Ah, the old survival Zombie games, basically its own game genre at this stage and one which quite frankly, has a seen a significant number try and fail. When I first laid eyes on the trailer for ‘Deadcraft’, however, a spark of hope ignited in me, thinking this could very well be the kickstart this genre needed to get back in the limelight. Developed by ‘Marvelous’ and ‘First Studio’ in tandem, this Zombie-inspired hybrid of survival and RPG elements, blends together to create a unique twist on the established genre.

The human population has seen better days in the world created for Deadcraft, you could almost say they are the Bad Luck Brian’s of the gaming world. A giant meteorite has impacted the Earth with devastating effects on the environment and crippled life as they know it. There was little chance to recover from the event as not only did it bring unimaginable damage, but it also housed a deadly infection that began to spread, dubbed ‘ZiV’, that reanimated the dead, causing an apocalypse filled with Zivvers to push human kind to the brink of extinction. Times are tough and the lands are baron, but there is still hope for Reid, a human/Zombie hybrid, that he can topple the evil Dr. Nebron, exact his revenge, and save as many people as possible along the way.

Traditionally, the story or setting for a survival game would stop there after introductions were made, and you were thrown into the world to survive. Deadcraft, however, does a fine job in delivering a steady pace and actual purpose to your actions and sets to alleviate the stagnant formula. I was entertained and found plenty of character in most of the NPCs, both friendly and hostile groups. Despite the desolate atmosphere, the dialogue and tone of the population was a healthy blend of humour, and rough and borderline cheesy set pieces, yet it was held together with a serious and gripping undertone.

A selection of survival and RPG elements are present that shape the overall mindset of the game and kept me engaged with the multi-layered thinking required to maximise my potential. Being able to pick up quests or side quests and explore different areas with a handy map, encouraged me to grind for exp points. Usually, if I see a hunger, thirst, and energy bar, my enthusiasm wavers quickly, as they are often painstaking chores with diminishing returns. I was extremely thankful for the abundance of materials and resources to be found during my adventures and the upgradable features to manage these hinderances.

Yes, if ill-managed, you will suffer the effects making it harder to see, move, or gradually lose health. It was a rather forgiving system I must admit, one that became a background thought as opposed to other survival games that require that to be the number one focus. Thankfully the harvesting system allows for more potent resources and the crafting system can be invested into both weaponry and harvesting machines to manage an abundance of crops you can grow.

The investment into your own base, including weapon crafting and crop growing, can take some interesting turns as well and all this leads into the combat aspect. For starters, being half-zombie, if you infuse zombie blood into your consumables, it will create options to turn your left arm into a legitimate game-changer. Being able to use these inhumane abilities allows for some blood splatting fun as you wallop your enemies into a pulp, with a dramatic finisher move being thrown in the mix from time to time, which was a gory guilty pleasure.

There is a drawback though, the more you let yourself become a blood-thirsty monster, the more likely the public will turn on you out of fear. I personally went full-on beast mode for a bit before using a bit of rational thinking to balance my bloodlust with keeping the peace. This was when I turned to growing my own Zombie, if I inserted a zombie heart into a corpse and planted it, I could grow my own minions to fight for me, a ludicrous idea but an incredibly fun one. The bloodshed came in spades and a wider view of the battlefield, with its top-down camera style was fun to navigate and a lock-on button helped focus my attacks on the swarm of on-screen villains.

While the setting was consistent and fit the atmosphere, I can’t see it inherently stands out from the crowd. The orange colour palette for the world could only show so much diversity and the metal scraps and shambled shelters were rarely unique in design. The use of subtle cell shading was a smart inclusion though as it made the characters really stand out, paired with the grungy soundtrack made a fun environment to traverse. The Switch version was able to handle the load with ease as each area wasn’t significantly big enough to be too taxing. I would say the only noticeable difference would be in handheld mode where the detail felt a little compressed.

Deadcraft is a wacky, blood-filled adventure with refreshing survival elements. I haven’t had as much fun as I had here, since ‘Dead Rising’ when that was in its prime. Making a believer out of someone who is easily swayed in this genre was a pleasant surprise and my investment in the game continued to grow the further I got.

Written by: Shane Fletcher