These are some pixels I can get behind, and then run because the zombies are coming! Earn, Loot, and kill your way to safety in Nearly Dead – Live and Let Die, Developed and Published by Mono Software, Inc., now available on Steam, and what more could you ask for from a pixel-zombie-filled world other than a tech tree and many lootable zones? Waves of zombies to fend off every night, protecting your home base to make it to a new day and start it all over again.

You can pick a variety of characters, each with positive and negative traits to help you through the following onslaught, and you start off on a small map that houses your workbench and storage, but you are never safe.

Every night, you face off against waves of zombies, each more substantial than the last and containing several variants, such as slow and weak zombies, fast runners, and armoured zombies. There are even zombies with melee and ranged weapons, really putting you in a tough spot.

Once the night is over, you are given the option to search abandoned buildings and scout locations, gathering resources and weapons to increase your chances of survival, before eventually taking on the exclusion zone and relocating your base.

Now, dying isn’t the end of the world. This is the chance to put points into your tech tree and use the currency earned to upgrade and unlock new craftable weapons, tools, and items that will aid you in your fight against the undead.

Nearly Dead – Live and Let Die features an online co-op for up to four friends. This brings in new elements, such as tactics and rationing, bringing the experience to a whole new level, sharing every bullet and medical supply, making them more critical for your survival, but also making it easier to split the undead horde into more suitable sizes.

The controls are pretty simple, using WASD as your main movement, mouse movement for aiming, a left click for shooting and slashing, and number keys to swap between weapons. It’s quick to pick up and easy to learn, making for a seamless and pleasant experience.

With its art style and graphics, Nearly Dead – Live and Let Die reminds me of one of my favourite games, Project Zomboid, but it takes it to a new level with zombie movement and slashing animations.

While on the offensive, slashing your weapon feels more impactful, you can almost feel the kickback and see the shells ejecting when you shoot a rifle, Explosions blow zombies to pieces, and dodging projectile vomit feels more realistic. The fully animated avatars bring excellent attention to detail, creating a surreal atmosphere that feels natural.

There’s a killer soundtrack with upbeat music during the day, and scary rock music during the night, and every gun or melee weapon has a unique sound effect. The groans of the undead as they chase after you are joined by constant blasts and the swish of melee weapons, punctuated by the sound of slamming in a new mag and racking the slide, and when the time is right, explosions for days. It was an absolute symphony of slaughter.

Nearly Dead – Live and Let Die brings a lot of unique and perfectly executed ideas to the table, bringing everything together in a neat little zombie package to take with you. It is a must-play game for retro zombie fans down to sit and play for hours, wave after wave, location after location, just as I have been. I really enjoyed playing, as it brings real excitement to the playing field, and regardless of playing solo or with friends, you will always have a blast.

Written by: TypicalCambieAU