The Case

Video games and the zombie apocalypse are hardly strangers. They've gone hand in hand so long, and so often, they might as well be the exact same thing at this point. Yet there are still a whole plethora of new titles released, announced or suggested on an almost daily basis. Some are promising, some are terrible, some meet expectations, some fall flat and die, some should never have been made in the first place but somehow shambled out anyway. Where, then, does State of Decay, by Undead Labs, a formerly Xbox only title, fall on the spectrum? Let's dive right in and munch away at all those lovely tidbits of my brain to find out.

The Trial

Right from the outset, let me say this much. The game starts off on the right path. No introduction, no lengthy cutscene with clunky, unneeded exposition. You're just there, with a big piece of wood in your hand, watching you best friend being munched in the face by a bunch of crazy lunatics. So you do what any sane, rational person would do, and beat the living shit out of them. No heming and hawing, no forced moral dilemma nonsense. Your friend is in danger, so you jump in and help him out.

The game then progresses along much the same vein. Offering you an almost dazzlingly huge map to explore right from the outset. None of this, again, forced exposition to explain why certain areas are off limits. From the secluded camping spot (which conveniently, but efficiently and organically explains why everything is new to you) where you start, the entire map is available to you. Though it's a lengthy trek down to civilisation.

Along the way, you encounter more survivors, most of whom are munched to death shortly after (that happens a lot by the way) and start to piece together little snippets of what went on. The particulars of the outbreak are left, wisely, extremely vague. As is the plot as a whole. The emphasis is far more on the sandbox experience of the realities of surviving a zombie apocalypse. Gathering food and weapons, medicine, building supplies to provide more sleeping quarters for the bedraggled survivors, that kind of thing.

This begins, ends and persists as your primary focus for the entire duration of the time spent playing. With randomly generated missions like sittings of new survivors, trading with other encampments, clearing out nests of zombies (of which there is a surprising variety in both type and character model) there's always something to do. Allowing the game to, literally, be endless. Something which is greatly assisted by the overall quality of the missions and random, though obviously finite, dialogue options that you hear over the read. Every mission is told to you via walkie-talkie, but the scripting is clever enough that it never feels repetitive. So you could play it forever without it losing the appeal.

The same quality extends to the plot, such as it is. There's actually a lot of stuff going on in the background if you want to look for it. The narrative is sparse, yes, but rather deep. Touching on a lot of the issues that would genuinely arise in such an event. Though it does everything at arm’s length, showing you what's happening rather than commenting on it. Leaving you to make your own judgements about what is and is not the right choice to make. Think of it as a sandbox game with a plot if you want to follow it, rather than a plot heavy game in a sandbox. There's enough of either to satisfy both, with the other being just distant enough that it won't interfere with your fun. So if, like myself, you see the advantages and inherent draw in both aspects, this could well be, functionally, the perfect game.

The voice acting, music and sound effects all help, massively, in building the immersion that a game like this not only thrives up, but needs as its basic premise. The characters you meet all feel like real, natural people, delivering beautifully understated performances that make them immediately feel like friends. Or enemies, depending on your mood. Whilst the groans and screams of the zombies in the distance can be utterly terrifying, when you know a massive horde is lurking nearby.

Functionally, the game plays extremely well. Driving can feel a bit floaty at times, with cars having insanely sharp turning arcs. But everything else functions as you would expect. The only downside is the control scheme. Given that the game was made for consoles first, without any concrete plans for a PC release, a controller is clearly the better optimised choice. There is now mouse and keyboard support, which works efficiently enough. But without custom key bindings (at times of writing) they can be a little clumsy in the heat of the moment. Of course, there's always a way round that with config files, which is a bit of a ballache.

Along the way you will come across a multitude of colourful people. Some of which will be friendly, some will be hostile, and some, the lucky few, will join you directly and become playable. This adds a whole new dynamic to the game, which makes it feel a lot more organic, a lot more like there are other, real, people involved. As each character remains active when you are not using them, and all of their abilities are upgraded independently. The amount of information State remembers, even so far as where you left a certain car and the condition you left it in, is truly outstanding.

And it looks amazing! It may not be a graphical benchmark powerhouse, but the assets it has have been expertly crafted. The autumnal atmosphere is evident in everything, with trees and other foliage being a breathing swathe of burned ambers and soft ochre. Whilst character models are nicely detailed and extremely well animated.

The Verdict

State of Decay is a superb game. Despite being built with not only consoles, but one specific console, in mind, Undead Labs have not half-assed the port job. Everything has been smoothed out to near perfection. The only things that could really be said against it are the lack of co-op/multiplayer and the difficulty. The first is a minor complaint, the latter is more of a compliment in a lot of ways. It's the zombie apocalypse. It is not supposed to be a cakewalk.

Case Review