Dead Ahead: Zombie Warfare is Fun!

[poetic_justice_]

This game doesn't take itself too seriously, the battles are fast, and there are no sudden difficulty spikes. The trophies are not arduous or grindy (well, reaching rank 12 is a grind, but not a long or unpleasant one). It's one of the few games I've played where trophy unlocks are a natural part of the game and not a system of manipulation to force players into continuing a game they're tired of. It's well-balanced, and you don't have to three star every level to progress. Eventually you plateau, but once you upgrade two or three of your characters, you can continue moving into new stages. There are no "complete all levels on all stages with three stars" or "beat the last boss in two minutes" trophies. Dead Ahead: Zombie Warfare understands what it is: an entertaining video game for people who have other things going on in their lives. I don't think I've enjoyed a game as much as this one since Ghost of Tsushima, albeit for different reasons.

 

I love that Mobirate, the developer, used a cartoon-style that with zombie gore, but doesn't wallow in grotesque details. Characters die, but no blood continues to spurt indefinitely, no zombies munch the entrails, and no severed limbs splatter on the screen. DA:ZW is like a zombie cartoon for twelve-year olds. It focuses more on battles than blood and guts.

 

I also love that Mobirate understands what they are: an indie studio creating a simple zombie game. They are not trying to re-educate the world with virtue signalling, subverting expectations, vilifying religious or racial groups, or any pretentious BS. In DA:ZW, you kill zombies. Zombies kill you. That's it. It would be cool if there were more characters with different skin colors, but DA:ZW doesn't include that.

 

Mobirate doesn't take themselves too seriously, as evidenced by the trophy list. All are easily obtained simply playing the game as a casual, average gamer would. No speed runs, no difficulty trophies, no perma-death nonsense, just have fun playing the game. Nice.

 

During Days of Play, I bit the bullet and bought the deluxe bundle, which includes the base game and three DLC packs: Starter, SWAT, and Circus. I am so glad I did, as my two favorite characters were both from the DLC. This game is enjoyable without these characters, but I really relied on these characters to reach rank 12.

 

Jailer, Starter Pack: If you get one DLC, I recommend Starter Pack. Melee, 15-energy cost, 20-second(?) respawn timer. Has stun ability with his electric baton. The Jailer was my go-to, #1 most used character. His stun ability works on bosses and witches, which is a game-changer. The more Luck (Crit Chance) he has, the greater the chance his hits will stun an enemy. His stun isn't guaranteed to work 100% of the time, but once his Luck is over 70, wow! He can occasionally stun lock enemies. The Jailer's base stats may appear average compared to the Redneck and Marine, but if he stuns an enemy, he will essentially do double damage to that enemy (every stun is considered a critical hit, and causes double damage as well as stunning the enemy). His stun allows him to hit the same enemy twice before the stunned enemy can hit him once. Instead of a 1:1 hit ration (one hit Jailer, return hit by zombie), the stun shifts the hit ratio to 2:0, 2:1, or 3:2 hit ratios in the Jailer's favor. Consequently, the Jailer ends up soloing enemies that have twice the amount of health he does. 

 

Another amazing thing about the Stun ability is it can affect multiple enemies simultaneously. Say all stat levels between your characters and the zombies were equal. In that situation, if a group of three zombies went toe to toe with a single Redneck or Marine, the Redneck or Marine would probably die after getting one hit in. However, if those same three zombies went against a Jailer, he could actually stun all three of them with one hit, finish them off with a second or third hit, then keep going! 

 

The jailer's major flaw is how long he takes to respawn. Mobirate probably did this to keep game balance. A group of three jailers spawning in thirty seconds would overpower most levels before the fight actually started. 

 

Saw, Circus Pack: Saw is a Jason Voorhees-looking character with a hockey mask and chainsaw. Unlike all other characters in the game, his spawn cost is 13-rage, not energy! His chainsaw does massive damage to zombies and barricades. When he fires it up, it runs continuously for 2-3 seconds. Any enemies that charge him during this time end up impaling themselves on the chainsaw and die quickly, even witches. His chainsaw doesn't stop the blue kamikaze-type zombies and will set off the bombs of the self-exploding zombies (instantly killing Saw). However, as far as I can recall, those are his only downsides. The upside is that Saw can spawn quickly, isn't expensive, and doesn't use energy. This means you can spawn him simultaneously alongside an energy-based character and not deplete your energy pool twice. He also has an innate ability to never be afraid, so no matter how many zombies appear on screen, his efficiency doesn't drop and his stats don't lower. Saw is a beast against the otherwise very challenging heavily armored SWAT zombies; his chainsaw shreds their armored vests and helmets.

 

Bonus mention: Cap, SWAT Pack: If you purchase the SWAT pack, then Cap will be available from Stage 1. Normally, the Captain doesn't unlock until level 11, so having Cap present on Stage 1 makes certain fights much, much easier. His stat-boosting ability massively increases the Luck/Crit chance of nearby units. Characters with the gold halo will be performing critical damage on most of their attacks. Combined with the Jailer's Stun attack, you will win previously unwinnable fights. I experimented by replacing Cap with the Paramedic or one of the ranged specialists, but Cap's advantages for the whole team outweighed any damage the ranged specialists could do.

 

COST: During Days of Play 2022, Dead Ahead: Zombie Warfare + 3 Packs (deluxe edition) is $20 US. The base game with no DLC is $12, and yes, you can unlock all trophies with only the base game. However, in addition to the three DLC characters I mentioned here, the +3 Packs edition also includes approximately 20,000 coins. This can save you hours of grinding coins for character upgrades. For me, paying the additional $8 dollars was well worth it. In addition to the Jailer, Saw, and Cap, I never had to go out of my way to grind coins. 

Edited June 5, 2022 by poetic_justice_