World War Z Is a Pleasant Surprise

Back in 2013, I had a very low opinion of zombies in any form of media. The film World War Z brought me back to the world of the walking deceased roaming the earth. It did something I’d not seen in movies like this before, which is why I was intrigued to see how Saber Interactive handled the adaptation to a video game.

I’m happy to report that what I saw at this demo was the perfect way to kick off E3. The controls feels tight and smooth in a way I wasn’t prepared for. Admittedly,  the combat may seem familiar to another popular series centered around these creatures. But World War Z brings enough to the table to make it unique.

You play as a seemingly random person thrust into the horrors of a zombie apocalypse. Each excels at their respective field, which makes this 4-player cooperative experience interesting. These traits are what kept the characters alive for this long, and those abilities will come in handy when fighting “the swarm”. I’m not sure what other word to use to describe the sheer number of zombies running at you. You’ll choose your character and team up with up to three other players looking to survive this unfortunate situation.

The game is broken into three main regions: New York, Moscow, and Jerusalem. Each plays with an entirely different cast for four main characters. In addition, each zombie horde has unique ways of traversing that is a blast to watch. The zombie “pyramids” recognizable from the movie are only one terrifying way they’ll come after you. The shooting feels solid and deliberate, and the headshots are super satisfying. To top it off, the sound design punctuates each zombie kill in a way that will keep players wanting to come back for more.

Although there are nine total stages in World War Z, I’m slightly concerned about its legs. This feels like a game that I’ll play through once or twice, but never return to. That may not be a bad thing; but it is a cooperative game, which to me begs replay value. I’m interested to see what Saber Interactive does to keep me coming back.

I’m still very impressed by what I played during this presentation. It feels familiar without overstaying its welcome. The combat is fluid and satisfying, and you can tell that a lot of love went into this project. No word on a release date yet, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as we discover anything.

To hear me talk about this game more in audio format, be sure to check out our podcast episode “E3 2018 | Day One Recap” at the 22:23. mark.