Over two years since its initial release back on consoles and PC, World War Z is back and it’s bringing the big guns but packing it up in smaller chunks with its Nintendo Switch release. The third-person zombie shooter which was praised for its shooting mechanics, visuals and story follows up the fun by being something you can play on the go whenever and wherever. The catch here is that it doesn’t particularly come bow-tied in one complete package and instead only has the updated pre-aftermath base game and a season pass sold separately for those who wish to smash zombie limbs in style.
Developed by Saber Interactive which is loosely based off the 2006 book of the same name and set in the same universe as the 2013 film adaptation from Paramount Pictures, World War Z takes you to a world where you fight endless hordes of zombies in a four-player cooperative shooter within locations such as New York, Jerusalem, Moscow and Tokyo. And Despite being compared to the Left 4 Dead series, World War Z puts a brand new spin to the hit game with its own unique twist which includes a more strategical approach to encounters by having class-based survivors which has their own set of perks and equipment that would best benefit the situation. From the typical gunslinger and its frag grenades to a more melee-based fighter that shines in situations where it can slice and dice zombies in critical choke points, the game provides you with the right amount of challenge and critical thinking to best the opposition. It’s this kind of mix which makes the game stand out in such a unique way for its players to keep coming back to it as there’s just the right amount of randomness to the game as well such as the kind of equipment or weapons that would spawn in your runs.
And on a visual standpoint, what made me interested in World War Z in the first place was its massive hordes of zombies running at you in full sprint and the infamous zombie pyramids as they scale the towering walls of the very first mission. It just makes me smile and scared at the same time as each zombie starts getting closer and closer however it does break some of that immersion when played on the Switch due to its lower scaling and the casual frame drops during massive horde outbreaks. There’s also some varied zombie types to look out for such as the Bull that will run at you and put you in a choke hold while Hazmats will spew a cloud of toxic gas on death so proper ways of dealing with them is an absolute must especially on higher difficulties where a single player going down could be the difference for success and failure.
On a typical run, while most missions offer varied objectives like escorting a bus filled with civilians or opening up a path for the train to get away from the zombie-infested subway is required to progress, the game still does somewhat becomes stale and repetitive for the latter half where you will either go at it gunblazing or sneak your way through the next story point where you’ll either gather stuffs, protect someone or defend choke points against an incoming horde using equipment you can find in the near vicinity. When played solo, it becomes a huge drag while having a friend or two come along for the ride can make it that much more interesting to say the least. It just pains me to say that finding a random match can take quite a few minutes to get at least one more dude that isn’t a more lifeless NPC than every other zombie out there.
Now if we’re to compare it to its previous releases, World War Z is definitely a much better game played on consoles or PC due to the better visuals it can output as well as the amount of content it already has available at this point. The only saving grace to the Switch release is its option for it to be a portable game you can bring with you anywhere given the fact that you can live with playing with its default joy-cons which isn’t exactly the best when used for shooters in general. Though you can bring a separate controller if needed be. But long story short, portability is the only novelty it has right now without its Aftermath expansion from other platforms.
In a nutshell, World War Z despite it not having Aftermath in its title provides the same level of fun with just a few hiccups in exchange for the ability to finally be a portable game you can bring anywhere you please. It’s a game that is definitely fun to play with a few friends but can get awfully boring without any. So if you’re a new player wanting to get into the action alone, I won’t expect much however it makes for a blast of a game if you have the right people for the job.
Reviewed on Switch
Available on PC, Switch, Xbox and PlayStation
Developer: Saber Interactive
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