There’s no easy way to put this: State of Decay is a damn mess. The graphics are buggy, the pacing is off and the game has been glitch-slapped pretty hard. And yet, despite all this, it just might be the best zombie-themed game of the year; one that’ll eat away at your hours like an open human buffet for the undead.

Once again, the world has gone and done a full Romero (YOU NEVER GO FULL ROMERO) and the dead once again roam the world, eager for a leg of Larry. Enter you, a hapless survivor in over your head and seeking out a means to survive the brave new world before you.

stateofdecay (3)

And that’s the core aspect of the game here: Survival. It’s not about smashing in the most undead brains or leveling up some undead kung-fu. Any NPC can wield a plank (HIT WITH STICK! HIT WITH STICK!) And fight off a horde of ravenous chompers, but the real hook of the game is keeping your entire party in one piece between missions and exploration.

People will die in this game, you’ll feel bad and it’ll all be your fault. Getting past the introductory mission set in a summer camp that could double as a location for Crystal Lake opens the real meat of the game up, as players eke out an existence amongst the undead.

stateofdecay (4)

Safehouses need to be discovered, survivors rescued and skills honed if you want to stand a chance against the further terrors that await you. You’ll need to keep your home base going in the long run, scavenging for supplies and fortifying it against the outside menace. In addition, morale needs to stay high, people need to be kept alive characters need to be skilled enough to handle outside threats.

Combat is rather basic though, in this respect. Provided that you’re well-equipped, button-mashing can result in some satisfying melee action that is  occasionally complemented with a slightly more complex action.

stateofdecay (6)

The zombie AI on the other hand can be an absolute mess. One minute they’re keen enough to spot you hiding in some bushes, the next minute they’ll literally shuffle past you. But it does get better; exploration into the outside world yields items, from new melee weapons that feature different grades through to food, medicine and guns which can be stored at your safehouse.

Foraging can be dangerous though, with the undead lurking around and while the process can be sped up, this creates the risk of alerting them to you and bringing in a swarm of face-eaters. It’s part of the rough charm of the game, where each pro has a con. Take guns for example; brilliant when you need to kill a zombie quick, but capable of alerting more of them to your presence.

stateofdecay (1)

All of this manifests itself in a set of stats that continually upgrades itself based on your actions. Enjoy running? Well that should boost your stamina for you. Want to mix it up in a crowd of undead? Expect boosts to your attack and defense then. Characters aren’t unstoppable though and even if you have a favourite that you use over and over again, that character is going to need a break.

Players need to cycle through their party members, lest they find themselves using a worn-out survivor with diminished stamina. Stamina is in fact, the be-all and end-all of this game, as everything is tied to it. Stock up on those potato chips if you can. You’ll need them.

stateofdecay (2)

Everything from bludgeoning through to running is tied to that stat, making it your most valuable resource and while a single zombie can easily be dealt with, a horde of them will kill that wonderful bar right down. That makes you slower, more vulnerable and just one bite away from a game over screen. It can be annoying, but at the same time, it helps give the idiotic AI at least some semblance of an actual threat.

There’s even a real-time aspect to the game, kind of. Just because you’ve switched off your Xbox, don’t expect to come back to a safehouse that was as you left it. Resources vanish, zombies can be waiting at your door for you and morale can dip. It’s a nice touch, and is certain to keep addicted gamers coming back for more.

stateofdecay (5)

But you’ve got to keep an eye on those buildings. One aspect of the game that no one is enjoying too much, is Infestations. The undead can take over a building, no matter where it is on the map. The thing is, only the nearest buildings will pop up on your map that happen to be infested with the recently deceased. If too many locations become infested, friendly AI survivors can go missing, meaning that players need to spend more time than necessary clearing out locations.

As of the time that I wrote this review, I’d only patched the game once, and this was still an issue.

state-of-decay_0900092301

While any character can be maxed out with their stats, players can also swap between NPCs at safe houses, something that becomes essential when one of your party members eventually bites the big one. Death is permanent, and replenishing your ranks is an essential means to an ends.

I’ll give State of Decay some points though, for giving players a massive amount of tasks and missions to tackle in that buggy apocalypse. There’s a ton of activities available, and even more to discover on your own and in that respect, the game succeeds completely.

State-of-Decay-Trailer_4

It’s a game that could have used some more polish. The experience gets clunky at times, the user interface can be needlessly complex, gameplay can be unbalanced and the general visual appearance can be decidedly uglier. But there is more than meets the eye here; State of Decay does offer value for money, in a way that few modern blockbuster-budgeted games can, for a mere third of the price that you’d usually pay in the end.

Last Updated: July 9, 2013

State of Decay
It's a rough balance of charms and faults, but once you get into State of Decay you'll find that the content there will keep you hooked for hours.
7.0
State of Decay was reviewed on Xbox 360

42 Comments

  1. Three questions:
    1. PC?
    2. How does it compare to Day Z?
    3. Skills level up like in Skyrim?

    Reply

    • Major Commodore 64 Darryn B

      July 9, 2013 at 15:40

      1. To be announced, so no, not right now.
      2. No idea, still need to play it.
      3. Fus-Roh-Jah

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief Groot Wors

        July 9, 2013 at 15:42

        1. Doh
        2. Doh
        3. Kewl

        Reply

      • Ultimo_Cleric N7

        July 9, 2013 at 15:43

        But does it glitch like Skyrim, can I use giants to launch zombies into space?

