Project Zomboid is booming on Steam – For whom is the brutal zombie survival worthwhile?
A small indie title is currently going through the roof on Steam: The hardcore survival game Project Zomboid. The title convinces with deep mechanics and almost goes through as a “Walking Dead” simulator. MeinMMO introduces you to the zombie adventure and shows you who should take a trip.
What kind of game is this? Project Zomboid is an indie title on Steam that has been continuously developed and improved for many years. At first glance, this seems daunting, because the “Early Access” phase has been running for an incredible 9 years.
As a fan of survival adventures, you shouldn’t write off the title straight away. Because what has been created there over the years now offers you a unique experience with an overwhelming depth of gameplay, charming pixel graphics and tough content.
Compared to previous player numbers, Project Zomboid is currently experiencing a real hype on Steam (via steamcharts.com) and MeinMMO take the opportunity to introduce you to the hardcore sandbox with a zombie population in more detail.
If you want to get an impression straight away, we will include the new, official trailer for Project Zomboid here:
Play the story of your apocalyptic death
What is the appeal of Project Zomboid? The game is a typical indie title that largely dispenses with progressive graphics and instead offers you tons of action and combination options.
Project Zomboid wants to kill you … and sometimes it’s enough if you forget to cleanly remove the broken glass from a window before climbing through the broken glass.
If you remove the glass by hand, that’s no better – if the wound becomes infected, a scratch is enough to slowly but surely initiate your death. Who can find medication in the first few hours of the game?
These little things and mechanics are what make the game so great. If you have 2 objects and think: “You can safely use them together”, then that is usually the case. That gives the title a fantastic depth that motivates over many hours and days.
Core mechanics of Project Zomboid:
- Hardcore zombie sandbox with realistic survival aspects
- Online multiplayer and split screen capable
- Extensive crafting and RPG mechanics
- Hundreds of zombies with swarm behavior
- Base construction including electricity, vehicles and washing machines
- Farming, fishing, cooking, carpentry, collecting
- RPG-like life skill system – improvements by reading books or using the skills
- Huge open world that is growing steadily
- Seasons and the weather influence the game
If you go on loot tours and have to deal with the zombies, brute force rarely helps. Sneaking is the order of the day and if a fight occurs, should you leave your firearms in place. Almost every loud shot will result in a zombie horde chasing you.
Project Zomboid makes you use your imagination all the time. Which things can be meaningfully combined and how the hell can you loot the gas station without being chased by a mutated soccer team including a reserve.
At first you only loot to survive. Once you’ve got the hang of it, it’s time to build the base, including defense. This is very fun, especially in co-op, and if you want to go further, you will even find servers with a PvP focus in the current flood of games.
MeinMMO already dealt with the title some time ago and here you can find a more detailed introduction to Project Zomboid:
Co-op insider tip on Steam: “Walking Dead Simulator, but only the good seasons”
What are the weaknesses? Although Project Zomboid has already made progress in terms of graphics and animation, one cannot speak of advanced optics. The title relies on a charming pixel solution, which is, however, an exclusion criterion for many players.
In addition, getting started is a real act due to the deep mechanics. Even with friends who bring you closer to the game in co-op, it takes time until everything runs smoothly.
Plus, progress is player-driven. A special story mode is planned, but the main part of the game revolves around survival in the open world and the constant development of your skills and bases.
91% of the 50,000 reviews are positive
What are players saying about Project Zomboid? Anyone who likes to browse the reviews of Steam knows the usual structure of an assessment of games with such a deep gameplay.
Players share a brief anecdote about how the complex gameplay slapped them and how intrigued they are with the experience. Here’s an example:
Woke up in a house. I turned on the television. Saw a cooking show. Had some baked beans.
After that, I went for a walk and was chased into the forest by a horde of the undead. I scratched my face and tore my clothes on the bushes and trees. It began to rain. So I broke into a house and cut open half my body on the broken glass.
Breaking the window attracted another horde. Tried fending off the horde with a spoon. I grabbed a microwave, ran up one floor and blocked the stairs with the microwave.
All of my food and gear are downstairs … as is the television. Now I’m going to miss the 12 o’clock show on hardwood floors. That really ruined my day.
Just buy the game. It is great.
Such little stories can be found in abundance in the reviews and show how complex and mean Project Zombiod can be.
Personal recommendation of the author: My name is Maik Schneider and survival games are a very fascinating genre for me. I’ve sunk many thousands of hours in titles like ARK, Conan, Rust, Raft or 7 Days to Die.
I came across Project Zomboid through a friend a few years ago and was captivated from the first moment. What a depth, what an adventure! And that, although I’m actually not a fan of Schleich mechanics at all.
But even sneaking is fun in Project Zomboid. And if you can answer the following 3 questions with “yes”, then you should strike:
- Do you like survival games
- Are you into pixel graphics?
- Do you have people for co-op?
In my opinion, Project Zomboid is one of the best survival games on the market, especially after the latest update to build 41. And because it’s also quite cheap (€ 16.79 on Steam) I would recommend every fan of the survival genre to die in Project Zomboid. Or 100 times.
If you want to read more about strong survival titles now, I’ll link you to our list of the 24 best survival games in 2022.
Reference-mein-mmo.de