With more than one million copies of State of Decay now sold, Undead Labs could soon have as significant an audience on Steam as it does on Xbox Live, thanks to a vastly-improved State of Decay PC port released just over six weeks after the game first made the jump from Xbox 360 to PC.
It's no secret that I have been thoroughly enjoying my time with State of Decay, since the game hit Steam Early Access back in September, but I've yet to offer up any thoughts on the game's completed PC port. It's only been seven days since State of Decay ditched its 'Early Access' label, shambling over to Steam proper less than six months after the game's Xbox Live debut, and many fans are still wondering how Undead Labs' State of Decay PC port stacks up against fellow Steam releases like Project Zomboid or the (theoretically) soon-to-be-released DayZ.
While State of Decay is unlikely to win any awards for its writing, with a story (escape the zombies!) as uninspired as the myriad characters you'll control throughout the game, Undead Labs has successfully created one of the most stressful-yet-entertaining gameplay experiences in recent memory. Those looking for a mind-blowing narrative will likely need to look elsewhere, but here's why I think State of Decay is a must-purchase for anybody seeking the definitive zombie survival experience.
State of Decay Review - Graphics
It may not look as impressive as some of 2013's AAA offerings, but the Xbox 360 version of State of Decay is hardly a slouch in the graphics department, despite the widely reported frame rate issues encountered by most anyone who ever played the console version of the game. Fortunately, Undead Labs' State of Decay PC port not only looks better than its console counterpart, but runs better than the original State of Decay release too.
Few, if any, changes have been made to the character models found in State of Decay; however, there can be little doubt that the artists at Undead Labs put some serious time and effort into creating the high resolution textures found in the State of Decay PC port. From the first moment the game loads, it's clear that State of Decay will be a gorgeous (albeit slightly depressing) gameplay experience on any decent gaming rig. You'll be able to fit far more zombies on-screen, and drive the numerous cars found in State of Decay, without the slowdown that accompanied such actions on the Xbox 360, and Undead Labs' State of Decay PC port even adds a few "god rays" for good measure.
Of course, State of Decay also got its start as a downloadable console title, so anyone with a middle-of-the-road machine should still be able to play the game, and it's somewhat likely that players will encounter fewer performance issues than those still playing State of Decay on the Xbox 360. In fact, Undead Labs claims that members of the State of Decay team successfully ran and played State of Decay on a seven-year-old computer with components that weren't even top-of-the-line when the machine was built. It won't look like Crysis 3, or even GTA V, but games like State of Decay don't need to look like hundred million dollar projects to offer the same(or elevated) levels of fun and replayability.
State of Decay Review - Sounds
Sound is one area where State of Decay could absolutely use a bit of work. While all of the various effects and voice-over work present in the game is completely acceptable, the game world of State of Decay seems unnaturally empty and quiet - even for a rural town that's been overrun by zombies. The undead make very little noise while shambling around, outside of noises meant to communicate that they've been alerted, and even combat is relatively silent affair - punctuated only by the occasional growl from an attacker or splash of blood from a crushed cranium. While possibly meant to increase tension, State of Decay doesn't really have much of a horror vibe, and many players are likely to fill that emptiness with their own music soon once they begin playing State of Decay.
It would also have been nice to see more varied interactions between the survivors living at your encampment. While Undead Labs has done an admirable job of allowing you to make slight modifications to your home environment, and spread your survivors throughout each building/facility accordingly, you'll rarely stumble upon two or more housemates actually speaking to the people they'll ostensibly be spending the rest of their lives with.
The lack of music in vehicles is also a bit depressing. Obviously, radio stations are going to be a thing of the past when the zompocalypse happens, but did the undead start eating the world's supply of iPods, CDs and cassettes after the humans barricaded themselves inside?
State of Decay Review - Gameplay
At its core, State of Decay is a fairly deep zombie-survival simulation that also doubles as a semi-capable story-telling vehicle on the rare occasions that you've actually managed to meet the needs of the various survivors living in or near your encampment. State of Decay tasks you with monitoring/maintaining your group's food , medical supplies, spare ammunition and construction materials. You'll also have a supply locker for storing/retrieving individual gear like blunt weapons, guns or painkillers, and additional supply drops are also made available as you build additional outposts around the map.
You won't level individual characters in State of Decay, or at least you shouldn't, but will instead focus on gradually increasing the stats of several survivors from your camp. Though you'll always start as Marcus, players are likely to encounter (and subsequently recruit) a different group of stragglers on each play through, each of which comes with their own abilities, needs and skill sets. Along the way, State of Decay will force players to make decisions about what happens when one or more of your people become infected, get angry/depressed and more. Players will also have to find new shelter when their current digs become too small, though it will definitely take a bit of skill for your community to outgrow some of the larger dwellings in State of Decay.
