In 2013 there was an evolution occurring mostly thanks to the actions of Microsoft allowing more developers the opportunity to put their smaller, independent products on their platform. While more & more gamers were embracing the idea of smaller experiences for half to even a quarter of the price of a AAA title, there was still this want to innovate on levels unforeseen in gaming up to that point. A great example of developers working toward something dreamed of, but never seen in a video game at that time was “State of Decay” on the Xbox 360. Coming out just after the zombie genre in video games had reached its zenith, “State of Decay” proved to be a game based on the people surviving through the zombie apocalypse instead of focusing on smashing & shooting the heads of the undead; setting it apart from its contemporaries in the best way possible. “State of Decay’s” success convinced the developers to keep working while Microsoft wisely looked to help produce & promote the game’s sequel. Having enjoyed so much about the original “State of Decay” and its DLC offerings, I found myself incredibly excited about the sequel that promised to be everything the first was, but better by offering more base building options, dynamic survivors, and a different type of enemy that changes the entire dynamic of the gameplay.
Did I Complete “State of Decay 2”?
Undead Labs released the first “State of Decay” with the idea in mind that killing zombies can only be fun for so long. What if the player was given the chance to control a growing group of survivors in their quest to, well, survive? The original game’s formula of letting a player control one of several survivors at a time, build up a home base to live in, and search out resources all the while helping strangers, killing zeds (the name for zombies in this game) & potentially finding a way to restore society still runs through this iteration; with a few alterations that are quickly explained in the game’s tutorial while other gameplay additions (especially when it comes to base building and vehicles needing gas to operate) are left for the player to discover on their own. With a story loosely tying everything the player does together, I progressed through the game with a leader looking to restore the sanctity of civilization; achieving his goal after fifteen in-game days of survival and twenty-plus hours of actually play time where yours truly completed a majority of the achievements, built a pair of highly functional bases, and witnessed a few people die because of the game’s ruthlessness and inclusion of permanent death for characters both controllable and NPCs. I began a new game shortly after concluding my first playthrough to see what can occur differently in a new map featuring another type of leader (not much is different including the various random missions, unfortunately).
Did “State of Decay 2” Live Up to the Hype?
Like many entertainment mediums, video games have become greatly associated with slaying the living dead looking to ravage and slaughter any human that comes within reaching distance. But never before had a console game asked the player to focus less on bashing zed heads, and more about survival through fortification and human alliances than “State of Decay” – and that’s what makes the experience then and now stand out so much. As partially noted above, the player is given the opportunity to choose one of three maps to settle inside the multiple home bases located per area before scavenging for randomly generated resources by finding glowing boxes to slowly search through (fast searching can potentially alert unwanted attention) while always looking over your shoulder for the undead that are around no matter what even if the place-of-interest looks completely clear (mysterious spawning of enemies occurs a lot in this game).
When a zed needs to be taken down, the character can run out of breath if he/she runs too long or dodges too much, repeatedly swings a weapon without pausing between attempted strikes, or is encumbered by the amount of items stuffed into their backpack. Driving features a unique option of opening doors when moving, giving the player a chance to kill incoming enemies without stopping a la the movie “Zombieland”. But don’t think those doors can’t come flying off at a moment’s notice. Shooting is an available option to splatter a monster’s head, but doing so will send out a resonating sound that, as expected, can attract the undead; as do thrown explosives like grenades (there are also decoy throwable items best used to escape a dangerous horde). One of the most interesting aspects of “State of Decay” returns here in regards to character progression as whatever that character does constantly raises a specific stat be it fighting, stealth, wits when searching through caches or cardio. Maxing out a certain stat will open up new options & abilities – making the implementation of permanent deaths for characters even more distressing because losing a character in the middle of a fight could prove to be detrimental to the player’s entire community. Also connected to each playable survivor is the addition of traits & back-stories. The randomly generated survivors all differ when it comes to personalities as some will calm situations while others might start arguments; meaning they may be a benefit or detriment to a player’s community where exile might become an option if things get too bad.
But no matter how tough and buff the characters are, no matter how fortified a shelter is, there’s always a genuine feeling of danger looming. Not only do enemies vary from regular zeds to gigantic, body-tearing behemoths, they also form formidable hordes that can overwhelm a well-armed group in a single bound. A big addition to this game compared to the first is “blood plague” zombies. These red-eyed enemies can attack and cause survivors to become infected to the point a timer comes onto the screen alerting the player how much time that character has before they die. Introduced early in the game is a cure for the blood plague as well as a way to clear the map of these horrific monsters by destroying “plague hearts” that are formidable in nature due to both its large, unseen health bar & blood plague zeds that show up en masse when the heart is being attacked. While the blood plague & zombies and plague hearts are nice additions to make things more difficult & tense, it essentially becomes another meter to manage.
