296 people found this review helpful
23 people found this review funny
33
5
2
2
Not Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 139.7 hrs on record (20.2 hrs at review time)
Posted: 9 Jul, 2020 @ 7:33am
Updated: 5 Aug, 2020 @ 1:44am

After around just 20 hours of gameplay, I feel I already got to see everything the game has to offer, so I think I'm ready to write some kind of review about it. (to the SOD experienced players, I just switched to the second map).

Game has huge and small positive and negative aspect, so let's try to keep it simple and let's talk about them:

---------- > > > POSITIVE ASPECTS: ----------------------------

- LONGEVITY: You can basically play this game for around 200/300 hours easily, maybe more. If you think that I just played 1 map and I rushed it, and it took me 20 hours, you can easily figure it out how many hours it could take to play the other 5 maps (playable in the same campaign/story). Plus, there are constant updates and two extra game modes to play, so for sure you don't have to worry about longevity in this game.

- GAMEPLAY: The first thing that came in my mind when I played the first State of Decay, is damn, why there are no more games like this one? State of Decay is the ONLY GAME that put you in a true "The Walking Dead" environment, where you have to survive in a Zombie Apocalypse world and care about resources and people. It's not a simulator, everything is very easy to understand and very intuitive, but the amount of things you have to take care of, makes SoD 2 very immersive and fun.
Plus, it's great that it comes with a very good single player game mode, without to renounce at the multiplayer mode so that the player can decide how to play the game.

---------- > > > NEGATIVE ASPECTS: ----------------------------

- REPETITIVENESS: Like I said before, the game is fun, but there's no much to do honestly. After around 10/15 hours of gameplay in the main campaign, you start to realize that you literally do always the same thing over and over and over. And the worst thing for me, is that is for 90% THE SAME of the first chapter of State of Decay. This makes me think that this isn't really State of Decay 2, but more of a spin off. So if you tried the first one and you got bored about it, don't even try this one, because it's basically the same. But... you know, it could be also a positive thing. I guess it's up to you.

- GRAPHIC: Not a fan of the graphic quality here... it's seems a PS3 ported game, which is a shame considered that this game is made with Unreal Engine 4. Literally almost nothing is really well made... and even here it's like to play with the same assets of the first State of Decay. Very bad, imho.
Also, the lighting in general is probably the worst thing in the game... it's like they put a few default lights here and there from the game engine and that's it. There is no tuning, no particular shaders, nothing. This game is basically made entirely with a 3D software program and processed by UE4 as best as it can... which is a real shame.

- ENVIRONMENT: They have to fire the level designer. Right now. Maps are so bad designed and frustrating, no details, and full of impenetrable barriers like mountains and rivers that force you to go you always on the same path even to reach close spots. Also, there are 5 maps, but they are very little... and there is nothing that let you prefer one instead of another one, because they are pretty much almost identical.

- SOUND: There are probably around 8-10 sound effects and 2 musics inside the game... not much to say about this... pretty sure they are also the same sounds of the first chapter. What can I add on this? ...

- AI: Not terrible, but it's really bad. When you decide to enlist a follower to have some help with tough objectives, they always find a way to get the infection or to receive some bad injuries. Also, sometime they just decide to not shoot even when they are surrounded by zombies, or the opposite, they shoot at first sight sometimes. Or... something they just do nothing and decide to surrender to zombies... and die. (it happened to me just today...)
And let's finish with human enemies.. that can headshot you in less than a second! Hurrah! :D

- EXTRA: There are several little things that I think they should be fixed or added into the game, like it's strange that they didn't include an armor vest and a helmet for protection, or that a military truck got almost the same resistance of a tiny car, or that if you go full speed on a big zombie, he can literally stop your car instantly and launch you back easily like he's stronger than HULK.
Without to mention every single thing I would love to included or fix inside the game, let's just mention that the game doesn't support the STEAM WORKSHOP... and that's a TERRIBLE DECISION.

---------- TL:DR!!... and Final Consideration ------------------------------------------------

You lazy guys.

All right, the game is not terrible, but meh, far from being good either.
Buy it only if you want more of what you saw in State of Decay 1, if you didn't play it, buy that one instead of this, you won't lose much as they are pretty much identical.
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19 Comments
iMatrix7 5 Aug, 2020 @ 1:44am 
Thank you @Shrink, that's my bad. I'm not an english native speaker, and I'm pretty sure you can find many more errors in this review, since I didn't even double checked what I wrote. But thank you for the correction. "REPETITIVENESS" is what I wanted to write, no idea why I said in that way.. xD maybe I was drunk haha
Chadwick Boseman 4 Aug, 2020 @ 7:57pm 
I agree that devs are lazy af
Shrinkshooter 1 Aug, 2020 @ 12:57pm 
Good day everyone. I am your friendly resident grammar Nazi. Sieg Heil.

Just dropping by to say "repetitivity" isn't a word. What you're looking for is either "repetitive," "repetition," or "repetitiveness." The last option is probably the best replacement for what you were going for.

That is all. Have a pure day and Gott Mit Uns.
Gandalf The Gay 31 Jul, 2020 @ 12:25pm 
eh i think the game is alright. and its graphics aree a step up and looks pretty decent. sure there is always room for improvement but the game is self has come a long way. i dont own it on steam but i have played for 100s of hours on xbox one
iMatrix7 30 Jul, 2020 @ 3:46pm 
@Anthology : I'm not a professional reviewer, and in fact this is just my personal opinion of the game, with a bit of irony. If I was reviewing the game professionally, I could agree with you, but this isn't the case.

The "review" has the only purpose to show everyone what I think about the game, who made it, and the differences between SoD 1 and 2, and I didn't put much effort into writing it because it's a personal and not official thing.
Gonk 30 Jul, 2020 @ 2:19pm 
Your review would be great if it wasn't littered with unconstructive comments such as "You lazy guys" and "Fire the Level designer", that's not useful for anyone, especially for the devs when they look for feedback.

The issues you mention I agree with you on, but on a whole (considering the budget and size of the team) I think they've done a pretty good job.
Tweezy 28 Jul, 2020 @ 3:47pm 
Your review aside, anyone who uses IMHO genuinely, is a noob.
zeetsy 28 Jul, 2020 @ 4:53am 
Good review. If it is the closest to TWD I will buy both and give my reviews on it. Some zombie games in the past should have a legacy even if they're buggy. Day Z is my favorite and it's kind of bad lol
KatArus 27 Jul, 2020 @ 4:53pm 
It's State of Decay 1.2, nothing more. Crafting is more complex and quests are more elaborate - and that's it. No social aspect, lame daily lawnmower respawn, characters look like constipated rednecks, maps are meh, physics engine is horrible and bugs are commonplace. Totally worth 20$, but not a cent more.
Terranical 25 Jul, 2020 @ 6:20pm 
Repetitive is going to occur in all games. Like you said, it's up to you if you think that is fun. So repetitive is just one permanent thing that happens to everyone, you are going to do the same shit over and over again.