Who said that zombies are passé? Hopefully no one, because we do love to play games with zombies! And here are some of our favourite titles!
- Number 10 – DayZ : Yes, DayZ is still in early access – but there’s tons of fun in this online multiplayer survival game nonetheless. It offers an open world overrun by zombies– and allows you a certain freedom in choosing your gameplay style. Whether you want to follow the military route,be a free spirit roaming the land with bow and arrow, or a sociopathic killer hell bent on killing other players – you can. Make sure you remember that this is a full-blown survival game though – and you have to take care of your character’s needs in between fighting the zombies. This means that you can starve to death before you get killed by the walking dead if you’re not careful. As expected in the survival genre, prepare for crafting, scavenging, hunting, gathering, base building and of course PvP.
- Number 9 – Dying Light : Another open world survival game on our list. Dying Light’s gameplay changes dramatically between day and night. While the sun is still up, you have to scavenge for supplies and weapons to prepare yourself for nighttime. Because as soon as it gets dark, the zombies– here called Volatiles – begin their hunt, and you become their prey. Except for the expected shooting, hiding and survival elements, the game also features tons of parkour, giving the players immense amount of freedom of movement. And for the co-op minded gamers, there’s a four player cooperative mode!
- Number 8 – Killing Floor : Killing Floor can be played cooperatively by up to six players whose task is – predictably– to kill all the zombies (this time named Zeds). The gameplay centers around fighting against waves of enemies culminating in boss fights. The enemy mobs as well as bosses come in different flavors, forcing you and your teammates to adjust your strategy and weapons depending on whom you’re fighting. Fortunately, you can upgrade your characters and choose from a variety of perks, as well as collect new weapons to increase your chances. What’s the best though is the amazing gun play and the huge replay value of the game, allowing you to spend literally hundreds of hours killing Zeds.
- Number 7 – Dead Rising : As an investigative journalist who’s covered wars – Frank – you have to infiltrate a mall overrun by zombies and find out what caused the outbreak. You have 72 hours and a huge arsenal of items you can find and use as weapons against zombies and psychopaths – whether it’s actual knives and guns, or more mundane items such as gumball machines and shower heads. Except for smashing skulls in or slicing enemies in half, the gameplay also makes you manage your limited inventory and your save slots– saving is only possible in certain locations, so dying often means being forced to replay big chunks of the game. There’s also escorting other survivors – and believe us, their AI will make you scream. Once you beat the 72-hour mode and get down to the bottom of the mystery, you can unlock the infinite mode, allowing you to roam freely around the mall and try to survive for as long as possible. And with the amount of new skills to unlock through level ups, multiple game endings and the tongue in the cheek sense of humour – you are bound to spend long hours both in the sandbox mode and replaying the story missions.
- Number 6 – Dead Island : Stranded on a tropical island on the days following a zombie outbreak, Dead Island has you (and up to three others in co-op mode) fight the undead standing in your way in a visceral, gory melee combat, using makeshift weapons created from whatever you can find. The game uses first person perspective, which makes all the zombie wrestling feel truly personal, and the beautiful environments of the island can be roamed freely for long hours in search of side-quests and experience necessary to level your character up and unlock new skills.
- Number 5 – Resident Evil Remake HD : Resident Evil Remake HD is the remaster of a remake of the classic survival horror title which spawned a franchise consisting of over 20 games as well as a movie series, multiple novels and comic books. As such it’s a must play for any survival horror genre enthusiast and anyone who wants to call themselves a zombie expert. There are two campaigns to choose from – in one of them you play as Chris Red field, and in the other as Jill Valentine. While there are similarities in both story lines,each of the characters has unique plot line and gameplay elements, with Jill having more ammo available to her, making her campaign a bit easier, and Chris, not being a master of unlocking, having a much harder time exploring the mansion. Also, he never finds out where Barry is. True to the original, the remake features fixed camera angles which add to the challenge when you have to protect yourself against zombies not necessarily visible from your current perspective. There’s also plenty of puzzles and a ton of inventory management, what with plot items taking up your precious item slots.
- Number 4 – Call of Duty Black Ops 4 : While the zombie mode is by no means the most important part of the Call of Duty series,it has been a constant presence in the franchise ever since it first appeared in World at War,and has a huge following in the fandom. The newest Call of Duty title, Black Ops 4,features the four person co-op zombie mode yet again, and with some tweaks to keep it fresh in 2018, too. It allows for a wide range of customization,with custom mutations allowing you to change the difficulty, speed, health, damage and other variables of the zombies, and custom load-outs for a more personalized play style. And with different story lines for the zombie mode, you can choose to hack through them in an Ancient Rome arena, or to shoot the min a more modern setting. As always in the Call of Duty, the first-person perspective gun play is incredible, the players are rewarded for special combos, and should you get bored with the zombie mode, you can always jump into the other game modes, including classic online multiplayer, and a brand new battle royal mode.
- Number 3 – The Walking Dead : Don’t expect a lot of shooting and action in this one. Telltale’s The Walking Dead is a very story-heavy adventure game – basically an interactive movie with an occasional quick-time event. Like most of the Telltale games, it involves a lot of dialogues with the ensemble of fantastic characters, gut-wrenching choices and an incredibly written plot that will probably make you cry at least once. The game’s first season is split into five episodes with a linear story line which can be influenced by the decisions you make during crucial plot points, and follows the story of Lee Everett and people he joins forces with in the face of Zombie apocalypse – most importantly Clementine, a young girl who becomes his surrogate daughter. The game is based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book series, The Walking Dead, and fans of the franchise will see some familiar faces– though the game can be played completely independent of the comics and the AMC show.
- Number 2 – Left 4 Dead 2 : Left 4 Dead 2 is a classic Valve FPS co-op title, allowing 4 players to try and survive through the zombie apocalypse by shooting all the zombies in the face – or, alternatively,enter close combat using melee weapons such as chainsaws and lead pipes to hack through the enemies. Cooperation between the players is vital to the gameplay, to the point where the game interface makes it easy to locate your squad-mates even through walls in order to keep your team close – and allow you to assist each other should any of you fall unconscious or fall off a ledge. Thanks to the all-knowing AI Director, every play through is a little different, with enemies and weapons spawning in different places,and special zombies acting different according to your performance, giving Left 4 Dead 2a huge replay value.
- Number 1 – The Last of Us : Similarly to The Walking Dead, The Last of Us features a fantastic and tear-jerking story line involving a man and his surrogate daughter trying to keep each other safe through a zombie apocalypse. However, this title is an action game and involves a lot of combat and stealth elements. There are also some survival elements, with the game forcing you to scavenge ammo and materials to craft new weapons, improved gear,healing items etc. Played from a third person perspective, the game allows for both melee and shooting, and stealth allows you to sneak-kill your enemies or avoid some of the encounters entirely. Praised for incredible performances by Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, the game is a true masterpiece of its genre, mixing an incredible plot with tight gameplay. So that’s it for our list. Let us know what you think – and tell us and the other viewers what your favourite zombie game is by leaving a comment below!