Base building in “State of Decay” focused on finding pre-made sites like a church or abandoned carnival and constructing various facilities like gardens or infirmaries returns here as well. Unlike other games featuring home-creation tools, “State of Decay 2” doesn’t allow a player’s mind to run wild in creating the zombie fortress of their dreams as each home base has a predetermined amount of spots to build things upon with the true planning & strategy coming from what the community wants & needs to do to make it a great living space. Depending on how much the player builds and how many people occupy the living place will attract zeds due how loud things get (something that can’t be avoided when trying to get the best out of a base). The lack of flexibility in regards to base building will definitely leave unaware gamers wanting more, but original “State of Decay” players will easily jump back into the groove established several years ago. One removal from the core gameplay is the game does sleep when someone isn’t playing unlike the original where everything moved on alongside real time; meaning camp resources get used without the player’s authorization and characters could die without the player’s knowledge until they cranked up the game. But there is still no pausing.
For all the stuff that changed or didn’t, nothing compares to the addition of co-op in this game. By sending out a request, a player can either host a session for up to three people to join their universe or that player can become a helper to someone else. In single-player mode, the player has the opportunity to enlist a follower to help protect them when traversing a map – though the buddy AI is lacking and downright stupid at times. In co-op mode the player(s) joining a game becomes controlled followers looking to help out the host in doing everything someone would do in single player. The follower player(s) in co-op can only take what their character brought with them – protecting the host’s resources – though any action counts toward their survivor’s progress in regards to stats and, when exiting a co-op session, reward resources. Due to the way co-op is set up it feels a lot less rewarding with random players while potentially being a fun experience if someone has dedicated friends who have no problem giving one player everything while the others just enjoy helping out.
One of the biggest weak points about “State of Decay” was its lacking story. The original iteration saw its plot become a way to simply move players from one site to another. While that aspect of “State of Decay” doesn’t return in regards to the narrative (leaving the option of upgrading living quarters to the player), there are goals for the player to complete that will lead to one of the four endings depending on what type of leader the player assigns to head their community (Sheriff, Builder, Trader or Warlord). Between clearing the map of plague hearts and performing random quests for characters in the community there are survivors & enclaves constantly asking for help with the potential of gaining more resources or allies. Ignoring the cries for help can turn fellow communities against the player’s or simply leave town. The enclave system is lacking in regards to handling how quickly people don’t like the gamer’s community, but a friendly group of allies can definitely be of great assistance when needing some resources while on the road.
For all the improvements & additions, “State of Decay 2” doesn’t rid itself of the original’s flaws regarding performance issues. Beyond the sub-par, seventh-generation graphics that barely look better than what was seen in the first game, “Decay 2” suffers from a mixture of framerate drops and glitches; with the latter being the biggest offender. Glitches can range from moments such as a vehicle getting unreasonably stuck on an object to characters falling through floors (either randomly becoming free or the player having to use the “Unstuck” radio option to reset that character). With perma-death, the chance of a character dying because the game broke (such as one a character catching on fire when stepping into an area where a Molotov was thrown & died out minutes earlier, or the menu getting stuck and leaving a character unable to be controlled) is something that can and probably will happen to a majority of players. Glitches got progressively worse moving around the map and leaving the original home base.
For every good thing “State of Decay 2” has that improves upon the foundation set by the first game there’s a flaw that makes it frustrating no matter how much someone loves the formula that makes this game a one-of-a-kind experience.
Should You Play “State of Decay 2”?
“State of Decay 2” does have so-so graphics, can get repetitive, be overbearing and glitchey at times, but just like the original iteration “State of Decay 2” is fun on a primal level of bashing zombies in the head, blowing up formidable hordes and taking down a juggernaut. But its community building is the real draw as the player will have to decide what to do & when to do it to benefit this small section of society clinging to life. From a narrative standpoint “SOD 2” lacks even more so than the original, the gameplay is pretty much identical from what came before it, and some of the additions like blood plague don’t improve in making the game any more or less entertaining. Co-op is definitely fun, but lacks the incentive for players joining games a reason to play more than a couple of hours. While “State of Decay 2” is a budget title priced as such, it still feels like something that should be rented rather than bought by those who either didn’t experience or enjoy the first game. Spending ten dollars on Xbox Game Pass and giving this game a trial run is definitely the best way to see if “State of Decay 2” is worth your time in full. Fans of the original game will find everything they enjoyed from the first iteration; just a little bit better without it doing much else.
