ZOMBI

ZombiU is an innovative and genuinely scary survival horror that was exclusively made for the Wii U and has become a cult hit in 2012. Because of the game’s sale’s success, everyone expected it to be ported to other systems eventually. And, as everybody assumed, ZombiU has finally made its way to the PC, PS4 and Xbox One as Zombi. Despite the fact that the game might seem a little old, it‘s still compiling enough and uniquely terrifying.

Graphics 4/5

From a visual standpoint, Zombi’s characters and landmarks look amazingly detailed and realistic. The dark setting suits the mood of the game perfectly.

However, there are no significant graphical upgrades that you may plan to see in the game. Textures seem more blurred than you’d expect as if it has been done to hide the game’s more lo-fi origin and frame-rates. Even so, the designers did a decent job of instilling fear and evoking real emotion, which serves to override the generally lacking visuals. Indeed, Zombi does a fantastic job of immersing you in its nightmare, so you’ll largely forget any shortcomings in the visual arena.

The game creates an intense, eerie atmosphere with a plenty of dynamic and dreadful zombie characters. The dark, debris-filled interiors and misty streets are home to dozens of threats, and with only a cricket bat and six bullets to defend yourself with initially, you'll find engaging just a couple of the undead a risky and challenging endeavor.

Gameplay 5/5

The gameplay throws you completely unprepared and confused into a post-zombie apocalypse London. There you meet an unknown mystical voice from the radio named The Prepper who knows the entire city and will lead you from the grimy and dark underground to the opulent corridors of Buckingham Palace to find a safe area for you. Needless to say that this is a wonderfully realistic and fascinating location to explore.

The Prepper will inspire you to fight and survive among piles of corpses that rapidly fill the streets. The game is compelling, so you'll have to search for answers to understand the storyline and follow The Prepper's advice to keep yourself alive.

In addition to commandeering useful items such as food and medical supplies, you will have to complete some tasks from The Prepper that will benefit you as well as him. If your character dies, it immediately becomes infected and will be an enemy of your next playable figure. After the death, all the goods in the backpack disappear, unless you return later and recover them. Since the storyline is fairly linear, you'll most likely pass by the items on your journey anyway.

Zombies will swarm around you, scratching, biting and grabbing, rapidly consuming your health bar. All you’ll have to do is killing something that is already dead - zombies. The only problem is that you’re not given much in the way of weapons and ability at the start, so you’ll definitely have to focus on caution and strategy. Combat is still largely the same except for the addition of a few melee weapons. Guns are also nothing more than a way to attract any nearby undead, and typically the weapons are inaccurate.

Controls 4.5/5

The mechanics of Zombi are still pretty unrefined, but much like the early survival horror games this, intentionally or not, adds to the atmosphere – especially as you’re meant to be playing as completely ordinary people.

A special tablet will help you to survive. It acts as your inventory screen, map, and sonar. With its help, you will be able to unlock a map in the right corner of the screen, scan items and enemies or change weapons as well as pick items right through the tablet.

The sonar will show you red dots and beep for every moving thing around you, including not only undead but also something like birds and rats. Any moves’ detection will force you to focus on the map and will undoubtedly create some tension.

Replay Value 4.5/5

Despite the pretty linear gameplay, you will enjoy running through the streets of London. Even though the visuals look somewhat dated, they do a good job of showing London in a dreary, post zombie apocalypse setting. With Zombi, you can take your time and bypass zombies rather than go head to head with them what adds some depth to the gameplay and makes it more replayable.

In-app purchases

The game doesn’t have any purchases to offer, which means that you can fully enjoy a playing process from the beginning.

Conclusion

Zombi is a fear-fueled first-person shooter which is one the best in the horror genre. It has plenty of such original interactive elements as terror, chaos, and tension, including a unique death mechanic that puts you as a player in the body of a different survivor each time you die. This allows you to track and take down your old, infected characters, recover their equipment and see if you can stay alive just a little bit longer the next time.

• Graphics 4
• Gameplay 5
• Controls 4.5
• Replay Value 4.5

Pros

well designed maps;
tense atmosphere;
appropriate price as for a hit’s remake;

Cons

graphics is weak and haven’t changed much;
lack of a strong storyline;
puzzles are repetitive;