Games You Should (Maybe) Play: State of Decay

State of Decay
Zombie Apocalypse Simulation
1 Player
System: Xbox Live Arcade
Developer: Undead Labs
Year of Release: 2013
Beaten: January 2nd, 2014

In a move risking the integrity of this series in just the second entry I present to you State of Decay, a game you MIGHT want to play. While originally I meant for this series to showcase only truly outstanding games, I'm making a special case for this one due in part because I beat it so long ago and writing it as a "Games I Beat" entry feels disingenuous, more importantly though since reviving this blog I've talked plenty about Nintendo games, and a decent amount of Sony with a smattering of PC gaming getting mentioned too. Aside from other legacy consoles Microsoft was the only one getting the shaft on the console side of things. I've been meaning to make up for that for a while now, I have an unpublished document on here called "xbox games", yeah not even capitalized or anything. The list is... pretty small actually. A lot of the games I truly loved on Xbox were multiplatform, and I didn't want to represent a console based on a game that you can get somewhere else (ironically most of my Sony games are also multiplatform, but I argue that I started off with exclusives!). So we come to the State of Decay, an interesting, though flawed, experience unlike most similar games.

State of Decay is the closest I've played to an actual zombie apocalypse simulator. If you've read this blog then you know I'm full of shit as I've already posted about a little indie game called Project Zomboid, a game that has been around for much longer, though that game still isn't finished. I keep tripping over myself writing this it seems, Zomboid aside, State of Decay is pretty unique in that it's a fully 3D world where you must survive in a zombie apocalypse, not just killing hoards of undead. Shelter, protection, food, water, skill building are all vital to the game play experience. At times it feels unpolished both graphically and in how it plays, and some of the menu options can be a little obtuse, but these are all small obstacles that can be easily overcome to experience something, fairly, unique.

In the main story mode you spawn in a preset location with some other people, you team up and the game guides you through the mechanics of the game before funneling you out of the tutorial area. From here you can technically do anything (I think?), but really you end up exploring the immediate area, quickly discover more survivors and team up with them as well. This grants you access to a much nicer home. You work together for a while before realizing this area is getting overrun and so you move on to the next area. All the while you explore houses, sneaking past zombies, killing any who notice you, and grabbing everything useful. Eventually this new place is in danger of being overrun and the search continues anew. Tedium seems like it would seep in, and... it does. But it takes a while, or at least that was my experience.

By the time I was in the third area I was admittedly just kind of going through the ropes, seeing all my new options was fun still, but driving to and fro grabbing some stuff, reinforcing the base, making sure people were fed, heading back out, it had begun to lose it's luster. By the final area I was actually getting a little annoyed, as I was stuck just gathering the materials I needed to kickstart the finale with enough resources to survive it. The finale itself was actually pretty intense, most of my squad had died prior or during the final fight against many waves of zombies, but a few managed to make it and drove off together, like at the end of the Birds. Thinking back it kind of really did feel like a zombie apocalypse situation, just the pure random chance of who lived and died mixed with the mundane tedium that a more survival based lifestyle would probably lead to.

The overall idea is great, the execution is mostly pretty good, and ultimately this is a pretty interesting game. If you aren't interested in zombies at all I'm shocked you read this far, and this game certainly isn't for you. However, if you like zombies, more specifically, if you like the idea of having to survive a world overrun with undeath, this game is a treat. While rough around the edges I think most zombie fans will be able to see past that and enjoy the experience, at least for the majority of the story. Thus, this might be a game you should play. In a move that would be seen as shooting my own foot if I had any stake in this game, I recommend checking this game against Project Zomboid online before picking up either. They both offer pretty extensive zombie survival simulations, but cater to different audiences.

While I haven't played either it is worth noting that the DLC Breakdown allows for more free form exploration which might be slightly more interesting. When you fully deplete the map of resources you can get on an RV and head to the next level. Disappointingly though the map just refreshes, all the loot is reset and the fog of war is reset but it's the same map, although it is more dangerous. The lack of maps is kind of disheartening, but even still it might be worth checking out for more free form play, maybe it just seems appealing as I haven't played the game in over a year and romping through story mode again doesn't seem too thrilling. Either way, if you decide to give the game a go make sure you get through story mode before considering buying this, you might be too burnt out to get back into it immediately. Another DLC, Lifeline, has you play a more streamlined experience as a military unit. It looks much less interesting, but shorter so maybe it's worth a shot too? I really don't much about the second one though.