Survival games and zombies go together like salt and caramel. Deadly Days knows this well, as it offers some familiar joys, alongside some new takes on the subgenre. If you loved Death Road to Canada or The Escapists: The Walking Dead then you should find plenty of innards to enjoy here.
Rather than survive on your own, you are given a small encampment of survivors to look after. There are over 50 of these survivors to find and unlock, and they each have specific needs. These take place in procedurally generated towns and areas, as you ransack the world for resources and weapons, and then hold out against the waves of unwashed.
You might have played similar games, and not just in a 2D pixel world, but Deadly Days amps up the silliness to offer something new. There are 60 outlandish objects, including toothpaste of all things, and 25 different weapons, from drones to chainsaws. These weapons can be modified, giving you a surprising amount of agency in what you plunge into zombie flesh.
The enemies have their tricks too, as there are ten different brands of zombie, and three different bosses that must be taken down before the end credits roll. They’ve also got strength in numbers, which can be seen in screenshots where dozens of zombies can attack at once.
This is all presented in glorious pixel technicolour which won’t win any awards, but is nicely zoomed out to maximise the carnage, and has enough detail and colour to showcase the claret that is being spilled at every moment.Â
Key features include:
- More than 60 crazy objects that make every game unique, including tooth paste
- More than 30 powerful special abilities that can dramatically alter the outcome of fights
- Three different specialties in which you can unlock new abilities, survivors, objects, and types of weapons
- More than 25 types of weapons with randomly generated modifications
- Procedurally generated cities and missions
- More than 55 different survivors with 50 different abilities
- More than 10 different types of zombies who want only one thing: brains
- And three bosses who must be vanquished at the end
- Lovingly crafted pixel art
Deadly Days is out now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4 and PS5, joining previous drops on PC through Steam and Nintendo Switch. It starts at £15.74 from the Xbox Store.Â
Game Description:
Deadly Days is a unique strategic rogue-lite in the zombie apocalypse. Manage and protect a group of survivors and help them to stop the catastrophe. Discover and use a large number of wild and crazy objects, even wilder and crazier survivors, special abilities, and deadly weapons.
