Grab The Games: How to Survive

 Another zombie game to add to the horde of already existing zombie games, but this one has a little more to it than first meets the eye.

Alright so let's be honest when I first looked at How to Survive I thought it was just another zombie game, emulating what Dead Island tried to do and failed at. But after playing it for a little while I learnt that it actually succeeded in creating a zombie game which is quite addictive considering the size of it.

So plot wise there isn't much to this game. You're a survivor, obviously, and you wake up on the shore of some island after a British man who's either driving a ship or flying a plane, I can't really tell, crashes.

After that you're forced to do battle with the undead and try and help those who are already alive in finding a way off this godforsaken island.

Luckily you're not alone on this island. The omnipresent being of Kovac has left some helpful pages of his survival guide around the island for you to pick up. The book seems to be an audiobook as each chapter is narrated by the man himself and provides you with some helpful hints on crafting, combat and healing.

As is the case with most zombie games the dead are quite a problem when facing more than one at a time, more than three can be a bit of a problem if approached from multiple angles.

If they approach you from one direction however then you're in luck as the character you choose seems to have the strength of fifty men, and can strike down multiple dead assailants to the ground with one swing.

The game has all the hallmarks of a classic RPG game, a skill tree, multiple weapons, crafting, an inventory system and the trimmings.

In an ideal world that'd be enough to get it a good score but with so many zombie games that clog up and market this is to be expected of it. What really brings it above the rest is the addictive nature of the game.

Progression is spaced well apart. It's not a game which forces too much on the player at the start, tasking them with ending the zombies once and for all. Vice-versa it does't give the player the task of collecting leaves for three hours until the game feels confident to let go of the players hand and let them take their first zombie on their own.

The difficulty curve is nice, zombies provide a constant threat and the night time brings its own dangers with it which the player has to combat using their own wits and skills.

Weapons are satisfying and there is a nice variety of melee and ranged weapons to satisfy most play styles.

This game is a lot of fun to play on your own or in co-operative mode. The elements of a good RPG are there and the zombie genre isn't quite dead yet, this game proves that there's still life in the old corpse.

More than a solid RPG with zombies thrown in, this game is an entertaining frolic and a nice reminder that not all zombie games have shuffled off into the sunset.

8/10

Pros

Solid combat

Nice variety of weapons

Good Learning curve

Fun in co-op and alone

Cons

Zombies can get a little old

Can get tedious if zombies aren't your thing

Nathan Dack