Developer: Awesome Games Studio
Publisher: Awesome Games Studio
Platforms: PC, Switch
Tested on: Switch
Yet Another Zombie Defense HD (Switch) – Review
There are more zombie games out there than there are fresh underpants in our drawer. With this large range of titles to choose from, you can understand why the developers have chosen this unique title for their game. It’s hard to pick a game with so many games in the library, so what does Yet Another Zombie Defense HD offer us, that sways us to their original title. We reviewed the PC version last year, this time we tackle the Switch port.
Story
The streets are not safe anymore, four survivors have regrouped in a parking lot for one final stand. With waves and waves of zombies coming and becoming stronger by the night, it will only be a matter of time until the group is overrun and their adventure ends. The game is a true arcade defense game that comes without a story. You just grab a character and begin your endless struggle for survival. Due to the way the game is made and presented, you won’t miss a story in this game, because in the end, everybody dies.
Graphics
This is claimed to be a HD remake and when you put this title next to its normal version, you do see a clear difference in quality between the two. Overall, the game looks smooth and while characters feel like they came from a free Unity assets package, the game has its charm. More specifically, the game costs as much as a pack of gum, so it is expected to look budget-friendly. Because you are fighting in (what can be presumed) a parking lot with only one lighting pole, you are mostly left in the dark. During the day, you can build your base in any way you want. Sadly there are no real options to give you more visibility in the night, so land mines are a great illumination source when they explode, temporally lighting up the whole map.
Sound
The game sounds as spectacular as your 25 cents ramen noodles cup tastes; it’s bland and generic but gets the job done. The music can be catchy. However, because it’s so closely looped, it gets boring real fast. One likable thing is the angelic singing during the base building sections, it’s addictive and sometimes you will build that minute longer or keep idle in the menu to listen to it. Well, while this part might not be that positive, the game tries its best to set the mood in the right way by utilizing the right sounds at the appropriate times, albeit in a generic fashion.
Gameplay
Yet Another Zombie Defense HD is a mix of arcade shooting and base building. The game just drops you straight into the action without any backstory or instructions. You get to choose your character from one of four models but these are purely cosmetic. Your survival starts on what seems to be an empty parking lot with only one streetlight. Equipped with your trustworthy pistol, you will have to fight off waves and waves of the undead. After the first night you are able to build up your base with funds gained from killing zombies.
There are a handful of options to create your safe haven, from barricades to turrets and land mines. Every day there is an item on sale, so sometimes it’s better to save up some money and buy in bulk. You can hide behind your cover and shoot at the zombies or go crazy and fight in the frontline with a chainsaw. A great aid in survival is the automated turret, you can equip an owned weapon to this, but it will consume ammo and you will have to resupply your armaments since they run dry quite quickly.
Buying new weapons and upgrading your base will be the main key to surviving, from building barricades to keep yourself out of harm to placing turrets that will aid you in taking out the hordes of undead. This is a very simple rinse and repeat process and does not really give a true challenge or a reason to keep on playing. One thing that keeps the gameplay mixed are the new enemies that come out after a while, from large brutes to vampires and wolves. Each of them provides other obstacles to get rid of them, but the best way is to litter the ground with landmines or invest into some heavy weapons. After a few waves you level up and get to choose from an upgrade such as health increase of faster movement. The only other goal is to stay alive as long as possible.
Overall, the game controls quite decently and plays like a twin stick shooter. While the gameplay is just simple arcade-like, there isn’t anything difficult or special to it. You put the game on to unwind a bit or to pause from your main game.
Conclusion
Yet Another Zombie Defense HD is a game that can be interesting if you just got your Switch and you want something to play on a budget. Graphics are boring, sound is mediocre, there’s no story and gameplay is fluent but there’s nothing special about it. If you have only a little bit of your local currency burning a hole in your pocket and you want to kill some zombies, then you might like this game, otherwise get yourself a nice hot meal for the money.
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