Early Access Examination: Yet Another Zombie Survivors

By JT

Players: 1
Platforms: PC (via Steam)

With "Survivors" becoming an active genre since the release of Vampire Survivors, we now have Yet Another Zombie Survivors which is now available in Steam Early Access. No story, at least nothing tangible, just get dropped into the middle of a city and survive for 20 minutes. Will the grand scope of things eventually turn into something more than just another Survivors game? The foundation is there, the characters are there, and so are the possibilities for many set-pieces to be added. It’s in the name though, Yet Another Zombie Survivors. Let’s see how this stacks up in its current form…

At the beginning of Yet Another Zombie Survivors, there are three unlocked operators to choose from. SWAT, which focuses on main assault weapons such as the starting pistol that can eventually upgrade into an assault rifle or sniper, and also gives an automatic high fire rate. Tank, which focuses on spread-fire with its type of shotguns, and yields better armor than other operators. The Engineer is possibly my favorite companion, especially paired with SWAT. In that setting he mainly focuses on electricity and a lot of area-of-attack support weapons, also known as Skills. There are also three operators that can be unlocked aside from the initial three, each with their own separate types of weapons and skills. Eventually you’ll receive the options for Bow, Katana, and Medic, who heals the team very effectively and efficiently, taking out some need for regenerative loot upgrades.

Currently there is one stage, but once a stage’s completion parameters are met, Endless and Hardcore Mode become available. Each mode adds to Yet Another Zombie Survivors, but not that much. Endless Mode is just Default Mode with no time limit, adding hordes of zombies and boss fights as time progresses. Hardcore cuts all time by half, adds quicker zombies, and different boss zombies along with that. It also increases intensity almost by double. Since the time to completion is cut in half, you only need to survive for 10 minutes. Hopefully more maps and modes get added, including the possibility for custom tabs to give players further challenges and add to the longevity of the game. Something unique to make this Survivors game stand out from others, besides being looked at as a Call of Duty third-person Survivors zombie game. At least that was what my impression of the game felt like.

After a certain amount of time has passed, loot and survivors begin to pop up. Loot gives you extra perks such as added weapon fire rate, or extra luck. Survivors give the option to pick one of two operators to choose from to join your group or add money to your pocket, which can be used as permanent upgrades after each run. Being able to re-do ability points indefinitely is a huge plus as well. Each run can allow up to three operators, but sometimes it might be a good idea to go for the money because once you gain up to the maximum of three operators in a group, any survivors collected along the way only upgrade your weapons, just like if you’ve leveled up. Each zombie killed give you gems, ranging from small to large, which turn into experience points the moment you obtain them. There are chances where a zombie may drop a blue magnet which gathers up all remaining experience left on the field. Sometimes they drop health packs for some instant HP recovery, or power-ups that grant either a boost to your running speed, fire rate, or defense.

Between each of the operators there are two weapon types already available, with a third unlocked after a certain number of zombie kills. What makes each weapon stand out is their overall use, and whether or not it will actually help in surviving. I’ve only been using certain operators because of their ability to clear mobs surrounding them. Such as Ghost, which has an insanely overpowered melee attack with his swords. You run forward, run into mobs, and the mobs all die before they have a chance to hurt you. These moments take away from the overall balance of the game. Nine times out of ten there is no reason to not use Ghost due to him being so overpowered. Same with Huntress, only you wouldn’t use her most the time because her attacks feel more on the weaker end. Almost all weapons feel as if they’re ranged in the same manner, even comparing the Sniper from SWAT and most of the Tank’s weapons. In a tower defense game or an actual Call of Duty zombie game, the class of characters would feel at home, but it might be a lot more difficult to get them right in a Survivors game.

There are some bugs when it comes to disappearing items, as some items quickly vanish within a frame or two of them popping up on screen. Also, some items are supposed to have indicators pop up on screen to alert you where they are, including the loot drop and survivor. They might disappear randomly, or not pop up at all when you run away from them, although this might be due to how much is happening on-screen already. At times a lot will happen on screen and the frame rate dips a little, but not enough to make an impact on the overall run. No matter the circumstances surrounding it, the frame rate will drop during almost all the runs. There are not that many types of zombies either, aside from boss zombies. The default civilian zombie, the exploders that release gas when killed, running zombies, and swarms, which are similar to bees.

In its current state, Yet Another Zombie Survivors is a fun game with some minor bugs and a lot yet to be added into the game in the coming future. There is nothing here that sets the game apart from any other Survivors game, other than its aesthetic. I’m not talking a lot about the graphics either, because graphics can change a lot over time and these look a little bit stale. If you’re looking at this game as-is from Steam’s Store Page, it looks almost like a generic mobile zombie game. However the potential is there, and the developer has a chance to build up from its current form. With the game being just a couple months into Early Access, it’s really not bad. It’s not a game I could see myself playing again in the near future though unless there was some major change in the formula. Just like Metroidvanias, Survivors as a sub-genre needs games that not only just take from the formula, but also build upon it. Just having a map with three modes, or a map with multiple difficulties, is not building upon the genre; it’s only taking from what they already know. The game has potential but it’s just not fully realized yet. Hopefully, the developer adds more than what is already shown. Anyone can add weapons, an endless mode or added difficulties, but what it needs to stand out from the rest are features. As an Early Access title, we’re not here to grade it, but give first impressions of what the current state of the game is at.

Check Out Yet Another Zombie Surivors on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2163330/Yet_Another_Zombie_Survivors/

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Pros:
+ Fun for the casual player.
+ Easy controls.
+ Different Skills and Upgrades add to the game’s overall functions.

Cons:
- Minor bugs surrounding item drops.
- Not a lot of balance between the characters.
- Not very many additional features outside of and Endless Mode and Hardcore Mode.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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