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Groot Wors

          July 9, 2013 at 15:56

          hehe fus ro FLYYYYYYYYYY

          Reply

      • Jonah Cash

        July 9, 2013 at 15:54

        Only 1 score? Nooooooooo I loved the logic behind 7+8+9 /3 = 7.0
        It made sense in my little mind anyway!!!

        Reply

    • DaxterZA

      July 9, 2013 at 17:05

      Day Z is a horrible game IMO, shitty controls, shitty gameplay and the Zombies are just retarded…. But if State Of Decay had Day Z’s map and concept it would probably be the best zombie survival game ever!

      Just my thoughts on it…

      Reply

  2. Argentil

    July 9, 2013 at 15:39

    Darryn, oh no you di’n’t. TLoU is a zombie game too.

    Reply

    • Spathi

      July 9, 2013 at 15:47

      It isn’t! The infected are alive!

      Reply

      • Argentil

        July 9, 2013 at 15:49

        Potatoes Potahtoes.

        Reply

        • Spathi

          July 9, 2013 at 15:53

          For this article, that difference is extremely important. Darryn’s life depends on it…

          Reply

  3. Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

    July 9, 2013 at 15:41

    Interesting. Cross platform or console only?

    Reply

  4. Umar Kiiroi Senk?

    July 9, 2013 at 15:50

    I love zombies, seriously adore anything zombie…but there two thing I hate in a game, bad frame rate and glitches … still tempted to get this

    Reply

    • Trevor Davies

      July 9, 2013 at 16:06

      You love zombies? O_O

      Reply

      • Umar Kiiroi Senk?

        July 9, 2013 at 16:19

        Actually I do..not to be taken literally. I love the concept…god I need to clear my name lol

        Reply

        • RinceWind

          July 9, 2013 at 16:40

          Man oh man, bad day for you!

          Reply

          • Umar Kiiroi Senk?

            July 9, 2013 at 16:54

            No thanx to you !!!! Lol………thanx for the support. By running away 🙁 a panda just died of sadness. Hope you happy with yourself

          • RinceWind

            July 9, 2013 at 18:31

            Why do pandas have black eyes? Cus a I always have to ask them twice! Hahahaha.. Guys?

          • Andre116

            July 9, 2013 at 18:31

            *crick, crick*

          • RinceWind

            July 9, 2013 at 18:50

            Tough crowd!

          • Umar Kiiroi Senk?

            July 10, 2013 at 06:02

            LOL that is soooooo bad but so funny 🙂

          • Hammersteyn

            July 10, 2013 at 07:34

            lol

      • RinceWind

        July 9, 2013 at 16:40

        he has worried me today!

        Reply

  5. RinceWind

    July 9, 2013 at 15:59

    How much was this Darryn? I must say, some elements even sound like Excom, which is my wife at the moment. This sounds like some decent fun. I am sure they plan more patches too?

    Reply

    • Major Commodore 64 Darryn B

      July 9, 2013 at 16:09

      You can grab the whole game for 1600 MS Pointeroos.

      Reply

      • RinceWind

        July 9, 2013 at 16:41

        Cool man!

        Reply

  6. SwaarMetaal

    July 10, 2013 at 08:43

    I’m loving this. Great game. Definitely worth it.

    Reply

  7. HvR

    July 10, 2013 at 09:39

    For when you run out of sticks to hit with:

    Reply

  8. Acornbread

    July 10, 2013 at 10:05

    Is this up on XBLA yet? Details are there but no download/purchase options… 🙁

    Reply

  9. Tidycpc

    July 10, 2013 at 11:36

    Still no word when this will be available on local xbox live?

    Reply

    • josh

      July 11, 2013 at 00:28

      its bin out for ages dude!?.. :/

      Reply

      • SwaarMetaal

        July 11, 2013 at 08:29

        Not on our local (South African) marketplace it ain’t. I migrated my SA account to UK especially for this game. Couldn’t wait any longer!

        Reply

        • Acornbread

          July 11, 2013 at 09:41

          I’ve considered migrating but I have a bad feeling the DLC I bought (yes I know… :P) will disappear. Have you had any problems?

          Reply

          • SwaarMetaal

            July 15, 2013 at 11:24

            I’ve had no problems and the migrating process is very quickly. Apparently you will only have problems if the country you migrate to doesn’t have that particular DLC or Arcade game or whatever on their market place but the UK market place has everything so I don’t think you have to worry about that at all.

          • Acornbread

            July 15, 2013 at 18:14

            Sounds good, thanks!

  10. Tauriq Moosa

    July 10, 2013 at 19:22

    Hope that a lot of the polish is there when it comes to PC. Looks like a game I could easily fall in love with. I hope the subsequent games in the franchise will make it increasingly brilliant (cf. Saints Row the Third).

    Reply

  11. Drizzt

    July 11, 2013 at 08:44

    Wouldn’t it be great if this was offered on the XBLA store for South Africa.

    Microsoft’s service and false advertising are pathetic.

    Reply

    • Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

      January 6, 2014 at 13:47

      It is available.. I’m downloading it tonight

      Reply

  12. Juliana

    April 21, 2014 at 01:32

    The glitches are more funny than annoying. IMO it makes the game charming.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Twelve Minutes Review – Stuck in a Mystery Time Loop

We’ve all experienced deja vu a few times in our lives, but what happens when you ha…