In an unusual change of pace for me, State of Decay released without my hearing a peep about it ahead of time, which only drove the impulse to dive into it as quickly as I could. The game has been on my radar for years, ever since first learning that Seattle-based Undead Labs was working on a multiplayer project codenamed Class 4as an online-centric successor to 2013’s surprise hit, State of Decay. Regrettably, some poor optimization and a host of potentially game-breaking technical issues are ever-present in the punishing world forged for this survival simulator. Those cynics would be ill-advised to stand on that foot for long, however, as State of Decay 2 truly is a fully-enclosed successor within its own right.

Minor tweaks and alterations to the original formula have exponentially grown the resultant product and made for what cynics might initially refer to as a substantive expansion pack, as opposed to its own standalone sequel. Where State of Decay 2 truly shines is in the expanded breadth of the world and increased complexity of subsystems that power the dynamic and ever-changing world that players find themselves immersed in. For those that find themselves entering the series fresh, the learning curve is gradual (yet punishing), forcing players to test every limit imposed on them for their greatest chance at survival. The scavenging systems, flow of combat, and overall tone of the apocalypse are well-defined - and remain largely unchanged from the first game - lending an immediate sense of familiarity to those that have spent any amount of time playing the original State of Decay. It ramps up slowly, but evolves into a truly fantastic sandbox for those looking for an engaging zombie survival experience rooted in action-adventure mechanics, which expands upon virtually everything that was offered with its predecessor. State of Decay 2 is, for all intents and purposes, a ‘slow burn’. Title: State of Decay 2 Released On: (Ultimate Edition), (Base Edition) Genre: Survival Horror, Adventure Reviewed On: Xbox One X Developer: Undead Labs Publisher: Microsoft Studios MSRP: $39.99 CAD / $29.99 USD (Base Version), $59.99 CAD / $49.99 USD (Ultimate Edition)

State of decay 2 2020 review