“Making games we’d love to play!” The motto of Awesome Games Studio, this small indie developer from Poland, sounds like boring marketing talk, but in their case that’s actually true. Partly at least. Their first contributions to the industry were mediocre to subpar, but then came the fantastic Fury Unleashed that, aside from being a piece of software that was polished to a sheen, was fun, fun, fun! Their newest creation? Yet Another Zombie Survivors. A game about zombies. Yes, another one. At this point the undead must be wondering why people keep making video games about them. “Could we not have a quiet weekend?”
No.
In typical survivor-like fashion, the central loop of Yet Another Zombie Survivors is beautifully uncomplicated. The main character can pull the trigger automatically, thus movement is the only thing left to oversee. That’s all? Of course not. Killing leaves behind gems. Gather enough and you are rewarded with a collection of upgrades to pick from. The hero can improve the main weapon or add all sorts of abilities, which range from simple grenades, electric fields and air bombings to a variety of wacky contraptions that damage, stun and generally annoy the shambling mob. The goal? Repeat until either you win or these smelly fellows collectively decide they’ve had enough. Steer somebody around, then, and decide which ability to pick. It’s almost too simple. Then suddenly, it’s 2 a.m. and you’re contemplating whether sleep really is that important.
All that’s required is to be mindful of positioning, improve the party as fast and as cleverly as possible…and remain calm as the undead horde becomes larger and stronger by the minute. A deeply tactical experience this is not. The real hook is the upgrade system. It all begins with an ordinary survivor who can deal with a few zombies; after 10 minutes his shotgun has evolved into a minigun, while the sawblades that circle him and the mines he keeps on throwing around increase in number and power – and now these can freeze enemies or poison them. You improve an ability. Then another. Then another. Suddenly the screen is full of explosions and meat chunks. Numbers go up. Zombies go down.
Each run begins with just one character, but it’s possible to recruit two more, each having their own approach to the noble art of killing the dead. Experimenting with character and ability combinations and discovering synergies is a major part of the deal, as well as the fun factor. It’s not about choosing the one that looks good, but about assembling a little apocalypse orchestra that plays well together. The roster is quite varied as well. SWAT is a soldier that thinks only in bullets; Ghost is a hi-tech ninja that excels in close-range katana slashes; the Engineer is a tesla-obsessed loon that can spit lightning from five different gadgets; Hunter is a Lara Croft-meets-Hawkeye archer. There are many others and they are all fun to play with.
The camp, a new and welcome addition to the full release, is a diegetic (new word learned today!) menu, where you can assign points in the permanent skill tree, check out mission parameters, plus skills, weapon and enemy descriptions. Most importantly, it gives the world a bit more tangibility. It’s a place where one can see the heroes and even catch a few conversations between them. Nobody goes into a ten-minute monologue about the meaning of mortality while staring into the rain. Instead, the exchanges are short, often with a bit of low-key humour, but they do just enough to give the crew some personality. That’s really all that’s needed. After watching them slaughter several thousand zombies before breakfast, it’s nice to find out that they apparently have hobbies and opinions.
Generally, the tongue-in-cheek tone is one of this title’s biggest strengths. It knows the concept is ridiculous. There are only so many ways to dramatically present “group of survivors shooting enormous numbers of zombies” before everyone starts looking a bit silly. Therefore, it leans into that silliness without taking it too far by mocking its concept and relying heavily on comedy. The humour here is generally understated, rather than constantly screaming “LOOK! A JOKE!!!” It’s more as if someone wandered into the room and said something slightly weird while you’re busy turning the undead into soup. A mild distraction that makes sure to remind you what kind of experience this is.
While as a whole it has character, visually Yet Another Zombie Survivors is fairly average and doesn’t do much to stand out from the crowd. Not ugly or anything, but while Awesome Games Studio is great when it comes to 2D, its 3D work leans towards the generic side. The urban/military zombie aesthetic doesn’t help either. At the same time, the visuals work very well for what this is trying to do. The top-down perspective keeps the action easy to follow, while the huge hordes of zombies and increasingly ridiculous explosions create a satisfying kind of visual chaos. The streets where the fighting takes place lack detail, but this isn’t an RPG, so it’s fine.
Moving from the light-on-content Early Access version, the full release comes with plenty of different modes and difficulties to try out, more maps, characters, and abilities, along with a gazillion achievements to acquire, most of which are enjoyable *gasp* challenges rather than tedious chores. Yeah, the objective really does remain the same. What’s that? Repair the economy of Belgium? No, kill zombies by the hundreds, you bloody muppet! Thankfully, the conditions of each mode prevent runs from feeling identical, from the way Hardcore’s shorter run time and vastly increased difficulty heighten tension, to how Extermination forces a more strategic approach, as it offers only a few limited abilities, which are granted only after clearing a wave. The optional missions introduce their own little twists, while the different characters and abilities provide plenty of room for experimentation.
There’s a catch. It is repetitive. Spectacularly, unapologetically repetitive – but repetition is fundamental to the genre. There is always another combination to try, another mode to complete, or another unlock sitting just out of reach – and like all great survivor-likes, the real fun begins when you raise the difficulty. Just like that, this brainrot of a game now requires actual tactics! Forget casually mowing down zombies. Now the trio of survivors is struggling to squeeze between 50 enemies just to reach that blasted health bonus, desperately trying to hold on for another few seconds, with each decision about characters and abilities becoming a puzzle you need to solve to keep on breathing. There’s something awesome about this kind of repetition. It’s almost meditative. A strange form of meditation where thousands of corpses are involved.
Well, everyone needs a hobby.
