Developer: DEKLAZON
Publisher: Eastasiasoft Limited
Platform: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PS4, PS5
Tested on: PC
Drunken Fist 2: Zombie Hangover – Review
The zombie apocalypse; do you remember when the pandemic put us all in lockdown and many gamers were laughing about how they have trained for this? Now that everything has returned to normal it is time to celebrate with friends, get drunk, and party all night long. But what if we were wrong and this is actually the start of the invasion of the undead? In Drunken Fist 2: Zombie Hangover, you are put in such a pickle and now you must use every bit of your hangover strength to survive the horde that is craving your flesh.
Story
The story is rather short. It all begins with you waking up after a month’s binge and you find yourself in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. You don’t really care about this new setting and your only goal is to get drunk again. The game only offers two small slides at the beginning of the game as the lore, and after that, it just throws you straight into the action. It feels like a bit more information would have been cool, but as the game is all about getting your buzz on it feels like it just fits the game perfectly.
Graphics
Visually the game looks really great because it was made in this goofy polygon style that reminds us of Totally Accurate Battlegrounds. All the characters and assets were crafted with attention to detail, as is seen in the many different locations and the general graphical quality. Most items have received some work and you can clearly see details in the various weapons and clothing styles of all the zombies. When you beat one up, the damage is easily visible as some limbs might fly off after you’re done with your undead victim. During movement and combat, the animations will look wonky because of the ragdoll physics, making the game quite funny to look at.
Sound
With a game where your character looks like a hard-ass rock dude with a beard to match, it only seems fit that the developers would have opted for the best suitable music possible. The game is filled with really good Rock, Metal, and Punk music, and this gets you even in a better mood to beat up the hordes of undead. One small letdown is that the music is playing at random and it can happen that your current track is repeated. This is a bit annoying, as it can make a certain song lose its edge rather quickly.
Gameplay
Drunken Fist 2: Zombie Hangover is a ragdoll physics-based brawler game where you will beat up zombies on your quest to your next beer. You wake up after a serious binge, and as you are feeling pretty hungover, it seems like the best solution is to continue drinking. The fact that there is a sudden zombie outbreak doesn’t seem to faze you one bit, it might just slightly inconvenience you as the stores that sell beer will probably be closed. The zombies however look happy to find fresh food, and thus starts your fight for survival. The game begins with a short tutorial on how to fight these undead monsters but it leaves the rest up to you to find out. You can punch, kick or sweep a zombie off their legs. While punching and kicking might be stronger to dispatch a single zombie, keeping it safe, and keeping them close to the ground might be a better but slower solution to the problem.
Speaking about problems; your bladder has a large one. Even though you won’t be drinking insane amounts of beer, the alcohol in your system will dehydrate you faster than a trip through the desert. Once your bladder is too full, you start taking damage until you relieve yourself. Pissing on zombies can make for a comical scene, like in most Postal games, but this can also make everyone slip on it (including you). If you get hurt, you will need to drink some more beer. Luckily, dehydration doesn’t seem like a thing, as you won’t get any damage for being thirsty. One annoying bug we did encounter was that the beer that you collect during your run is lost when you exit the game. This can be really annoying, especially in later levels, when you need your booze the most.
There are a bunch of levels in the game with various difficulties. Some levels will be harder and some will be a breeze to walk through. As there is no variation to the different levels, the gameplay could become boring quite easily as each level always revolves around killing a specific number of zombies to continue. Some levels have a weapon lying around, and these can be handy in a pinch, but it’s sad that you cannot pick up dropped weapons from zombies. There are a few zombie variations in the game, but most are just normal walkers, with a few larger variants, some fast ones, and several armored zeds that will shoot you.
Controlling the game, especially on PC, feels only right with a controller. The game is also released on other consoles, so it seems that the developers did not really take that much time to make the mouse and keyboard experience a pleasant one. It just does not feel user-friendly, and playing a fighting game such as this by clicking your mouse doesn’t feel right. However, if you own a controller, there should not be an issue at all.
Conclusion
Drunken Fist 2: Zombie Hangover is a fun little game that you can play from time to time, but it fails to capture our full attention. With the absence of a real story and your objectives that remain the same, it can feel like a grind after a while. Add the fact that you may lose your key items when exiting the game, you might find yourself frustrated after a while. The graphics are really high quality and the special art style is one to appreciate. The music is amazingly powerful and fits the theme perfectly, but looping tracks can make the experience a lot blander. This one can be fun when you get it at a discount.
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