State of Decay 2 is an open world zombie survival game and first sequel to the original hit game.
I’m sure from time to time we have all wondered how we would cope in a zombie apocalypse and while a quick scan of any zombie fan message board will no doubt find you plenty of bravado about how the commenter would fare, even as there’s already plenty of games to play inside said fantasy. However, what the original “State of Decay” gave us when it was released back in 2013 was a much more sober zombie survival fantasy, which combined zombie slaying action with the responsibilities of keeping your fellow survivors alive and happy.
Hardly reinventing the wheel for this belated sequel, the gameplay largely remains the same as you being with a small group of three survivors and a small home base. Of course where you go from there is completely up to you as you explore the surrounding buildings for resources and weapons to keep your base going, upgrade facilities and generally keep your fellow survivors alive and happy. The latter often proving surprisingly more difficult than the first.
At first sight, the zombie hordes wandering the landscape might seem a little unthreatening though it is surprisingly easy for the more cocky survivor to quickly find themselves overwhelmed as their stamina is worn down and they find themselves quickly disemboweled if one of the special zombie types are in the mix. This of course adds a sense of unease to your travels into the surrounding area and in a way more realistic than the more action based world of Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising.
As the game progresses, you will also encounter fellow survivors who can be recruited to join your community or alternatively be used to trade resources, which often will be willing today once you have assisted them in some way. At the same time in the zombie apocalypse there are also groups of hostile survivors who will have no issue with treating you the same as the local zombie population and in turn add a new element of difficulty to the game.
The main story of the game this time sees you and your fellow survivors trying to find a cure for the blood plague which certain zombies carry and in turn can infect the survivors if they take too many hits. At the same time, these effects can leave you forced with the choice of killing them or even exiling them to the zombie wasteland. It’s a simple yet effective tweak to the gameplay which really can provide some tough choices when faced with your favourite survivors being infected.
Outside of the main story, side missions regularly appear, which usually revolve around clearing zombie hordes, finding items or rescuing survivors, which can at times become a little bit of a grind, especially when in this world everyone wants something. Thankfully unlike the first game, we do more missions that are specific to certain survivors and while the they might have the same goals they are different enough to stop things getting too stale while others add some much needed lightness to the world. One of my survivors, a wannabe action hero, had me looking for a fast car to run zombies over with. Of course you also have the option for online multiplayer enabling you to aid or receive aid from your online friends which can help mix things up.
Unlike the previous game, players get the choice of 3 full size maps consisting of Cascade Hills, which will seem familiar to fans of the first game with its mixture of towns and farmlands. The plains of Meagher Valley and finally the mountain surrounded Drucker County. Upon completing the tutorial you can choose which of these maps you start on however if you skip the tutorial you will randomly start on one of the maps. You can however choose to move to another map once you get bored with the one your assigned or just find yourself running low on resources. The maps themselves have plenty of interesting areas to explore with each providing a different environmental challenge to adapt to.
Despite the original game being something of a cult title, this sequel does more than give players the same game but with a graphical upgrade new map. Instead the added graphical boost only further brings the world to life by the bursts of conversation from the survivors as they remember times past or comment on their current situation. At the same time the pacing of the game might be too slow for those who prefer more action based games, but for those raised on George Romero zombie movies this games certainly delivers more times than it misses