The first-ever zombie game was the forgotten classic, Entombed. Originally released in 1982 by US Games for the Atari 2600, it encompassed all we have come to know and love about zombie games. While Entombed was factually the first zombie-based video-game, the game that rocketed the sub-genre into the stratosphere was Capcom’s Resident Evil. Since that fateful day in 1996, the zombie monster has perfectly and uniformly, invaded the gaming space.
Let us now, take a trip through the latest offerings available and see for ourselves, what are the best zombie games on PS5?
(Due to the strange situation we experienced as a society just a few short years ago, and the subsequent microchip shortage, we are in the middle of a mid-gen console advancement, this means that a number of these games are also available on other consoles IE PS4, but tend to play and achieve their full potential on the hardware of the PS5)
10. World War Z
World War Z comes to us from the studio that helped re-master Halo for the master-chief collection and who co-developed Quake Champions with long-time industry staple ID studios.
A third-person objective-based shooter game set in the world of Marc Foster’s World War Z movie. The player takes on one of 7 characters, each with their own special abilities and ability to cater to most play-styles.
Every level is essentially the same, with a few tweaks; go here, kill these, hold this position, fight the horde and extract – but that doesn’t detract from the fun. World War Z shines with it’s ability to display 1000’s of zombies on-screen during it’s hectic moments (usually when extracting) and makes for some exceptionally capturable moments. Every level has it’s own challenges, and most levels introduce a new enemy type to defeat, be it; the ‘lurker’ who hides in-wait and ambushes you, or the ‘bull’ who ignores all stealth pretense and rockets directly toward you – or anyone unfortunate enough to catch it’s eye.
The game is best played with 4 players and lends itself to team co-operation and co-ordination, but can make up for any absence in the squad by using a – relatively – well-performing AI team-mate.
World War Z is one of a few innovative zombie games that takes a number of locations from source material and improves on them.
Whether you are defending a train-carriage from the hungry hordes using an LMG or blowing apart a dam to reduce the number of overall enemies at extraction, one thing is for sure – you will have a fantastic time doing it and if you don’t…
Well, it’s not the end of the world, is it?
9. Back 4 Blood
We all remember Left 4 Dead.
We all remember the classic extraction fights, and who can ever forget the first-time they encountered The Witch? Not Turtle Rock studios.
As zombie games fall out of favour, the notion of ever seeing a Left 4 Dead 3, is becoming more and more abstract as the years go on.
With Valve focusing on other projects and being vocal about the possibility dwindling, Turtle Rock studios decided to take it into their own hands, and create a spiritual successor in the form of, Back 4 Blood – which makes sense, seeing as they were the original developers behind Left 4 Dead.
Back 4 Blood is another squad-based zombie-survival game which has a focus on objectives and extraction, just like it’s spiritual predecessors – with one twist – Back 4 Blood’s ‘card’ system. The card system is the game’s built-in modifier system, and can be used to change player health, stamina and damage and can work alongside ‘corruptor’ cards which actively work against the player akin to Left 4 Dead’s AI director.
Back 4 Blood offers hours and hours of chaos-filled gameplay and honestly? a few scares too, you’d have to be crazy not to give this one an hour of your time.
8. Dying Light
Remember 2008’s Mirror’s Edge? the first-person free-running game from EA which saw players take on the role of Faith Connors as she infiltrated government installations and avoided detection to transmit messages in order to bring down the tyrannical regime controlling the city, Techland seem to remember it fondly but with one criticism – not enough zombies.
Dying Light is a first for zombie games. It sees players assume the role of undercover agent, Kyle Crane. It follows him as he infiltrates a quarantine zone in middle-eastern ‘Harran’, his job is to recover sensitive documentation for the eponymous GRE as it is currently being use to blackmail them, simple right?
All this is accomplished on-foot while the player free-runs and parkours their way through the story.
Well, it would be if not the thousands of zombies who now inhabit Harran. Players must innovate using the built-in crafting system which allows you to use almost everything you find in the environment to create the ultimate in zombie-killing, be it; a machete that slashes and electrocutes to such a degree that the zombie simply explodes or a broadsword that breathes fire with every jab, stab and slam.
It’s easy to see that Techland has taken lessons learned from the Dead Island series to deliver this gorgeous and cinematic first-person gorefest, which features decapitation, immolation and many more methods to be used against the mindless undead hordes, oh yes, there will be blood.
7. Killing Floor 2
Killing Floor 2 sees players tasked with the annihilation of the ‘zed’s’ which have been inflicted upon the world by bio-tech company, Hirzine.
The game takes place one month after the first game, the outbreak has ravaged Europe and all communication between governments and governmental infrastructure has collapsed, leading to total societal breakdown.
Throughout gameplay, you fight various wave-after-wave of zombie-like creatures.
With each wave comes a new challenge and a new enemy type all leading to an epic showdown between you and one of the game’s disgustingly creative bosses.
Like guns and zombie games? you’ll love this.
Like a fantastic and thematically perfect soundtrack? you’ll love this.
Like using melee weapons to replace a zombie’s head? well you’ll love this.
Originally released for last gen, this game has lost none of of it’s visceral charm over the years, and the satisfaction which the slow-mo moments offer is something akin to euphoria.
“Where’s Zed?”