While the small Indiana town portrayed in State of Decay doesn't hold a candle to the new torch-bearer of the open-world genre, Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto V, it's easily a large enough digital playground to justify the State of Decay's twenty dollar price tag. Driving from one end of the map to the other is no quick feat, and you'd be especially lucky/talented to survive a similar trip on foot.
Of course, any great open-world environment needs to keep players hooked on thegame featuring it, and Undead Labs filled the State of Decay grid with a variety of structures and geographical features that help keep exploration interesting throughout each play through. Survey points also dot the map, giving you an opportunity to take to higher ground and figure out exactly what sort of buildings, special zombies and other points of interest are in your immediate area. The sheer number of loot items that can be discovered in each location is also quite impressive, and helps keep the looting process exciting until the later stages of the game.
Unfortunately, not all of Undead Labs' design decision were particularly great ones. Without question, the game mechanic I dislike most in State of Decay is the fact that some terrible things can (and most likely, will) take place in your game world while you aren't actually playing the game.
To be clear, I don't mean like "Oh no, my favorite character died because I took a bathroom break near a zombie horde and forgot to pause" types of inactivity. Whether you close the game for a few minutes, a few hours or a few days, State of Decay will progress the game world upon your next load, which can leave you with a host of problems (and sometimes even dead survivors) when you next pick up the game.
There's no doubt that many gamers have started seeking out increasingly difficult video games to try and best. That said, the best of the so-called "rage games" -- whether it be 2D-platformer Super Meat Boy or larger releases like Dark Souls -- always convey the sense that they are tough but fair. The mechanic seems to stick out as the single biggest obstacle in the game, literally making State of Decay more difficult based on the amount of time you spend doing anything else.
While certainly an ingenious method for keeping players from drifting away for too long, it quickly begins to feel cheap/annoying if you're one of the thousands of gamers who don't have time to play State of Decay on a daily basis. Sure, the mechanic increases your total game time, but it can also lead to the vast majority of your State of Decay play sessions becoming little more than an opportunity to top off whatever supplies have dipped since you last played the game. It's unclear why Undead Labs' didn't include an option to disable the feature, but we can always keep our fingers crossed for an unofficial mod that addresses the issue at some point down the line.
State of Decay also does a relatively poor job of letting you know what sort of impact your missions are going to have on the game going forward. Early in the game's story, you'll meet a group of fellow survivors who continue to appearances throughout the State of Decay campaign. Despite many of your interactions with said group drastically impacting how the community views you and your own group of hold-outs, State of Decay does relatively little to communicate this information until after it's too late to do anything with it.
In the grand scheme of things, neither of these issues are likely to diminish most players' enjoyment of State of Decay, but they are some of the easiest examples of ways that Undead Labs can (and hopefully will) improve the gameplay experience whenever State of Decay 2 sees the light of day. Though easily the front-runner among zombie-survival games at the moment, it would be deceptive to say that State of Decay was perfect; however, it's certainly encouraging to see a new studio make such a splash with its first release.
State of Decay Review - Final Verdict
Without a doubt, Undead Labs' State of Decay PC port offers one of the greatest zombie-survival gameplay experiences available on any platform right now, and features a number of enhancements that separate the latest State of Decay release from its million-selling Xbox 360 counterpart. Whether we're talking graphical upgrades, the flexibility of swap-on-the-fly gamepad and keyboard interfaces, or the drastically simplified patching process, there are few ways that State of Decay doesn't benefit from the jump to PC.
To be honest, even if Undead Labs hadn't made all the improvements to the game, State of Decay would still be a relatively easy purchase to recommend. It's clear that the general public's interest in survival games -- post-zompocalyptic survival, to be specific -- has never been higher, and Undead Labs' debut project offers quite possibly the greatest non-multiplayer zombie-survival experience of the modern gaming era.
While it's hard to compare the game to a multiplayer title like DayZ, for a wide variety of reasons, anyone looking for an open-world zombie-survival experience without the constant threat of being shot by a fellow player should find exactly what they're looking for in State of Decay. It may not be perfect, but State of Decay is, hands-down, one of the most fully-realized zombie survival games in recent memory.
That said, if you're especially turned off by the always-progressing game world, you'll probably want to take a pass on State of Decay, or at least wait until you have a chance to pick-up a cheaper copy of the game during a Steam Sale. While many will find the game enjoyable, those who like feeling as if they have full control over the outcome of their games are unlikely to enjoy State of Decay, particularly if you're also the sort of person who takes several weeks to complete the game(s) you're playing.
Score - 4.25/5
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more on State of Decay as we continue to bring you the latest on both the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game in the coming months, including coverage of the State of Decay: Breakdown DLC expected to debut soon.
Have you been enjoying your time with the Steam release of State of Decay as much as I have? Think I was way off in my analysis of Undead Labs' State of Decay PC port? Getting tired of fighting zombies in damn near every game that hits the market these days?
Let us know in the comments section!
