Developer: Chainsaw Games
Publisher: TheGameWall Studios
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
ZKiller – Review
In the latest years there has been a noticeable increase of mobile games being ported to the PC. While most of them have been slightly upgraded, some developers just want to be lazy and drop their shit like that in the marketplace. A real gamer knows that it takes skill, effort, time and budget to create a wonderful title. ZKiller has been developed by Chainsaw Games and published by TheGameWall Studios and we were somewhat unfortunate that this game crossed our paths.
Story
To start this review, there is absolutely nothing to tell about the story of this game. The setting is a zombie infested world where you are the last survivor who must clear out the undead. No background of how the outbreak started or who you are. As this is a game that is more about arcade shoot ‘em up, this is not that big of a deal, but at least a little intro would have been nice.
Graphics
In the intro we mentioned mobile phone ports. Well, the graphics look like a straight port. Even on the highest setting everything feels cheap, bland, tasteless and made in five minutes. Just take some standard assets and throw them on an open playground and here you have the level design. A few different zombie models are present but not that many and animations are stiff and boring. Weapons do look like the real-life equivalents but are all smeared with the sketchy ‘ZKiller’ logo giving the impression that this is the weapon manufacturer and not the game itself. Reload animations look like they belong on a PlayStation 1 title together with the humorously bad iron sights.
Sound
Finally there is light at the end of the tunnel: the developers did a pretty good job with the soundtrack. What really gets the blood pumping is a rock solid metal track blasting through the speakers while blasting zombies in tiny pieces. The soundtrack is as it should be: firm with a strong guitar riff that induces those good old adrenaline rushes. While the music is good, the sound effects are rather bland. The announcer tells that you got a headshot or multi-kill just like in the old shooters which gives you that nostalgic feeling. Weapons sound very generic but key elements for realism such as the pump sound for the shotgun are missing.
Gameplay
ZKiller is an arcade first person shooter where the main goal is to survive waves of the undead. It all begins in the city and later moves on to other locations such as a laboratory and the subway. There are five levels in total which are unlocked by levelling up. You gain experience through playing the missions on various difficulties and getting a high score. Performing well is also essential if you want to get your hands on new toys. Guns are very, very expensive and most players will be grinding stages for days to finally be able to get something better to defend yourself. Weapons feel cheap in the way that a headshot doesn’t really cause extra damage and shotguns don’t have the legendary stopping power they are known for. A great lack of feedback is what hurts the gunplay the most, sad, because that is what a shooter is all about.
If ammo runs out you can always revert to your trustworthy melee weapon, but using this is like punching them with a wiffle bat. Resupplying isn’t that hard with the various locations and there is a drop after each wave. The game controls are very easy but not that responsive. It is noticeable that there are swirly controls like they use in mobile devices in an attempt to make the game feel more realistic.
Conclusion
ZKiller is a game that you just better leave aside, as this is just a mobile port from a free game being sold for a hefty price The graphics are utter garbage, gameplay is nauseating and crappy like something from the bargain bin and there is just not much content to go around. It takes way too long for a boring title to decently get your items unlocked and paid for. The only good part of this game is the kickass soundtrack that plays when destroying hordes of undead, but that is sadly the only decent part of this game. For the price you pay it is better to invest in an Indie developer that cares about their game, or to get something better on discount. There are even 24 hour builds that will prove more fun than ZKiller, so just let it be.
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