THE DEAD TIMES
DEAD ARE COMING...
2020: Preview of the Dead: Part 1 - Games
Here it is, undead-lovers - 2019 lies, rotting in its half-forgotten tomb while 2020 springs fourth from the unsealed coffin of time. We kick off the decade with an examination of all the deliciously lurid Zombie projects that lie within its fatal frame - as a doctor of death might study a murdered corpse. The first few metaphorical maggots to rise from the lurching body, straining and writhing with bemusement at the feeble straps keeping it to the autopsy table, are the electronical wonders known as video games and, by the great old ones, there sure are a lot of them in this heathen shell.
Still, some of these wretched things show levels of decay beyond the norm; bloated worms that have passed, by some horrific means, from the body of 2019 into the relatively fresh cadaver of 2020. Already known to undead science, an update on their progress is given in a special MIA appendix.
The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners
This virtual Reality (VR) game set in The Walking Dead universe does sound interesting; not the run-of-the-mill Zombie shooter in an already-setup, extremely popular environ you may expect. Unusally for a VR game, Saints and Sinners is not all combat-heavy (even if the launch trailer kinda is). It promises scavenging of survival items, a reasonably large world to traverse, optional stealth mechanics and, most interestingly, decisions with actual consequences.
Scheming Through The Zombie Apocalypse Episode 2: Caged
The comedic adult-cartoon game about talking animals stuck in a Zombie apocalypse returns with a second episode. As with the first game, you must guide Hank and Larry through this cartoony world of death and adult-themes whilst doing as little as possible, fooling and manipulating other survivors into doing the hard-work for you.
Pandemic Express
In this multiplayer-exclusive game, groups of humans try to outrun, and outgun, a player-controlled swarm of Infected. There are vehicles, weapons, a large world to explore, and a train - your only means of escape - to defend. The art-style is simple-yet-distinctive making this one stand out from the legions of other multiplayer Zombie shooters.
Rainbow Six Quarantine
Rainbow Six Quarantine was a last-minute addition to the list; whether it can even be counted as a Zombie game is not yet known as the inclusion of these enviable creatures has not been confirmed. The announcement trailer does hint at some Zombie goings-on and the constantly bleeping wristwatch plus black veins increasing on a soldier's arm, do suggest some kind of infection. It is also a brand new game and not just downloadable content (DLC) for the multiplayer-only Rainbow Six Siege so there is reason to believe this is something more than a simple, Rainbow Six meets Left 4 Dead cash-in. It's worth keeping an eye on this one as I've been waiting for a tactical, military Zombie shooter ever since the promising SWAT 4 spin-off, Division 9 was cancelled.
Dysmantle
Continuing the 'might not be a Zombie game' theme, I'm not really sure Dysmantle counts; it does involve an infection, a post-apocalyptic setting and some very angry, formerly friendly humans and animals that now wish to tear you limb from limb, so without actually using the Z-word, it does tick all the right boxes. Basically, it is a 'hack and slash'-type action-RPG with an inviting art-style. You can pretty much do anything on the island you are trapped on including exploring, uncovering ancient mysteries, farming crops, crafting weapons, killing vile enemies and looting their fallen bodies, breaking almost anything, building outposts and even fishing. It's a hugely ambitious title for the small team that are working on it so it's worth keeping the brakes on the hype-train for now - with no set release window, we could be waiting a long while.
Zombie Killing Simulator
Truly, what more can I say about this game than the title; you kill Zombies, lots of Zombies! There are various game modes including the more usual wave-based scenarios and, more creative, more crazy, minigames. It also includes a simple-to-use level editor so you can mow down the living dead in a custom environment that suits you. The game is actually already available on Steam's wonderful Early Access programme but will hopefully see a full release in 2020.
Mist Survival
Mist Survival is a different type of Zombie game; yes, at first glance it appears yet another survival, crafting and exploration sandbox with resource needs, hunger meters and what have you but, look deeper, and there is a subtle twist hinted at (fairly strongly hinted) in the game's title; the mist. Thick mist can descend at anytime, blocking out the sun and allowing people infected with the mysterious Zombie virus to roam the land, hunting down prey - human prey. Put simply, the game becomes more survival-horror at this point; your vision is limited, the dead scuttle and scream around you, shapes form in the haze but actual targets remain elusive, you know survival is only a matter of time, the dreaded fog will lift eventually but, time, is a treasured commodity in a world overrun with living death. The game is available right now in Early Access and is stated to reach the fabled 'complete' status during 2020.
Nazi Zombie Army 4: Dead War
The unspeakable forces of Hitler's dead army are back for a fourth go in this epic World War II shooter from Rebellion, the makers of the Sniper Elite franchise. However, where the previous Nazi Zombie Army games were all comical spin-offs of the main Sniper Elite game, 4 has been developed from the ground up to be a masterful Zombie game in its own right; sporting a more detailed story, a game-specific campaign for 1-4 players and new team-based gameplay. This is definitely one to look out for come February.
Resident Evil 3
This is the big one, and, quite frankly, a complete surprise - up until a few months ago, it had not even been announced. Following on from the eye-popping success of their Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom has decided to push ahead with a remake of Resident Evil 3. Apparently, the developers have taken a looser approach when it comes to restructuring the story of the original, redrafting whatever they see fit for a true Resident Evil experience - they are remaining tight lipped on specifics for now. What we do know is that Jill, Carlos and fan-favourite super-enemy, Nemesis are returning (each with spectacular overhauls for the modern generation). With a new trailer rumoured to drop very soon, the only remaining bit of news is the release date: April 3.
