Turns out the zombies are rarely the real monsters. Everything from Fortnite to Rust owes DayZ a tremendous debt for its willingness to throw unarmed players into a hostile land with their fellow humans to see what happens next. Just how much fun can playing as a cowering, nearly powerless victim in a world full of lumbering AI zombies and ruthless human scavengers really be? Turns out it’s an addictively captivating and exhilarating experience. You simply never knew whether the next person you met was out to help or murder you. DayZ contrasted the surrealism of a zombie infestation with the hyperrealism of exposure, infection, hunger, and the degeneration of human nature in the face of disaster.

The survival games genre owes a great debt to DayZ, which began life as a mod for military simulator ARMA II. The story lives up to its outrageous premise and is supported by fine-tuned sniping, gut-wrenching gore, and a killer soundtrack fitting of the finest ’80s horror flicks. Zombie Army brings the signature kill-cam into an alternate WWII, in which Nazis are raised from hell to chase the Allied troops out of Germany.

With Zombie Army it’s the same idea, but the Nazis are zombies.

Zombie Army 4: Dead Warĭeveloper Rebellion made a name for itself with the Sniper Elite series and its cringe-inducing, X-ray kill-cam, which lets players watch bullets rip through Nazi’s insides in super-gross, super-slow-motion. This level of depth is deeply rewarding for those with the patience to navigate these more mundane survival mechanics, which the developer continues to fine-tune with regular updates almost a decade after its release. It’s a systems-heavy zombie game in which all actions must be considered you’re not just fending off the undead but depression, starvation, and loneliness too. Project Zomboid leans hard into the simulation aspects of surviving a zombie apocalypse. These encounters, of which there are 40, pit Deacon against up to 500 ‘freakers’ (Days Gone’s term for zombies) at once in a heart-pumping trial of quick wit and quicker reflexes. It was one of Sony’s less-celebrated exclusives from the PS4 era, yet it’s carved out a spot in the zombie-game pantheon thanks largely to its horde sequences. John’s rusty, trusty motorcycle and dozens of ways to (re)bury the undead. Days Gone’s open world is a post-apocalyptic playground on which you’re let loose with protagonist Deacon St.

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