Zombi Review

Zombi (Xbox One, PS4) (Rated Mature)

This game's release honestly shocked me but in a good way; like when you drop your phone, and it survived the fall. This game was originally a launch title for the Wii U, and it was my sole reason for getting that console at launch. I love the zombie genre, and while it is a tad overplayed these days, when it is done right, it is oh so good. But is this remastered Next-gen port any good? The short answer is a definitive yes!

Earlier this year I played Dying Light, which actually reminded me of this game. Although Dying Light is a much faster, more action orientated game. Zombi as it is now called on the Next-gen consoles, is a true survival horror game with a slower pace, tons of tension, dread-inducing atmosphere and gloriously brutal violence. This game really nails the sense of fear, dread and the general scary atmosphere of this situation. While Dying Light did have it's creepier moments, it always had a bigger sense of action and excitement, than all out horror. Zombi on the other hand is a true horror game, they really play up the horror factor, and create some tense and spooky environments that are both well designed and fun to explore. The environments are not visually stunning, but they are detailed and I love the realistic art style.

The game does rely very heavily on its survival horror roots; with elements such as scavenging for ammo, health or other useful objects play a huge part in this game. Puzzles and finding your way through maze like environments are also key components, which are on display here in top form. However, those aspects are generally easy to nail in this genre. What is generally the most difficult balancing act, is creating tension and horror; but also providing a satisfying level of action. Zombi actually nails this perfectly. For once there is a balance of satisfying action and combat, with equal levels of fear and dread.  

You are by no means Rambo, but you can defend yourself fairly well, even against decent sized groups. You can die rather easily though; and if you die your character dies permanently. If you want your gear back, you'll have to kill your previous character. But beware, if you die before retrieving your gear, it's gone for good. So there is always a sense of tension, when dealing with the game's many zombies; but dealing with those zombies is always satisfying. And I really enjoyed the slower more thoughtful pace of the action, slowly exploring an area while carefully smashing zombie brains in, is tons of fun. 

The game is not too difficult or frustrating for the most part; but, there is always a good sense of challenge, although it is not based on reaction times or mastering the controls. The challenge comes from simply thinking out your actions and taking your time. Much like the challenge in the Dark Souls games, or the more recent Bloodborne. Though Zombi is never as tough as those games are. The controls are also precise and intuitive, which means you will never die due to any fault other than your own. Which is how it should be. However, the game did irritate me a few times , the frame rate did drop substantially several times. While, thankfully it never caused me to die; it did make some sections more annoying than they should have been. Hopefully, his will be fixed in a patch, but it is a blemish on an otherwise excellent game. I did also notice a positive change, enemies require far less damage to kill. Which was a great balancing choice. It made combat more satisfying, it also removed the little frustration I had with the original version, most importantly this did not lessen the challenge of the game, so much as make the game far more fair.

While the game is played in first person and there are a large number of firearms in the game, it is not a traditional shooter. If you go in expecting that, you will be disappointed. Make no mistake the shooting action is very satisfying; but the pace of this game may simply be too slow for some. The fun of this game is carefully looting the environment and carefully taking out the zombies. Sure there are quite a few action heavy sequences, where you will be mowing down tons of zombies making mincemeat of them. Still, these sections are few and only serve to break up the action and add a bit of  a spark to the tense horror. These sections are meant to light a fire under your ass, and remind you not to get to comfortable. This game will keep you on your toes and I love that quality about the game. For me it hit that perfect balance of fear and challenge, while staying fun the entire time. This game is less challenging than some other survival games, but it is also far more fun, while never becoming overly frustrating. The best part about this game's challenge, is that it makes the game a tense and immersive experience with higher stakes. 

When this game came out, it was my favorite survival horror game of it's time, and three years later it still is. While I love The Evil Within and Dying Light, this game's atmosphere and game and art design are superb. This is a game that is about as well made as it gets. Yes the story is weak and slightly forgettable; however, your personal story of survival is utterly engrossing. This game will last you well over 25 hours and during that time I was completely sucked in from start to finish. While the visuals are not pristine and they may even look a bit dated by now; the art style and wonderful atmosphere really make the game look better than it's slightly dated tech should allow it to. I am also thrilled that Ubisoft released this game for only 20 dollars, which is an absolute steal. A good number of remastered ports are far too costly, and new to this port are several additional melee weapons, which are extremely fun to use. 

This is not a game for everyone, in fact I would say it's appeal may be very limited. But for niche fans like myself, this game is an absolute treasure. This is a game for horror fans, and it is also the perfect game to play stoned. The slower approach to the gameplay makes it easy to dial into high, and then your at your perfect level of immersion. Just don't trip on acid or something, cause this game is actually fairly scary. While it is not disturbing or grotesque like The Evil Within, it does have the perfect level of suspense and fright inducing paranoia.