There is nothing like a good zombie killing game, right? Pretty sure during PAX East itself, a lot of us were zombies (both press and developers) as we were on our feet for four days on the show floor. Along with that, we’ve have had many games over the years including the Left 4 Dead series, the Dead Rising series, and so many zombie-themed indie games as well. This year at PAX East 2018, Undead Labs surprised everyone by bringing State of Decay 2 to PAX. I myself, when I first saw the tweet, was excited and I had to book myself an appointment right away. I know I wasn’t going to be disappointed once I got my hands-on with the build.
Since my time at PAX, I’ve been digging into State of Decay on my end to make sure I’m good to go once State of Decay 2 releases from Undead Labs.
The moment I got to the booth I could clearly tell a lot of people were having a fun time trying to survive the onslaught of zombies. While my main appointment wasn’t until Day 3 of PAX, I often saw the game full of eager players. I couldn’t wait to see what changes have been made from the first game to the second. Fast forward to the third day of PAX East. I finally got the chance to play to see why so many people so excited. While the build at PAX East didn’t grant a way of learning the game at first for those new to the series, the main booth had artwork that displayed the controls for in-game. One major theme of State of Decay 2 is the base management system in which players are to build and handle its communities. This doesn’t include making sure to withstand the zombie threat on the map.
Of course, if you’re not new to the franchise you’ll quickly learn that once you obtain one of the many settlements in-game. You can then have its members be set to unique roles based on their strengths. This includes informing them to possibly be on the lookout for more food, on-coming zombies, making the base itself ready for an oncoming attack and much more. I will be honest, we have yet to see what new features in this area of handling a full community in-game will proceed. At the booth, I noticed very quickly that each person playing was with another, so this, in turn, confirms that State of Decay 2 will include multiplayer online, which was highly requested feature people wanted to see during the first game. As for how many at once is the big question I’d like to know.
A zombie does not make the best movie date. . .
You can clearly tell Undead Labs has put a lot of love into this game, while the build at PAX was an Alpha build. I was informed by the developer at the booth that many features people enjoyed from the first game have been brought over to State of Decay 2, as well as new features that will make State of Decay 2 more fun and add some unique changes. It did seem like we were at least a few hours into the game itself. My time with the game included seeing Erin (my girlfriend) getting killed by a Juggernaut and then shortly after another one coming to me and killing me. I can’t wait to really dig into this game once it comes time.
Overall, I can’t wait for May 22, 2018, to get more hands-on time. I’m also eager to have other players join me, since the first game did lack multiplayer. For the time being, I’ll keep working on State of Decay on Xbox One so I know I’m ready once it comes time to fight off zombies once more in State of Decay 2.
For more information, check out the official website.
