I’m going to be up front, this particular title has so much going on in terms of things I enjoy that it is a bit tough to be objective about it. I will try my best to do so, despite all of that, as I like to think I have at least a shred of integrity. I may be positive about titles in these columns more often than not, but I do try to call out when something doesn’t work or poses unnecessary stress on the player. But Undead Labs’ zombie apocalypse survival and management title State of Decay 2 checks so many of my boxes. Being an improved mainstream sequel to an original indie IP, and being one of the few Microsoft exclusive titles worth writing home about are just the start of the things that make this game a perfect storm for me.
Zombies by and large have been admittedly played out culturally. With so many films, books, comics, long-winded television programs, and even video games on top of the different variations of the beasts themselves, these creatures have completely saturated the market in the way vampires had in the late 90s to early aughts. What was once just a type of monster became a full-blown genre, spanning all arts. It was a bit much. But I am a sucker for the origins of those beasts, and the things that had made them popular before the final explosion, seemingly lead by The Walking Dead show. I love 28 Days later, and the fast rage zombies are a fun concept, but the shambling remains of our former loved ones has always been the version that intrigued me the most. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, The Walking Dead comic, and Max Brooks’ World War Z novel stuck with me more than anything else. For ages, video games latched onto the quicker versions, and even developed more robust and varied rare zombies with their own unique traits, but the psychologically menacing shamblers were nowhere to be found, presumably because they aren’t exciting enough in the world of twitch shooters. Even Resident Evil moved away from the stumbling dead and moved to baddies with more vigor. Then along came a little janky “engine that could” in the form of the original State of Decay.
In the original, as in the sequel, you are put in the shoes of a small group of survivors, who must use their wits and skills from the times before to survive in a small sandbox town overrun with slow and slightly stupid zombies. The controls were a mess, the graphics were outdated, but it combined third-person action, scavenging, and base building elements to give you the sense of growing a community and sustaining it. To counteract the seemingly simple task of avoiding zombies, individual ones would group up into overwhelming hordes and lone specialized zombies with extra strength or toxic blood would show up to mix up moments of comfortable survival. It was methodical and interesting, featured RPG stat growth to gain attachment to certain survivors, and permanent death to make watching them as they’re ripped to shreds all the more painful. It was the zombie game for folks who enjoy the idea of living in a post-apocalypse, and while it was a mess, it made such a unique name for itself and was made by a team of such passionate folks, that it was given enough energy to grow a decent fan base.
This leads us to the title we’re really here to talk about, State of Decay 2. In my opinion, this is how a sequel should be done. Pretty much every enjoyable aspect from the first title is here or has been added since release. The graphics are nicer, the controls tighter, the world bigger, and those aspects have all even been improved upon as time has passed. Again, this is a passionate team. They named themselves “Undead Labs,” they’d better nail the undead, and I think they absolutely do. The general idea is the same, build a group, scavenge for resources, build infirmaries and the like in your base to make it better, and survive. There are many different melee weapons and firearms to mess with, each with corresponding skills that can be advanced. Survivors are randomly generated with mixes of stats, histories of their lives, and traits that can be a benefit or detriment to the group, such as stress eating or having a short temper. Each survivor also has a special passive bonus that unlocks once they’ve proven themselves to the group through their use in gameplay, as well as one of four “Leader” traits that are unlocked if put in charge of the community at large. These leader specializations allow you to build specific base facilities that relate to each goal, such as a trader table that allows other communities to send folks to trade and gains you Inspiration, which can in turn be used to purchase more supplies or ask for aid from neighbors for big fights.
In addition to the more developed community system, State of Decay 2 also brings a new zombie menace in the form of the Blood Plague. Blood Plague zombies are a little bit tougher than run-of-the-mill walkers, move a touch faster, and can pass on the horrible plague. When infected, it can quickly kill a survivor if you don’t have the medical facilities. Thankfully you can collect Blood Plague samples from dead Plague zombies, and combine them with meds at an infirmary for a cure. However, this stuff is spreading, and locations around the map will grow Plague Hearts, giant wriggle mounds of flesh that are the source of this particular disease. Destroying the hearts with fire can be tough, but is crucial to the continued survival of your people. Once you’ve cleared an area of hearts and resources, you are then tasked with finding a route out of the map you are on, to a new area and challenge if you so choose, allowing the game to flow from area to area with your nomadic survivors. But that isn’t the only way to play.
The main game is very much an open thing. You could just as easily play a nomad chacking out all the maps with a small core group, or you could set up shop in one big house and see how long you can sustain yourself on that map. It’s freeing, but can also be a bit samey or mundane for some folks. Thankfully the Juggernaut Edition adds all of the DLC content that has been released so far. If you want a survival experience but with an actual story and a tangible goal to reach, return to an updated version of the location from the first game in Heartland. If you’re looking for some fast-paced tower defense and waved based style combat, check out Daybreak and earn bonuses you can use in the main game. You can even team up with both Xbox and PC playing friends for some co-op survival action. There are multiple difficulty levels as well, from anus tighteningly intense to a new easy mode for newcomer fans and those who want a more chill or experimental experience. Honestly, I was on this game day one ages ago, and I really wanted to return to see what this relaxed mode was all about. On top of many bug fixes and nice quality of life tweaks, I found a totally new way of experiencing the apocalypse. At a slower pace, I found myself being more thorough with my searches and use of the area. The goal has become more about how long can we live comfortably, shifting the zombie menace to the level of The Walking Dead. Though human enemies aren’t as tough as other difficulties either, they did remain more dangerous than the average walker, giving me more pause about dealing with them. The rare specialized zombies are rarer, which gives them more novelty. With the challenge being less, it gives me complacency and my errors then become bigger because I’m emboldened to take more risks. It allows me to fully live in the world a bit more, as well as try things I would never risk on a tougher difficulty.
At the end of the day, there is still a little stiffness in the combat and controls. The game looks pretty good but isn’t going to win any awards. It’s an experience of a game, and it is absolutely perfect for someone who is into classic zombies, is fine with indie to mid-level quality, and wants something that can last a while. Dropping in and out can be a bit scary, loading you into random places when you don’t quit while at your base, but it just adds to the tense atmosphere of its apocalyptic setting. If you’re a Game Pass subscriber, it’s on there, and if you’re looking for a deal, the Xbox and PC versions are on sale for $23.99.