The House of the Dead I & II remakes
The first two The House of the Dead games are being remade! That's all we know for now; platforms and release dates remain undisclosed, as too does exactly how the games will work now the 'light gun' craze has passed.
MIA
Project Zomboid
There is not much I can say about Project Zomboid that has not already been said. The game is a 2D isometric Zombie survival game with deep, deep rules and a single story to tell; the story of how you died. Yes, there is no winning in this dismal game, as in a real Zombie apocalypse - the only "goal" being to survive as long as possible. The updates keep coming and, even in this incomplete stage, the game continues to make major waves with YouTUBE gamers. The development team have also gone through hell, literal hell, to get this game made as, amongst other problems, a lot of the game had to be rewritten following the theft of a laptop containing the game's hefty source code. In all fairness, a 2020 release of a 1.0 build does seem a remote chance given what the team still want to add to the game but, here's hoping!
7 Days To Die
Will this game ever make it to a full release? I have no doubt that the answer is yes, given the immense hard-work of developers The Fun Pimps to date, but the Zombie sandbox survival game has lingered in Early Access for what seems like ages. The game takes place in the mythical Navezgane County, under the grip of a ruthless warlord known only as 'The Duke of Navezgane' and his band of mutated human mercenaries. As with all survival sandbox games, you can play however you want; living off the land in a Nomadic life-style or building custom-made forts, planting crops and hunkering down in a defensive area. One of the coolest features of the huge game, in my opinion, is the amazing level of settings and options you have to tailor the Zombie apocalypse to your precise liking; do Zombies move fast or slow, does night affect them, how frequent are the resources you need to survive, do you want to play in the hand-crafted Navezgane County or have a world randomly generated for you, how frequently will massive Zombie hordes move through the world, and so on. When it finally releases into a fully fledged game, this one is going to be big.
The Black Masses
After missing a full release in 2019, this heavily Dying Light inspired, open-world, medieval-set RPG has been bumped up to the first quarter of 2020. The feature list is impressive as always; a massive 16-square kilometre island to explore, hordes of undead (or demon-possessed humans to be thematically correct), a parkour system and a host of powerful physical abilities to learn. There is not that much more to say other than development news has been minor but frequent - rest assured, further delays seem unlikely.
The Last of Us Part II
The sequel to what was probably the best Zombie video game to grace the last, and current, generation of consoles is going to touch down in early 2020 - it's time to get ready for the fungal-Zombie invasion once again. Set five years after the events of The Last of Us, Ellie - who is now 19 - comes into contact with a mysterious cult and things quickly take a turn for the worse at that point. We are promised a much darker tale this time around; where the first game centred on themes of love, friendship and hope, The Last of Us Part II will focus on dealing with loss in a time where hope seems always out of reach and hate - bitter, brutal hate. To help you enact that hate, gameplay will be a mix of ranged combat, deadly up-close fights and stealth. Oh, and there are a few new types of infected Zombies to keep the challenge alive.
Dying Light 2
Dying Light has, hands-down, winner-takes-all, been the best Zombie game of recent times - I accept no argument. Dying Light 2 hopes to keep that accolade for the franchise when it launches in 2020. Set 15 years after humanity was forced to its knees by a catastrophic Zombie virus, the last great human settlement exists in an infected, hostile and ever-changing world. During the day, survivors, bandits, factions of humanity left alive, scavenge the streets for whatever they can find to help them meet their goals, the Zombies being slow and sluggish, avoidable, defeatable. At night however, it's a different story. At night, fearsome new virus-infected monsters emerge from their dark lairs and begin the hunt for man with near-inescapable result. So, on the face of it, the sequel stays close to the award-winning gameplay of the original (a very, very good thing). The big change is that now your actions have game-changing consequences, often going as far as to visibly alter the entire human settlement you find yourself in.
Dead Matter
Another Kickstarter project carried over from last year. Having its background in a modification for an existing game (Crysis 2 for those in the know), Dead Matter aims to break free from its moorings and become a fully stand-alone, true Zombie survival-horror sandbox. Players will be able to choose a playstyle that best suits them; find a defensible area, barricade it, dig in and let the Zombies come to you or make a break for it, living off the land, scavenging what you can, bashing in the brains of whatever lurches your way in your quest to an unknown destination. Progress through development seems to be ticking along nicely, with monthly updates on new additions and improved systems.
Dead Island 2 (yes, it still exists)
So... yeah, Dead Island 2. For those not up to speed, the game announced all the way back in 2014 has had an extremely rocky development cycle spanning multiple developers and, thanks to smaller companies being bought by huge conglomerates, multiple publishers. In fact, the whole sad tale is now so confused, even I don't know what is really going on anymore (nor, do I really care to be honest). The latest news sees the game being made by Dambuster Studios of Homefront: The Revolution fame (a game that is widely regarded as 'dreadful') and the publisher is Deep Silver. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an entertaining product to come to light at the end of all this but I'm far from optimistic about this long-overdue sequel.
DESCRIPTION:
2020 is here Zombie-fans! In this first part of my annual preview, we'll take a look at the many (and I do mean many) Zombie games heading our way in this first year of a brand-new decade.
CATEGORY:
Preview of the Dead
WRITTEN BY:
DATE UPLOADED:
05/01/2020