State of Decay

[Margalis]

I thought I'd create this thread in part because the XBox to Infinity and Beyond thread was interesting but very side-tracked, so I'm touching on some of those issues here.

So these two games are coming out. They are similar on some level - survival centric apocalyptic zombie yarns. One is a technical masterpiece, the other is pretty janky. One has incredible emotionality and Oscar-worthy writing, is the Citizen Kane of gaming, etc, the other is merely well-written minus any superlatives.

I am personally much more interested in State of Decay.

It's funny, I read reviews of The Last of Us, most of which are glowing, but they largely put me off to the game both based on what is said and what is left unstated. Hearing "it's an emotional journey and you'll want to cherish and protect your female companion" is supposed to make me excited, but I can't help rolling my eyes instead. Whereas I read State of Decay reviews and things clearly intended as negatives strike me as positives. (Like the jankiness factor - while this is ostensibly a negative it also conveys a prioritization of gameplay, gameplay systems and interesting ideas over technical polish, animation, etc. Sort of how "Eurojank" has become almost a term of endearment)

I guess a large part of this is due to the Boy Who Cried Wolf factor - I probably would really like a game with Oscar-worthy writing and an incredible emotional journey - but I have trouble believing that TLOU delivers that, in part because similar claims were made about games that were mediocre in writing and narrative. I simply don't trust game reviewers to be able to evaluate things like writing quality, especially in hyped AAA games.

More than anything reading about State of Decay makes me imagine a fun game and reading about TLOU just does not. When I imagine playing TLOU I imagine using my detective vision to see enemies because now every third-person game has detective vision (game design fads ahoy!), killing a hundred dudes then watching a cutscene in which author and watcher agree to pretend that the killing has narrative weight, arena battles against enemy waves featuring chest high walls, etc. Whereas when I imagine playing SoD I imagine crazy wacky shit happening like me driving into a bunch of zombies with a car and exploding or something. Something awesome.

[Jeff Kelly]

The last of us advertises with testimonials from the usual culprits that always give raving reviews. Eurogamer, Official Playstation Magazine, Gamereactor, Edge etc.

That alone makes me very very suspicious. If your ad campaign involves lots of rags infamous for fellating the games industry and you use overwrought phrases like "the citizen kane of gaming" I'll sure as hell wait until after people had a chance to play it and the hype has subsided.

[Paelos]

I hate escort missions in all shooters. I'm not sure if that's a big part of Last of Us or not, but protecting a weak companion usually doesn't sound fun to me in a single player game. State of Decay sounds more like Day-Z, which would be more up my alley.

[HaemishM]

More... fucking... zombies? 

[Simond]

The last of us advertises with testimonials from the usual culprits that always give raving reviews. Eurogamer, Official Playstation Magazine, Gamereactor, Edge etc.

Number of 10/10 scores Edge has given out in its entire twenty year publication history: 16.

More... fucking... zombies? 

Cordyceps is nasty for a "cause of zombification" plot hook, though.

[schild]

The last game I remember having this nearly universal level of acclaim early on from so many sources was... Demon's Souls. Also, I'm changing the title of this thread. I already made a Last of Us thread.

[Quinton]

I'm pretty sick of zombies.

[schild]

I am also, but there's a handful of zombie games that have been in development for so long I don't consider them riding a fad. State of decay is not one of those games.

[Paelos]

I like that it's not locked into a specific console and will come out on the PC. That alone will get me to play it.

[Mrbloodworth]

Been watching state of decay for a bit, but I have also had my eye on The dead linger. For me, state of decay is a no go because its single player, and, well, feels really static. Dead linger is more ambitious, and uses some key points in its design like Romero style like zombies ( and spawn system, that is is quite cool ) and free form building, also a minecraft like hosting solution. While its no looker right now, they are doing an engine switch and are now focusing on the visuals.

State of decay looks great though. Sometimes i wish groups just combined when they are nearly in the same vein. Lack of multiplayer is the killer for me here though.

[Rasix]

Well, too bad my Xbox is dead.  Guess my choice is easy. 

[jakonovski]

There's live gameplay on Giantbomb right now. Full video will be posted at some point.

[Mrbloodworth]

Yeah, watching that now, its completely screams for multiplayer, and PC version.

[jakonovski]

Looks like a fun little game. Gonna wait for PC as well, the 360 version looked gnarly.

[Shannow]

When's pc version out? Sandbox zombie world with building ability would be mint.  (Without the idiocy of day z)

[Kageru]

Someone is going to do a zombie survival game right, and it will be a game they can expand for years making it deeper and more interesting, but after Day-Z I'll wait until one of them shows both depth, maturity and not being a PK playground.

[schild]

And it will look like Minecraft and be called Neckbeard Snakebite.

[UnSub]

When's pc version out? Sandbox zombie world with building ability would be mint.  (Without the idiocy of day z)

State of Decay is Undead Lab's first title, with the next step being the release of a zombie MMO set in the same universe. Jeff Strain (ex-ArenaNet) heads up Undead Labs.

[CmdrSlack]

This was 20 bucks for the Xbox. I nabbed it.

There is some jank, but I am liking it so far. I got about 45 minutes into the game and am realizing that I need to restart.

