Review: State of Decay

What would one get if games like The Walking Dead, Grand Theft Auto and Dead Rising were meshed into one title? Well, the result would most likely closely resemble State of Decay, a game that catapults the player into a third-person, free-roaming, apocalyptic, zombie-infested surrounding.

What we like about it

Zombie games are always great to move around in, and State of Decay is no different. At the start of the title, players assume the role of Marcus, and during the first couple of missions, players are helped out and shown how to get around.

The title takes it rather easy on the player for the first few activities – but once they leave the relative safety of the camp, that is when things truly go pear-shaped.

The title really gets underway when players arrive at a church in another town with other survivors. That is when the missions start being dished out.

While players start off with Marcus, they are semi-free to swap between whichever character is available. However, characters do become injured and fatigued – which will render them unavailable for selection.

Fighting zombies is also no easy task and the right tools of the trade must be used. The title features a number of weapons – 99 different guns and about 40 melee weapons in total – but players will have to choose carefully.

Characters have limited inventory space and bigger guns take up more room – leaving very little space for smaller items. There are many things to pick up around the world, which will help the player and the community they are living in.

What is rather awesome is that players have to earn their keep in the community and must contribute by keeping zombies at bay, bringing resources back to camp and generally help out. As players progress, they will earn ‘influence points’, which can then be used to upgrade the community’s facilities and earn more weapons.

There is a minor role-playing element to the game in the sense that characters gain experience in certain aspects – such as fighting, stamina and health, but these aspects cannot be upgraded by players.

The graphics are pretty good for a studio that has only developed one title, and while it is not award-winning, they tend to focus on smaller details as well, which is a nice touch!

What we do not like about it

One of the aspects that developer Undead Labs neglected somewhat was the plot. While there is a general plot – which is to survive – there is not much in the way of a story. Sure, there are some elements that tie into the general feeling and objective of the title, but the majority of the missions are fetch-based.

The developer would have benefitted greatly if they fleshed out a more engrossing plot, similar to The Walking Dead titles. Players are given certain tasks to perform that generally help a lot the community, but the story-driven missions are far and few between, and can be completed at any time.

Even while the general feeling of the title is just to survive, there is no urgency to complete the plot points that actually drive the plot – which is probably the title’s biggest downfall.

There are smaller aspects that cause for small annoyances, such as the weight limit of backpacks and the need to swap to other characters once the player’s character is fatigued or injured, but luckily those aren’t deal-breakers, as those can be worked around and planned out. But since the map is incredibly huge, players might find it a bit boring to travel from one destination to another, and here quick-travel points would have been useful.

Conclusion

To a degree, State of Decay is what you would get if you mixed The Walking Dead and Grand Theft Auto into one game. Players are free to roam as they see fit, visit any building or steal any car – while punching as many zombies in the head as they wish.

As a first title for Undead Labs, they should be applauded for their efforts and it just goes to show that they have what it takes to make a successful title. State of Decay has actually been so successful, that it has sold more than 550 000 copies since release.

With great graphics, easy controls, tons of fun and a highly-interactive free roam elements, players will experience hours of enjoyment exploring the incredibly vast map.  It is definitely worth a play, and its replay value is higher than average, which is always a great thing.

Our score: 7.9/10

Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor