’s out today for those who ordered the Ultimate edition - and Brendan kindly put aside his endless shopping trips to help me test co-op mode. Opt for a multiplayer session and you appear as visiting survivors in the host’s game, in this case, Brendan’s. You can help said host progress their story and bring home whatever loot you find, but it’s also fine if you just want to go for a jolly in the countryside and deck deadheads in tandem.
]]>The first State of Decay game sold 4.5 million units. Did you know that? For sure I would have guessed wrong by three million units. But that's not to say it didn't deserve that attention. Building a functioning society post zombie-apocalypse and getting an incredibly layered series of management tools and interpersonal squad dynamics to work in such an entertaining way is no small accomplishment. The original game's DLC dabbled in what could be, but a true sequel has been what I've been waiting for.
(Also I maybe ruined my settlement way too late in the game by accidentally betraying and murdering most of my fellow survivors and I was too prideful to start again. Get off my back. I just love betrayal sooooo much.)
]]>The Steam summer sale is in full blaze. For a while it even blazed so hot that the servers went on fire and all the price stickers peeled off the games. Either that or the store just got swamped with cheapskates looking for the best bargains. Cheapskates like you! Well, don’t worry. We’ve rounded up some recommendations - both general tips and some newly added staff choices.
Here are the things you should consider owning in your endless consumeristic lust for a happiness which always seems beyond reach. You're welcome.
]]>State of Decay developers Undead Labs today announced a sequel to their community-building zombie apocalypse survival game, coming to Windows 10 in 2017. The big feature for State of Decay 2 [official site] is online co-op, letting up to four players join up to romp around the end of human civilisation. Between this and Dead Rising 4's announcement, it has been a good day for co-op zombiefun. Have a look at SoD2:
]]>I realise it's somewhat passé to compare a game to Dark Souls but look, State of Decay [official site] really is reminding me of Dark Souls. No, no, this is nothing to do with difficulty or death or mystery or structure: it's about revamp-o-rereleases.
Like Dark Souls II's Scholar of the First Sin, State of Decay's Year One Survival Edition is the base game and its DLC expanded and touched up a little for the new generation of consoles. Like SotFS, it comes to PC as a separate release rather than an upgrade. And like SotFS, it seems like a fine jumping-on point for new players but perhaps not worth buying again if you had the original.
]]>When our Adam asked "Have You Played... State of Decay?" he noted that the open-world zombie survive 'em up had become a lot better in the year since its release, thanks largely to its 'Breakdown' DLC. What we here at RPS have apparently neglected to mention so far is that developers Undead Labs are revamping State of Decay for a prettied-up rerelease with its DLC bundled in as the Year One Survival Edition. Oh! Well, they are. And now they've announced a release date. Unfortunately, it won't come as an upgrade, only sold separately.
]]>Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.
State of Decay didn't impress me when I played it last September. Originally released on the 360, Undead Labs' debut is an open world survival game with a structure remarkably close to my ideal zombie game. It's about scavenging, gathering survivors, barricading, running out of supplies, collecting vehicles and avoiding enormous hordes of the living dead. Great ingredients that didn't quite make for a fine banquet, but it's a much better game now than it was a year ago.
]]>Say kid, how do you fancy being a YouTube sensation, a real livestream Liberace? "B-but where would I even start?" you ask, eyes wide with hope. A new Humble Weekly Sale offers almost everything you need to become an Internet megastar, minus the hardware and a dreadful persona.
Curated by 'PewDiePie' (he has YouTube's most-subscribed channel, don't you know?) the bundle packs a few games the exhausting manbaby personality has wailed obscenities over, including Surgeon Simulator 2013, Garry's Mod, and State of Decay.
]]>I'd been looking forward to State of Decay for a long time when it finally arrived on PC but after shuffling around on my hard drive for a while, it fell as flat as a zombie on an icerink. Hordes of people were quick to tell me that the game had more charms hidden beneath its fetid flesh than I had been willing to acknowledge but I haven't returned since the disappointment of those opening hours. At the end of this month, I will revisit, although I'll be abandoning the confusing confines of the story to try the Breakdown expansion, which is released on November 29th. It's "an endless campaign with twists and turns based entirely on [player] choices", which sounds ideal. Difficulty increases over time and as in Project Zomboid, the only certainty is death. Sounds like a treat!
]]>State of Decay was the only reason I regretted jettisoning my Xbox 360. When it came out, I read glowing reviews and believed it might be the open world survival game that so many were waiting for. Now it’s on PC, albeit without proper mouse and keyboard support. I’ve only played for around six hours, but seeing the game riding high on Steam’s best-seller’s list inspired me to write down some impressions. It’s certainly a game I was eager to play but now that I have, I’m not particularly keen to continue.