The game gives you many choices, and it's not entirely clear how many of them play out. I managed to gimp myself by using one character the entire time -- now that character is going to need significant downtime before he can be used again. The resource game is rather fun so far. Zombies aren't too bad in small numbers, but a horde will ruin your fucking day. I'm pretty impressed so far.

[Phred]

When's pc version out? Sandbox zombie world with building ability would be mint.  (Without the idiocy of other people)

FTFY

[Amarr HM]

Bought this yesterday after reading this thread (damn you!), so far it's pretty much GTA Zombie edition.

[Paelos]

Bought this yesterday after reading this thread (damn you!), so far it's pretty much GTA Zombie edition.

How's the building/defending aspect?

[CmdrSlack]

I'm about to outgrow the first base location -- the building aspect has to be balanced with other resource gathering. Resource gathering is sped up when you have more people at your base.

I haven't had to defend yet, but I prioritized ammo early on. My guard tower seems to deal with the majority of the zombies. I'm sure that this will change when we move to a larger base. The bases themselves have missions from time to time -- I lost two of my favorite playable characters on one. Pro tip: it's really damn hard to fight the huge zombies without shit that explodes.

We'll see if the various supplies transfer bases -- I've got a good stockpile going. I just can't really add too many more residents because I'm out of expandable sleeping space.

ETA -- I was up until 3 AM playing this -- it will suck your time with "one more mission."

[Paelos]

Sounds like you need a masterwork adamantite bed with a picture of your bed on your bed.

[MrHat]

I'm about to outgrow the first base location -- the building aspect has to be balanced with other resource gathering. Resource gathering is sped up when you have more people at your base.

I haven't had to defend yet, but I prioritized ammo early on. My guard tower seems to deal with the majority of the zombies. I'm sure that this will change when we move to a larger base. The bases themselves have missions from time to time -- I lost two of my favorite playable characters on one. Pro tip: it's really damn hard to fight the huge zombies without shit that explodes.

We'll see if the various supplies transfer bases -- I've got a good stockpile going. I just can't really add too many more residents because I'm out of expandable sleeping space.

ETA -- I was up until 3 AM playing this -- it will suck your time with "one more mission."

Ok that sounds way fun.

[Amarr HM]

How's the building/defending aspect?

You basically micro manage the buildings and can use them to carry out certain actions depending on their upgrade level. I have only managed to build a basic workshop and I'm in the middle of constructing a garden that I can't complete without some heavy gloves. I did use the kitchen to 'cook a big dinner' for everybody, health and morale boosts all round.

Defending, I requested the outpost clear out some nearby zombies, useful if you are trying to get a car out of the car park. I have yet to defend the base from an all out attack, but it's still early days.

[Pagz]

Sounds like you need a masterwork adamantite bed with a picture of your bed on your bed.

Too bad I'm Australian, this looks like it'd be fun (I'll be playing on the PC anyway so this is a non-issue, but it's fun to complain)!

[MisterNoisy]

Oh wow, this came out of nowhere and seems right up my alley.  I can't seem to find a PC release date, though.  :/

[Paelos]

Oh wow, this came out of nowhere and seems right up my alley.  I can't seem to find a PC release date, though.  :/

There isn't one yet, right now I think the answer is soooooon. I would guess holidays.

[Rasix]

I can wait.  I'm not buying another 360 or attempting to revive the RROD'd corpse of mine for a $20 game.

Perhaps some of the more glaring bugs I saw some people encounter will be worked out before a PC release.

[AcidCat]

The low graphical fidelity quickly become irrelevant with such interesting gameplay. The presentation is enough to sustain the mood and atmosphere and that's all it needs, with this amount of player agency, which is like a feast set in front of a starving man. I still haven't wrapped my head around all the gameplay systems after a few hours of play which is a good thing (learning=fun right?). Really pleased with this twenty dollar purchase so far. Hard to put down.

[Paelos]

But is it the best game since Citizen Kane?

I'm kidding, don't answer that.

[Amarr HM]

I still haven't wrapped my head around all the gameplay systems after a few hours of play which is a good thing (learning=fun right?). Really pleased with this twenty dollar purchase so far. Hard to put down.

Agreed on both counts. I restarted after 4-5 hours play, I ended up in an eternal search for materials or food and lost the main character and a few others. I was unaware of the importance of outposts, not only do they lower the local zombie population around your house they provide resources to your home if built into the correct buildings.

[Goreschach]

But is it the best game since Citizen Kane?

I'm kidding, don't answer that.

Citizen Kane was garbage. It was way too short, and had more cutscenes than a Kojima title.

[Falconeer]

This game, and all that Citizen Kane talk, has inspired me to design a game around Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. I am not even kidding. I wish I knew people with skills to at least try working on this. Strongly story driven while still being a huge sandbox about surviving The Great Depression as a family of farmers relocating from Oklahoma to California after the tractor and the banks evicted you from your land, with lots of choices to make especially moral ones which would greatly affect the plot and your relationship with the galaxy of characters you would encounter (including the Joad family of course). With a bit of Singleton's Midwinter into it. Lots of room for combat if you choose the Outlaw way, or negotiation, resource management and stealth if you choose the Paragon way (as if things could actually be that easy. Point of the game would be to force you to make choices you wouldn't want to make). I would call it Okies.

If anything, this would be the "Grapes of Wrath" of gaming.