Zombiewood: Survival Shooter Review (Switch)

If the objectives KILL ALL THE ZOMBIES and BLOW UP THAT MOTORBIKE fail to come across as even the slightest bit mundane or daunting to you, then there’s no reason as to why you shouldn’t stock up on ammunition and hit the hellish streets of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles in Zombiewood: Survival Shooter. For the record, it isn’t a new game, but rather, a reincarnation of a free-to-play mobile game that launched just shy of a decade ago. But don’t let that steer you to an alternate tide; the core features are still alive and kicking, though, perhaps with a few additional bells and whistles to accommodate the Nintendo Switch’s handheld capabilities.

At its center, Zombiewood isn’t much more than a bullet-popping twin-stick shooter with an undead coating. But that’s sort of the beauty behind it, weirdly enough; it doesn’t aim to be a descendant of a higher pedigree, nor does it make false promises to instill confidence in its ability to branch out to countless other genres or modes of play. No, if Zombiewood is anything at all, it’s a simple, and oftentimes mindless vessel infused with blood-soaked barbarity and tongue-in-cheek camaraderie. Sure, it’s a little patchy in parts, but given the fact that comedy is subjective, I’m willing to let a few bad jokes and questionable one-liners slide into the back pocket that Zombiewood practically lives, breathes, and eats out of.

If you’re returning to Zombiewood to rekindle a few memories after several years of idling in silence as the streets of Los Angeles have continued to slump into a cesspit of flesh, bone, and chaos, then you’ll no doubt be wanting to know whether or not it’s worth a second bite. If that is the case, then allow us to cut open the wrapper and configure your judgment.

A World in Flames

It goes like this: Los Angeles is in tatters, and the meat-deprived zombies have taken their rightful place atop the highest point on the food chain. Yet, in the wake of the fleeting outbreak, another outfit has risen to snatch the spotlight—Hollywood’s most deviously successful directors, who’ve taken it upon themselves to transform the pandemonium and a world divided into two into a series of blockbuster movies for those still capable of consuming popcorn and not, you know, brains. That’s where you come in. In the aftermath of all of this, you must perform till your heart’s content, and emulate your elite skills as a stuntman for the sake of creating a tapestry of award-winning, action-packed zombie flicks for the masses. Easy enough, right? Right.

The campaign in Zombiewood takes place over several movies, scenes, and other red-carpet events, all of which come loaded with their own unique, albeit slightly repetitive objectives, as well as a number of opportunities to accrue an in-game currency to further develop your weapons, tools, and abilities both on and off of set. The goal of the game, in short, is to shovel through the scenes as they come, and earn enough coin to unlock additional movies, and not to mention a few extra slots to upgrade your arsenal and other nifty gadgets and gizmos. Needless to say that, as far as progression goes, there isn’t a whole lot to work with here, as it’s more or less the case of stringing together a set amount of kills, and gradually chipping away at some form of skill tree to evolve your stats before moving on to another wave.

That’s a Wrap, Folks

Arguably one of the best parts about Zombiewood is its quantity of set pieces and thematic designs. Unlike a lot of twin-stick shooters (or the vast majority of action-oriented games, for that matter), Zombiewood does make it a mission to keep things relatively fresh and all rather sprightly, if not via its full-throttled gameplay style, then via an avenue of ever-evolving stages and Hollywood-esque courses that pay homage to the walk of fame and those who’ve had the luxury of traipsing it. Suffice it to say that, when it comes to engaging levels and layouts, Zombiewood is bang on the money, and an absolute blast to slug through — even on the second, third, or even fourth visit, for crying out loud.

When all’s said and done, Zombiewood is what it is, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything more than that — which is a relief, because, quite frankly, it’s exhausting to keep up with some other products that adopt a lot of the same basic principles. This isn’t to say that the game is mediocre, or even half-baked, even, but it does favor a certain sort of simplicity that can either make or break its overall appeal. For the most part, though, I for one found that, even without a treasure trove of unwarranted twists and turns, there was still a form of beauty in the generic tasks that I was working tirelessly to complete. And honestly, that somehow stuck with me throughout the duration of the entire filmmaking process.

What makes Zombiewood all the more appealing is its consistently solid performance; it doesn’t jitter, nor does it require various alterations in order to generate an experience that’s slightly less mediocre. Thankfully, everything in its world is as it should be, and so, I’m more than willing to commemorate it.

A Tribute to the Fallen

Thankfully, the game does manage to execute all of the basic functions remarkably well, and at no point does it bring out a certain sense of ugliness in its core gameplay aspects. Sure, it’s a little simple in terms of design elements, but the fact that it doesn’t fall short in its chosen areas does, if only just, speak volumes for its overall quality. It’s a sight for sore eyes, too, as it doesn’t opt for a brain-dead rehashed version of an old game, but rather, a souped-up reincarnation of the original, only with a slew of additional technical improvements and quality-of-life changes.

The fact that Zombiewood: Survival Shooter also makes enough room for a co-op mode and a completely separate mode that essentially randomizes all of the weapon choices and loot bags, too, also makes for a neat addition to the base blueprint of the original twin-stick shooter experience. Again, neither of these two modes adds an enormous amount of beef to the equation, but they do manage to turn what would otherwise be a relatively short romp through the motions into a lengthier hike with a banquet of extra molehills, stumps, and other types of terrain, to boot. And whilst I, for one, didn’t spend a great deal of time absorbing a lot of this additional content, it didn’t take much to imagine how such content would have a greater appeal to those in search of a hearty couch co-op campaign with enough blood and teeth to quench the thirst.

 Verdict

If you did happen to miss out on the initial release of Zombiewood: Survival Shooter back in 2014, then you ought to give it some consideration. Granted, it isn’t the most compelling undead-centric twin-stick shooter on the market, and it doesn’t exactly go out of its way to generate a lineage of fascinating characters, either, but where it lacks in originality, it oddly makes up for in replay value. And if there’s one thing I came to realize after I had managed to shoot the last take of the concluding movie, it was that I still had several other routes I could’ve taken in order to reach the same destination. I wasn’t hell-bent on throwing myself straight back into the deep end, but I was, in all honesty, content with the idea of returning at some point at a much, much later date.

To cut a long story short, if you do share a certain soft spot for twin-stick shooters, or even post-apocalyptic outbreaks with a comical twist, for that matter, then you’ll probably enjoy a solid portion of this well-overdue emulation. If, however, you’ve summoned high hopes of sinking your teeth into the breadth of a rich and pristine storyline that’s bursting with thought-provoking backstories and overlapping character arcs, then you’ve essentially lined yourself up for disappointment. This isn’t quite that; on the contrary, it’s a bog-standard independent shoot-’em-up that comes without its overcomplicated assets. Now, if that’s the sort of gig that you wouldn’t mind taking a good ol’ chunk out of, then hey — go nuts.

When all’s said and done, you could definitely do a lot worse for a mere $10, and so, if you’ve the pocket change to spare, and aren’t entirely sure which undead pioneer to cast your vote on, then look no further.