No More Room in Hell 2 Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, & PC)

To be frank, I never really bought the power fantasy that came with killing multiple zombies at a time. It always felt fictional, which I know, a zombie apocalypse in itself is a fictional idea about the end of the world. Yet, the themes and scenarios in a zombie apocalypse have always felt real to me. And so, the action and gameplay are something I always wanted to feel just as authentic. 

Then comes No More Room in Hell 2, which kicked off on a rough note. Granted, it has been in early access for the past two years now. And during that time, it has received numerous complaints on the Steam platform. Even with the eventual launch of the final 1.0 update, Steam users still have mixed feelings about the game’s performance and a few design choices. 

I’ll commend, though, the effort that Torn Banner Studios has put into bringing the rough Early Access version to a decent final game. They have not only deployed thousands of patch fixes and performance optimizations, but have also added so many content updates, including new maps, game modes, progression paths, and more. 

My favorite feature remains the flimsy nature in which the in-game characters approach the zombies. It feels as clumsy as I’d imagine myself to be when faced with brain-eating hordes of the undead. Heck, I wouldn’t even know how to fire properly, aiming at the head. Mind you, it doesn’t feel annoying at all. Only ordinary humans who try to do the best they can under the circumstances.

For all purposes and intents, here’s my No More Room in Hell 2 review, which should help clear things up on whether it really is worth playing through.

Rolling Solo

It’s totally fine to want to roll solo in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. In a group, you can disagree on the way forward, or worse, betray one another for a chance at survival. It’s one of the changes that Torn Banner Studios adds to the 1.0 update. They add a Solo Mode, which features a single-player campaign.  

A few things to note, though. Your character doesn’t have a progression path, nor do they stand the risk of permedeath. And the reasoning behind this is that the developers want to give you a space to practice and get better at hacking zombies without the pressure of actually leveling up or risking permanent death. And to an extent, it works just fine to alleviate the pressure that the multiplayer modes can have. Those multiplayer runs can be pretty brutal.

But on the other hand, I imagine that the players who want to stick to the single-player campaign would have loved the option of making progress somehow. At least an incentive to keep returning for more runs, because at present, there isn’t much beyond killing zombies that would keep a solo player from sticking around long after the initial rush wears off.

Got No Choice

The initial rush is the actual hacking and slashing of the zombies. I mentioned how clumsy the in-game characters can be, from their weapon handling to their response to attacks. It gives the feeling of an ordinary human who’s never held a gun before because of how awkward the animations look. I love it, though, even in how the gun aims rather poorly. 

You can feel that the in-game character you’re controlling is scared out of their mind. But they have no choice but to adapt. And they do a decent job, frankly. More than I could have given the circumstances, because there are times when your character doesn’t fuss around. The way they grab a blunt weapon and wedge it through a zombie’s head is divine. And it’s topped off by how bloody and gory the crashing of zombie skulls and bodies looks in No More Room in Hell 2.

In fact, the blunt weapons and guns do punch through enemies and shred through them the way you’d expect. Some effects will have you crash through bones. Others make a hole through zombies’ guts. I love that the effects are different and tied to the respective weapon, which gives the impression that you’re also inflicting a weapon’s corresponding damage.

Rising Tension

Yet, even when you have weapons to attack and defend yourself against zombies, the zombies are simply way more than you can handle at a time. And so, the best option is to avoid confrontation as much as you can. Your ammunition is also very limited, which creates the need to push forward and hope you’ll find supplies. But what if the supplies are somewhere the zombies could be waiting for you? Perhaps in an open field where they might encircle all around you? Or a confined space where they might corner you down? 

You see, No More Room in Hell 2 is more than an action game. It’s a survival frenzy that integrates survival with its gunplay and exploration. You constantly have to be aware of your surroundings, looking out for supplies, but also on high alert for zombie attacks. And this is where learning the map layout also comes in handy to help you pinpoint places you can escape through.

The Solo Mode is pretty helpful in learning the map layout. If you’re struggling to keep up, though, the 1.0 update also adds more tutorials to get you well-acquainted with its dark, shadowy, post-apocalyptic new world order. The new Raven Rock map is especially suffocating, with its dimly lit and shadowy underground bunker. Overall, the atmosphere is eerie and silent until the zombies leap out of the shadows, and you can’t catch your breath, emptying your magazine into their grotesque, rotting bodies.

Bundle Up

But there’s more when you enter the multiplayer frenzy. This time, console owners have access to the game, with crossplay enabled. And so, there are more online players to team up with in the eight-player co-op mode. Even if you want to stray away from the crowd, you won’t survive too long before you take a hit and pay the consequences through permedeath. So, you might as well stick with the crowd. And it’s fun, to be sure, working out a way forward through the nightmare that is ahead of you.

It’s definitely more manageable to clear out the zombie-infested paths with friends by your side. Though it does take a lot of communication and co-operation. You have to be in sync, knowing your positions and maximizing the advantages of each individual. It’s a teamwork affair, especially when one of you is trapped and needs another to restock their ammunition or clear out an escape for them. 

The 1.0 update tweaks the difficulty settings, making the beginner and casual experience more accessible to newcomers and the tougher difficulties more challenging. The update achieves this through tweaking how often zombies respawn. You also have the brutal Survival Mode, where you enter a gameplay loop of wiping out waves of zombies, restocking supplies, on repeat. The zombies grow in number and aggression over time. And so, it’s a test of how long you can last before you succumb to their relentless wrath. I love that the Survival Mode has a point of focus as well, like protecting civilians and making sure they extract safely, or protecting points of interest.

Few Letdowns

If anything, it’s the performance and technical issues that hold No More Room in Hell 2 back from being polished. The inconsistent zombie behavior that, while elevating the uncanny, can also be annoying, trying to predict their response to attacks. Some of the voice work can be a bit cringey, too. But the most prominent issues have been technical ones. Throughout the Early Access period, the bugs and controller input issues were brought up. And to be fair, Torn Banner Studios has fixed most of them. Yet, still, the controller issues remain, forcing you to stick with the mouse and keyboard, while I can’t even imagine how the console ports handle, hopefully not too shabby. 

Verdict

No More Room in Hell 2 has an ongoing promotion of $19.49, until August 25, 2026, when the price will return to $29.99. And for that price, I think Torn Banner Studios has outdone themselves in creating a zombie survival game where the survivors feel like actual human beings. It’s the first time, I imagine, that some of them are wielding a gun or a blunt weapon. And definitely the first time they are swinging the weapon at a rotting monster. And you can really feel the tension in the moment-to-moment gameplay, and even in exploring the environments that are impressively haunting and could at any moment launch you into another zombie-shredding spree. 

It’s a brutal game that adds accessibility features for newcomers, as well as patch fixes and content updates for the 1.0 update. If only the entire game launched out of Early Access fully polished, because at present, a few technical issues still linger.