‘Splatter Zombiecalypse Now’ is a retro-style, top-down shooter by Untold Tales and Dreamworlds. You play as an unnamed survivor, shooting your way through hordes of zombies in an apocalyptic wasteland in search of answers.

In the oversaturated zombie genre, it was refreshing to see a less generic approach to the theme taking on a film-noir-type look, feel and storytelling. The graphics are fairly basic but suit the style of gameplay being top-down with surprisingly detailed and varied environments. Cinematics were simple images and dialogue; the art was black white and red all over and appeared to be real people with stylised effects that fit the detective-noir bill.

The unnamed main character’s narration has a tone of voice that suits the vibe but I didn’t find the dialogue to be interesting enough to get invested in his journey. Every character had voice acting and while it was a fairly cheesy script, it felt in line with the arcade vibes the game gives off.

The music doesn’t necessarily match the noir theme but it does lend itself well to the top-down action sequences. When combat began to ramp up so did the music, heavy beats playing as the carnage was laid on the field. The heavy bass beats hyped up sequences and gave an extra sense of urgency in the fight-or-flight nature of zombie games.

When I started I struggled to remember the controls, especially since tutorial pop-ups were few and far between. Early on, I had issues solving how to change weapons and in a pinch, this could make quick work of my character during a level. Those few seconds could mean the difference between life and death and often a break from the game.

I was also hoping for more power-up-type items like other top-downs to add a little flair to the killing spree. The piles of zombie limbs were super satisfying to see, though hitting them with ridiculous power-ups would’ve made the slaughter spicier. The most rewarding kills were crushing environmental hazards like trucks that would burst into flames and chain into other vehicles, decimating nearby foes.

Gameplay-wise, the rapid shooting, quick movement, and responsiveness of the combat worked well mainly since enemies attack from all angles at a surprisingly fast speed. For gameplay momentum, some sections felt like they needed more speed to keep the intensity up. Vehicle sections often felt stalled, especially once you’re behind the wheel. Driving a combine harvester seemed like the ultimate zombie shredder until I was awkwardly fighting against the awkward driving controls and constantly reversing out of obstacles.

Difficulty modes range from harmless to maniac, reducing the spawn rate of enemies and the amount of damage taken on hit. Harmless mode didn’t necessarily feel particularly watered down as expected, there was still a significant amount of harm and enemies. “Splatter” will test your ability to survive with just a few guns, a flashlight, and the occasional killing machine.

Splatter Zombiecalypse Now has a decent 4-6 hour single-player campaign of carnage as well as arcade mode challenges that can be tackled in local co-op of up to 4 players or solo. If you’re looking for a fairly mindless slaughter-fest to pass the time, this game provides that. That said, if you’re looking for an epic jaunt against the walking dead this might not satisfy that hunger.

Written by: Yasmin Noble