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Project Zomboid (Video Game)
Developed by The Indie Stone
Distributed on Steam
Not classified by the ESRB
I am vastly unqualified to talk about Project Zomboid. To date, I have tried three times to get into it, and every time I reach my point of “fuck this” at about the 30 minute mark. Still, the game is popular enough and in high enough demand that not covering it would be a massive mistake on my part. So, keep in mind while reading this, that I am absolutely terrible at Project Zomboid, and with a gun to my head would still not learn how to play it.
Playing Project Zomboid feels more like making a video game than playing one. It is so hard and so complex, it is almost as difficult to get into as Dwarf Fortress, and with roughly the same level of visual fidelity. You have to give the developers credit, because with all of the half-baked open world zombie survival games littering Early Access and Kickstarter, it took some serious commitment and balls to actually deliver on that promise. There is so much to do, so much to consider, and so much to learn in Project Zomboid that the game almost has to be played in a window next to the wiki. They should offer seminars on how to survive the first day alone. I learned Excell faster than I learned just how to secure a house in Project Zomboid.
Of the things you have to consider in Project Zomboid, the zombies are just one of many threats to your life. Of course you have to eat and drink, that has become standard in survival games. Some games might even have hypothermia as a consideration. I have never seen a game before this one where running too much can cause a heat stroke. The game’s version of status ailments are called “moodles,” and range from being injured to just bored and unhappy. You seriously have to worry about how bored your character is in a game about the zombie apocalypse. You also have to worry about how wet your character is. If you stay out in the rain too long, you better hope you can find a towel or start a fire, because if you don’t you increase your chances of getting sick.
But not only the various status ailments are this complicated. The whole game is this complicated. Everything has its own site cone and sound waves. If you are facing a direction, what zombies are behind you actually become fogged out. You seriously cannot see behind your head in an isometric adventure game. That is a beyond Fallout level of intense. Sight cones really matter, too, since a zombie can see you through a window and try to get inside. To mitigate this, player can hang sheets over windows to act as curtains, and peek out intermittently to see if the coast is clear. Players can try to clear houses by baiting zombies with sound, but too much noise can lead to a chain reaction, and soon a whole horde is pounding on your door.
Of course there is crafting, and of course you have to find the correct corresponding tool to craft. Saws become more valuable than shotguns in the long run, and what kind of storage space you have becomes a serious long term concern. Everything takes time to move from one place to another, so even storing good becomes a consideration. If you do manage to create a safe house, then looting the surrounding area becomes easier, but be careful not to draw too large of a swarm, or you will quickly find your house not so safe.
Combat is actually pretty simple given how complicated the rest of the game is. Players wind up swings, and then beat zombies when they are downed to finish them off. Each kill takes a random amount of time based on how much damage your weapon does with each hit, but overall zombie killing in the early game is more of a tedious necessity when clearing houses than something you do for fun. It really does get that whole “neverending and impossible hordes” feel right, and it really does seem like the real enemy is the elements and the zombies are just kind of an omnipresent obstacle.
Chances are, you already know if you might possibly be into Project Zomboid. Purchasing the game, I thought I was one of the people who had the patience and metal wherewithal to have a successful run at Project Zomboid. I am not. The game taught me that I am not. I will enjoy hearing friends talk about the game, and wonder with amazement how they ever had to patience and time to figure all of it out. I will continue to wish the developers the best of luck, and hope the game reaches the lofty goals of all the clamouring fans on the internet. I am glad that the game exists, but I will not be partaking in it. This is a party I am satisfied just hearing about, a pretty lady who I am satisfied just being acquaintances with. I’ll surely talk her up to my friends who might be into that, but I’m certainly not going to find my jollies there.
3 out of 5
Categorized:Horror Gaming News
