7 zombie apocalypse survival rules we learned from games

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Aim for the head, do not pass useful objects and stay away from surviving relatives.

1. Anything can become a weapon

Homemade and improvised weapons are one of the main features of zombie games. Not every survivor has access to a firearm, so you have to get creative.

For example, in Left 4 Dead 2, players can fight the undead with pans, electric guitars, and golf clubs. And in Dying Light, the hero modifies sharp objects by adding gas torches or live wire to them.

But perhaps the most inventive weapons come across in the Dead Rising series. Take a laser sword, an electric Christmas wreath or an unusual vehicle consisting of two tractor wheels and a crusher.

2. You need to aim at the head

Headshots inflict additional damage in almost all games, but in zombie action they take on a special meaning. Reanimated corpses do not feel pain, and their organs for the most part do not work. Therefore, you need to shoot (or beat) in the head.

Different video games have different rules for hitting dead bodies. So, in the remake of Resident Evil 2, shots in the torso can only slow down zombies, and in Dead Rising - and kill. One thing is invariable: in all projects about walking corpses, damaging the enemy's brain is the most effective way to get rid of the threat.

3. Climbing higher is always a good idea

Zombies are stupid. When they see the victim, they often stick directly at it, stumbling over each other and running into obstacles. This can be used. For example, on occasion, climb an elevation - a car, a house, a fence, and so on.

True, in some games zombies can climb (Dying Light, World War Z), but the height in these projects still gives a tactical advantage. It is easier to aim from above, and the climbing dead can simply be thrown back.

4. Loud sounds should be avoided

Zombies have good hearing. Loud sounds make them curious, so if you don't want to be surrounded by a horde of walking corpses, then try not to make noise. This rule applies to all action zombies, although the hearing sensitivity of enemies varies from game to game.

In Dying Light, a couple of shots are enough for the dead to come running from all over the area. In Left 4 Dead, explosions and shooting zombies are not interested, but car alarms or the noise of a pump pumping fuel into an airplane are quite. And in The Last of Us, a whole mechanic is built on the rumor of zombies. You can sneak past opponents only if you don't make a single sound.

5. It is better to shoot an infected person

The zombie apocalypse does not spare anyone: anyone can get infected and turn into a revived corpse. It is especially sad when this is a close person. But even in such a situation, one must show courage and kill the infected, as many characters in The Walking Dead do.

Letting a person turn into a zombie is dangerous and irresponsible. Firstly, he can be reborn unnoticed by others and bite someone. Secondly, there are so many zombies, why create another one? Anyway, sooner or later someone will have to get rid of him. Thirdly, the infected person will probably ask you about it: very few people want to hobble through the streets after death and eat people.

6. Looting is okay

Finding useful items in buildings, cars and other places is an important part of the gameplay of almost any zombie game. For example, in State of Decay 2, this is generally the main mechanic: without loot, you cannot improve the base, and this is necessary to advance the story and survive.

In essence, stealing food, clothing, and other items from homes and shops is looting. But in a zombie apocalypse, it is necessary. Especially in the city, where there is nowhere else to take resources. And the owners of the property are unlikely to be against it: they either fled a long time ago, or are busy looking for fresh brains.

7. People are more dangerous than zombies

The living dead are dangerous, but at least they openly declare their intentions. It does not happen that a zombie first pretends to be friendly, let a person get closer, and then attack. Only other people do this.

As the experience of many game heroes shows, relatives in a zombie apocalypse are best avoided: they only cause trouble. For example, in Dying Light you have to fight for resources with well-armed bandits. In the Dead Space series, the main character is attacked not only by necromorphs, but also by religious fanatics. And in the action game The Last of Us, almost all the people that the player meets during the passage are unprincipled thugs who are ready to kill anyone for loot.