Outbreak – Review
Follow Genre:Action Survival Horror
Developer: Dead Drop Studios LLC
Publisher: Dead Drop Studios LLC
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC

Outbreak – Review

Site Score
8.0
Good: High replay value
Bad: Challenging controls
User Score
7.0
(1 votes)
Click to vote
VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 7.0/10 (1 vote cast)

In Belgium there is a saying ‘Knowing where Abraham got the mustard’. It’s rather unclear who this Abraham character is or why he needs mustard in the first place but the saying does have a point. These days it’s hard to create a zombie survival game that is completely unique and that is perfectly fine since there are plenty of people that like mustard anyway. What this brainless rambling is all about is that we’re getting a good Resident Evil flavor in this game. Abraham is also not the guy from The Walking Dead.

outbreak

Story

It should come as no surprise that when the zombie apocalypse breaks out (pun intended), 90% of the population is wiped out and a handful of survivors must work together to survive by scavenging for food and weapons. The reason of the outbreak remains irrelevant and the focus is on survival. Whichever character you choose to play the story, will always start in the local hospital. Each character has his/her reason to be in that place at that specific point in time, for example there is Mason, a police officer and military veteran, who witnessed an attack and is following up on the victim. When progressing through the game you’ll receive pieces of backstory of the character you’re playing, as well as bits of information about the outbreak. Depending on the selected difficulty you’ll receive more content. There is a good flow of story but overall the story is rather thin and secondary to the fun of shooting zombies.

Outbreak

Graphics­

Since the game is in 2D with a top down perspective it does have a limit on the realism of the graphics, yet that does not mean the game looks bad, on the contrary the game looks decent. An attempt was made to add some depth and contrast into the environments and that worked. In some similar games everything looks flat and made out of one color. On top of everything there is some grungy filter like from an old camera which greatly helps set the tone. The game is dark and visibility is low, which means some areas are almost pitch black. There is plenty of diversity in the environments although some floor tiles get old after a while.

The characters all look different so you can identify your character with ease. They have the same level of detail as the surroundings. For example one of the other characters has a little ponytail and even though it’s not overly detailed, its visually clear.

Sound

The sound is gloomy and dark to emphasize the loneliness, and gives you a chilling feeling when walking through the pitch black halls of the game. It sets the tone of the game perfectly. You’ll feel uneasy at all times, not knowing what lurks behind the corner or whether you just wasted all your ammo on a creepy looking plant. The sounds of the weapons and zombies are not that impressive but that might just be because there is an overflow of zombie games and films of which some focus more on the gory/action special effects and sounds.

Outbreak The New Nightmare (7)

Gameplay

Outbreak is a 2D top-down survival horror game. The game is basically split in two, a story driven part and an endless mode. The story is divided into two pieces as well, the campaign and short stories, the latter can be expanded with DLC as it’s completely separate from the main story. All modes are available in both single and multiplayer. Whichever you choose, it all starts with selecting a character out of the seven currently available. Each character comes with two unique features, which can be positive or negative, no character ever has two negative options. For example, a character might have more inventory space but cannot mix certain items together, which forces him to still make choices in what to carry and what not.

Each character has different abilities to go through the game, and depending on what you choose the outcome may differ. Some people are more action orientated and want to have the advantage of having a gun in the beginning of the game, while others prefer to carry more items or like to pick locks instead of finding a key. Each characteristic will be valuable for your quest so you must choose wisely on which ability you’d opt for before entering the game. You must weigh the pros and the cons of each character, decide and enter the game.

You can find items throughout your journey: items to restore your health, bullets and different types of weaponry to survive your journey. Be aware of your inventory space as to which items you pick up and which you’ll discard or drop on the floor. The good thing about this game is that the map remembers where you found or dropped an item so that you can return later on to pick it up if you don’t have the space at the moment. There are notes scattered throughout the game, these contain valuable information such as key codes, hints on what to do, item description, item locations and explanations of what happened. These will keep you busy figuring out what to do next. Some info can be combined which makes it feel like figuring out a puzzle.

Outbreak The New Nightmare (6)

While encountering zombies it’s quite hard to put a stop to them, seeing you are quickly in their reach. You must maneuver around and decide when to run or when to shoot because your life depends on it. You cannot look far ahead and in narrow areas the camera zooms in to increase the tension and it makes you very vulnerable. Luckily you have the ability to throw down a handmade barrier which can keep zombies at bay for a short amount of time.

The weapons range from different melee items to a wide range of firearms. Of course some weapons deal more damage than others but there is no way to judge a weapon without trying it out. A shotgun is often a strong weapon in many games but feels rather underpowered upon using it here.

The replay value of this game is good, you can start with the normal mode and after you know the way, you can upgrade the difficulty and work your way to biohazard which is the hardest difficulty mode available for the hardcore players. Keep in mind, the higher the difficulty the more you learn about the reason of the outbreak. You will get to know more about the characters too. This is a great incentive to replay the game.

outbreak5

Conclusion

Outbreak is a great game for people who also enjoyed Resident Evil in ages past. A great retro vibe, good potential for fun multiplayer matches and low system requirements make for an interesting combination. Minor nuisances are the controls and not all weapons feel as powerful as they should be making it hard to decide on what to spend your precious inventory space.

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 7.0/10 (1 vote cast)
VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
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Outbreak - Review, 7.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating
Rex


I am an Illustrator/Artist who studies Concept Art and Game Design in my free time. Designing things is in my blood and I am always very curious in making games. Motivated and dedicated to become better in every way I can. You only live once and I intend to fully enjoy it! As for gaming itself I do prefer to play the following games: FPS, RPG, Action Adventure Games, Fighting Games, Hack and Slash.

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