Gaming opinion: Surviving the apocalypse in ‘Project Zomboid’
Sports News Blitz writer Ryan Preston “Prestonie” discusses surviving the apocalypse with friends.
Zombies, survival, hardcore, one life
Recently, I’ve been unwell, so I’ve been taking a break from Arc Raiders.
It’s hard to stay focused when your nose is like a leaky tap and your neck aches from constantly tilting your head back, trying to force a sneeze.
At least that’s my excuse for the tissue pile. What’s yours?
So I’ve been playing a few more “relaxing” games - mainly This War of Mine and Project Zomboid.
I say relaxing, but the first is about surviving as a civilian during a war, and the second about surviving a zombie apocalypse.
Maybe I need a therapist...
Anyway, I saw some friends on Discord and thought I’d hop on for a chat, as it had been a while.
They’d just started playing Project Zomboid and asked if I wanted to join. Sure, why not?
Turns out I bought the game four years ago and forgot about it. My Steam library is full of this, to be fair.
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A tough start for new survivors
In Project Zomboid, you create a character whose background and skills will hopefully help you survive the nightmare.
The biggest caveat is that death means death. That’s it - that little bunch of pixels is gone.
You need to search the area you start in and find resources such as weapons, food and tools, all while killing or avoiding zombies.
Once you’ve cleared your immediate surroundings, you’ll want to secure them further by boarding up windows and doors, building barricades and stockpiling.
The game is tough for new players; thankfully, my friends have some experience and quickly helped me gear up with a safehouse ready to rest in.
So my deaf little lumberjack, axe in hand, goes out to fight the vast hordes one by one.
Yes, deaf. When creating your character, you pick skills and negative traits. It’s worth taking a few negatives to gain enough points for better perks.
Just be careful - literally. My first lumberjack died because he had the clumsy trait. Climbing over a fence, he’d fall and injure himself.
Some injuries are nothing to worry about. A simple scratch? Rip a T-shirt and bandage it.
But multiple small injuries can become a problem, especially if you don’t keep them clean.
Becoming infected (not the zombie kind) increases your pain level. Too much pain and you can’t sleep.
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Why I keep coming back to ‘Zomboid’
The longer you survive, the more your skills and attributes increase.
Losing a newer character isn’t that bad.
Losing one you’ve kept alive for ages with good skills? Devastating.
I personally wouldn’t want to play this game alone. Thankfully, there are plenty of servers available, letting you join online communities.
While the Steam price might feel a little high for a quick test, you can find it cheaper elsewhere for as low as £4.
Is it a record-breaking game? Definitely not.
But if you’re just looking for a bit of fun with friends, I strongly recommend giving it a go.
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