Title image courtesy of Steam.
Who doesn’t love a good zombie? I know I do. I’ve often been asked the question: “What would you do if you woke up tomorrow, and the zombie apocalypse had begun?” It’s easy to say you’d mow them all down with a machine gun or hide in an impenetrable bunker for the rest of your days, but there’s no way to really know how everything would play out. The dilemma of the zombie apocalypse has been an intriguing source of inspiration for movies, TV shows, and, of course, video games.
Today, we’re going to be looking into a few zombie survival games that span across a number of genres including:
Without further ado, let’s try to survive the zombie apocalypse!
Project Zomboid is a hardcore survival video game set in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Developed by The Indie Stone, the game is focused on realistic survival mechanics. Players are tasked with managing hunger, thirst, health, and mental stability, all while dealing with the constant threat of zombies. In Project Zomboid, the game doesn’t have a traditional “end” in the way many other games do, like a final boss fight or story completion. Instead, the game is focused on survival, and the ultimate "end" for your character is death.
The game emphasizes realism, with mechanics such as crafting, base-building, and skill progression. The open-world environment is harsh and unforgiving, meaning you will face threats not only from the undead but also from illness, injury, and limited resources. The game features both single-player and multiplayer modes, allowing for cooperative survival or competitive play, and its permadeath mechanic ensures that each decision can have lasting consequences.
🎮Purchase Project Zomboid here
7 Days to Die is a survival horror game set in a post-apocalyptic world where you must fend off waves of zombies while managing resources and building your base. What sets 7 Days to Die apart from other zombie survival games is the day-night cycle. Zombies become crazy aggressive at night, making base defense a critical aspect of the game. Fail to fortify your base thoroughly, and the undead will come crashing through your doors and windows before you even get a chance to think.
The game gets its title from another interesting game mechanic. Players have 7 days to prepare before a massive zombie horde attacks, so make sure you’re stocked up and have a solid defense before then. After that, it’s about playing the long game and seeing how long you can survive the onslaught of zombies at your front door. 7 Days to Die’s unique game mechanic lands it a spot on our list of the best zombie survival games on Steam.
🎮Purchase 7 Days to Die here
Left 4 Dead 2 is a cooperative first-person shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world where players must survive against hordes of the infected. If you’ve played the first Left 4 Dead, the gameplay is pretty similar. The game follows a group of survivors navigating through various campaigns, each with its own storyline and set of challenges.
What I love about the Left 4 Dead games are the zombies themselves. There are two types of infected: your run of the mill zombies and the special infected. Special infecteds have unique abilities that make them extra terrifying and extra difficult to take down. Some types of special infecteds and their roles include:
Of course, there are a few more that we haven’t mentioned, but these are definitely some of the spookiest of the bunch.
🎮Purchase Left 4 Dead 2 here
Death Road to Canada was a guilty pleasure game of mine back in 2018, and it still has a death grip on me like no other zombie game I’ve played. Death Road to Canada is all about traveling from Florida to Canada in order to make it to a safe-haven free from the zombie outbreak. What makes the game so addicting (other than the fact that I’m a sucker for a pixelated game) is the randomization. Each time you play, the locations you stumble upon, the items you find, the survivors you meet and their skills are all completely random.
The randomness allows for you to discover all kinds of rare events, special items, and unique recruits. Of course, you want to know all about the zombies, right? Well, these guys are your typically slow-walking monsters, stumbling about looking for brains and whatnot. However, the hoard can get particularly large and become almost impossible to defeat. Do you think you can make it on the Death Road to Canada?
🎮Purchase Death Road to Canada here
Nightmare of Decay is a first-person survival horror game set in a mysterious mansion overrun with the undead, plus some other terrifying creatures. Your goal is to find your way out of this place without being eaten alive…or worse. The game focuses on resource management, requiring players to scavenge for ammo, health items, and keys to unlock new areas while navigating through increasingly hostile and terrifying surroundings.
The narrative of the game is really compelling as well. You wake up in the manor with no recollection of how or why you’re here. As you explore, the secrets of this place begin to reveal themselves, and soon you uncover the mystery of the previous inhabitants. Personally, I love a good mystery, and the art style is reminiscent of some older games while also upping the creep factor of the whole thing. Nightmare of Decay’s compelling story and intriguing mechanics make it one of the best zombie survival games on Steam.
🎮Purchase Nightmare of Decay here
If you’re looking to gear up and fight some zombies, these games can definitely help you plan for the apocalypse. Spanning across countless genres and art styles, these games are sure to have exactly what you’re looking for. Stay safe out there, my little zombie hunters, and don’t get bit!