“Zed’s dead, baby” – or at least they all will by the time you get your hands on Killing Floor 2…
6. Resident Evil 2
Yes, only number 6, but for good reason.
While Resident Evil 2 is certainly a must-play, the games that come after this in the list are far more innovative and creative than following the tried-and-tested method.
Having said that, MR X will never NOT be terrifying.
Not much to say here that hasn’t already been said by thousands, just one thing, if you thought the mansion was scary and unpredictable, then you have seen nothing yet as we are dragged back to Raccoon City and this time, the Raccoon City Police Department – which has definitely seen better days.
Going back to Raccoon City never felt or looked so good.
THAT finale is just as epic as it always was in the realm of zombie games.
5. Stubbs The Zombie: Rebel Without A Pulse (Remaster)
Edwards “Stubbs” Stubblefield is a down-on-his-luck travelling salesman, just trying to make do in Andrew Monday’s retro-futuristic Punchbowl.
All he wants is to be happy and comfortable for the rest of his… well… death.
For the first time in the long storied history of zombie games, YOU are the zombie.
Stubbs The Zombie makes his undead presence known during Punchbowl’s opening ceremony.
He takes it upon himself to start to consume the brains of all those in attendance, with one goal – put an end to this madness.
As the game progresses you are afforded more and more abilities a few notable mentions are; being able to tear off your own head and bowl it towards crowds of people, and using your own undead “flatulence” to make people sick and more susceptible to the odd cranial consumption.
Stubbs is an exceptionally creative and beautiful game which channels all the angst of the boomer generation of the 50’s into irreverence.
The soundtrack wouldn’t be out of place on your grandma’s record player, with notable appearances such as “Lollypop”.
Once they see you shambling down the road with hand – well in hand – they’ll die laughing.
4. Dysmantle
Dysmantle is an extremely addictive post-apocalyptic to a pool of zombie games.
Your character emerges from a shelter many years later to find the world not quite as you left it.
Channeling your inner you scavenge and destroy to create equipment upgrades and weapon adjustments, armed only with a crowbar.
Minecraft has nothing on this for creativity as almost everything can be destroyed and repurposed into a weapon of survival.
Something has to be said for Dysmantle’s unique sense of humour and presentation. It is not the most polished game on this list, but certainly one of the most interesting.
3. Zombie Army 4
Nazi Zombies are not a new thing.
Zombie Army 4 is the hotly-anticipated sequel to the Zombie Army Trilogy.
It follows Karl Fairburne and his rag-tag band of zed killers as they try to squash the Nazi undead incursion.
Zombie Army 4 reanimates all the carnage of the Zombie Army Trilogy with better graphics and a new story.
The zombies are largely no different than we saw in Zombie Army trilogy as to be expected from zombie games.
The environments, melee attacks and special attacks have all been overhauled for maximum gore and complete satisfaction.
However you like to dispatch the undead, Zombie Army 4 has you covered – usually in Nazi Zombie viscera.
2. Days Gone
Upon it’s release Days Gone was – it is fair to say – not in a healthy state.
A game this optimistic was always going to suffer performance issues and this was never more obvious than on PS4.
Days Gone is an expansive open-world post-apocalyptic third-person survival game set in the US.
During the game players clear checkpoints, hunt down dangerous people and seek out and destroy ‘hordes’.
Hordes are comprised of thousands and thousands of zombies – all appearing on-screen. This is something of a first for zombie games.
During the zombie-mashing madness, you must also discover what happened to your nearest-and-dearest.
No plot details can be given without absolutely destroying the surprise and excitement of the narrative.
Ask yourself, “why have so many Days Gone by without you even entertaining this game?”
1. The Last Of Us (Part 1 and Part 2)
From the moment I began writing this article about zombie games, I knew the top spot would go to TLOU series.
Enough time has passed now for the story of The Last Of Us to be almost daily conversation.
The Last Of Us is a cinematic sprawling narrative-focused survival game.
TLOU Part 2 follows from the final moments of TLOU Part 1. That gut-wrenching final-moment still weighing heavy on your mind and heart.
Part 2 sidelines Joel for a more Ellie-focused narrative as she gets to grips with the world around her.
From a gameplay point-of-view, TLOU parts 1 and 2 couldn’t be more similar. The conclusion – in both cases – leaves you breathless, heartbroken and confused.
Honourable Mentions
- Plants VS Zombies – Very much a zombie game but not good enough to enter the top-ten. There’s just something very addictive and enjoyable about this -at this point – retro tower defence game.
- Death Stranding – Death Stranding is possibly the most confusing game on this list but definitely worth a mention. Kojima returns to the director’s seat and lets loose with this mind-bending ‘zombie’ game. Heavily focusing around avoidance and traversal in lieu of epic battles and moments of doubt” – it’s definitely worth your time.
- Evil Dead: The Game – How can we speak about the undead and not mention the king himself, Ash Williams? An asymmetrical experience like none other. You can choose from any number of survivors and demons to play as throughout the entire Evil Dead Universe. Even the Delta itself features – groovy right?
Hopefully this list will come in handy, the next time you find yourself hankering for an undead hunt.
What are some of your favourites and did we miss any you think should be on the list?
Be sure to check out the reviews and features for the games listed above and let everyone know what you think!