]]>If guttural howls from those strange, primitive hill people in console land are anything to go by, State of Decay is apparently quite excellent. We at RPS have been eagerly awaiting its arrival on PC while sipping fine scotch and inventing new classical instruments, and now it's finally made the leap. Kinda. The nicely freeform zombie sandbox is playable on our platform of choice right this very second, but you'll have to contort your highly evolved digits around a controller in order to make with all the driving, surviving, and undead drop-kicking. It's not all bad, though. Undead Labs actually wants your help coming up with a fitting keyboard-and-mouse control setup - among other things.
]]>Instead of complaining about zombies, let's try to be positive about the little rotters. Which game, to your mind, has best used the most common and infectious of undead enemies? Would you opt for the character-driven dread and vulnerability of The Walking Dead? Zomboid's bleak suburban survivalism? Maybe you just like shooting hordes of former friends in the head, in which case you're spoiled for choice. State of Decay, formerly of County Console, looks like one of the best survival experiences yet and the PC version is almost here. On September 3rd, an official Facebook page announced that a 'controller-only version' will hit Steam Early Access in 'a couple of weeks'. Mouse and keyboard controls will come later, which seems odd, but I want to play now, so I won't complain too much.
]]>I'm not usually one to wade into sandboxes fully of decaying body parts (what can I say; guess I'm a bit of a germophobe), but State of Decay has me reconsidering that policy. The zombie survival sandbox from the apocalypse technicians at Undead Labs pushes all the right emergent, never-know-what-might-go-wrong buttons - at least, if word from the haggard survivors over in Console Land is to be believed. Unfortunately, last we heard, the prognosis on PC wasn't looking so great. And, to be honest, it still isn't, but at least Undead Labs is doing its damndest to make the PC version worth the wait.
]]>State of Decay is finally out on console coffins, and what do you know? It's apparently pretty good! Naturally, I too want to sink my noxious nub teeth into the permadeath zombie open-world-er, but my PC isn't an Xbox - no matter how badly Microsoft wants it to be. We were, however, promised our very own decaying slice of slate quite some time ago. It's always been a matter of when, not if. Unfortunately, that "when" has turned into something of a moving target, and Undead Labs' patented crossbow of ultimate release-datingness is having a very hard time pinning it down.
]]>UndeadLabs have announced that their zombie-apocalypse survival game, cleverly named State Of Decay, will appear in June. It's an open-world survival game that sees the player recruiting other survivors and building bases so as to live in a world where most people are mindless drones bent on devouring whatever wanders into their path. A familiar theme, then. There is one reason to pay a lot of attention to this game, however, which is that UndeadLabs are the new project from Jeff Strain, who was one of the main minds behind Guild Wars, and who worked as lead programmer on World Of Warcraft. Mr Strain knows what he is doing. Which makes June sound all the more exciting. State Of Decay is a single player game, but there's an MMO on the horizon if this works out.
A new trailer lies below.
]]>Complaining about the fact that there are too many things with zombies in them is becoming nearly as tiresome as the reviled nightwalkers themselves, so let's get right to the point: State of Decay sounds quite enticing - at least, on paper. A fully reactive open world in which all is permitted - including tonally inconsistent body slams? Why yes, I could go for that. But, despite the fact that it's all that separates us from the ravenous beasts who hunt our young by night, talk is cheap. And so, slowly but surely, Undead Labs is revealing how the systems that bind its game together actually function. Today? Stealth. (And also building, because we missed that a while back.)
]]>Yesterday, Undead Labs re-announced its long-awaited zombie sandbox survivor Class3 as 1) State of Decay and 2) a game that'll be launching on PC as well as Xbox. Good news all around, basically. But these zombies emerged still partially obscured by a thick fog of mystery. Among other things, Microsoft's on publishing duties, and other recent titles to share that distinction on PC have come with some rather worrisome strings attached. Also, I spied many things in the new trailer, but another player wasn't one of them. So, is co-op out? And, at one point, Undead was also working on an MMO based in this universe. What ever happened to that? Happily, Undead got back to me with some very helpful answers.
]]>OK, before overly jerked knees and seismic facepalms leave RPS liable for one of the most puzzling injury outbreaks in medical history, know that State of Decay - while arising from the ashes of a zombie MMO project once called Class3 - doesn't look like a Day Z clone or anything along those lines in the slightest. For better or worse, it appears to be a fairly over-the-top (I saw body slams) undead shoot-'em-up/beat-'em-down - but with an "open, sandbox world" that "dynamically generates content based on your choices and the ever-increasing zombie threat." To be perfectly honest, I can't actually find any info on whether or not it even has a multiplayer component anymore. But, somewhat shockingly, Grand-Theft-Auto-meets-zombies hasn't really been done before, so there's potential here.
]]>.png?width=1200&height=630&fit=crop&enable=upscale&auto=webp "שחרורו של Assassin's Creed Shadows נדחה למרץ כאשר מועצת המנהלים של Ubisoft שוקל מכירת חברה")
