Yet Another Zombie Survivors (PC) Preview

Yet Another Zombie Survivors belongs on a somewhat rarely used branch of the shooter genre, where the player moves around a character (or more), and he/she/they automatically try to kill the bad things that come towards them… and that's exactly what you do here. You push up, down, left, and right, while the protagonist(s) auto-shoot a constantly evolving horde of zombies. This will initially alienate those who would prefer to be able to pull the trigger themselves, yet this deceptively simplistic formula actually manages to become strangely addictive. Yes, it can become repetitive, yet this is also one of those "just one more round" kind of experiences.

It's not just running around, of course. There are a couple of things that spice things up. For starters combat begins with one character, but eventually it will be possible to add two more, each one with his/her own unique set of skills and equipment. This team, whose "hitbox" is the circle that surrounds them, collects gems from killed foes which act as experience. After a level-up (which happens quite often in the first five minutes), one can upgrade a character's weapon, or an ability, which, by the way, don't require any player input either as they activate automatically after a small cooldown period.

So, the shotgun will slowly evolve into a pump-action shotgun, the pistol into an automatic rifle, and the sawblades that rotate around the squad, or the mines that are thrown from them will increase in number. Is that all? No, there are a couple of additional things to talk about, like minor power-ups, upgrade items that occasionally appear on the battlefield, and a permanent skill tree that can be used after the end of a game. All these don't make the whole thing any more complex, though. This remains a very simple kind of deal, and as such, it can and will get repetitive. What makes it fun is how it actually plays.

The undead horde steadily becomes bigger, faster, stronger, and soon elite unites will enter the fray to make your life even harder, while you try to squeeze yourself between 20+ undead in order to get that blasted health bonus. After 10 or so minutes you will constantly be a few steps away from getting hurt, which makes each minute more exciting than the previous one. A kind reminder that this is an Early Access product thus most of the content isn't available, whether that's more maps, more characters, more abilities, or modes, but even in its current incomplete state it's quite enjoyable.

Of course, there is plenty of room for improvement. For starters, while it's not that big of a deal that the squad does all the fighting on its own, it would be nice if the one behind the keyboard had a few more buttons to push, like for example aimed abilities/traps, or temporary boosts that can be used whenever one wants to. Newer maps should also be more varied. The one available here is just a big box, with no obstacles, hazards, or other cool mechanics. Audio-visually it is a tad bland (especially when compared to the 2D spectacle of Fury Unleashed), but it would be totally acceptable if no major changes would be made in the final release. Apart from the music. The one track that bops along the shooting is one of the most mind-numbingly generic "bro" hard rock tunes ever made. It gets boring within 30 seconds, and it's much better to disable it completely, and play something of your own choice. Dance with the Dead or Rammstein are both strong, fitting recommendations.