Developer: Awesome Games

Publisher: Awesome Games

Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)

Category: Puzzle & Strategy

Release Date: 8^th of March, 2018 (EU & NA)

Where’s Negan or Rick when you need them? The zombies are planning something and it is not good, not good at all!

From the developers who gave us Badass Hero, Oozi: Earth Adventure and Yet Another Zombie Defense HD, comes I, Zombie for the Nintendo Switch, a zombie survival game that previously came to Steam in 2014. Only, instead of doing the usual thing that zombie survival games go for, which is you’re a human and you need to survive the zombie apocalypse, by any means, this is simply not the case with I, Zombie. With I, Zombie, you are thrown into the shoes of a brain-devouring fiend and your job is to pretty much bring an end to humanity, or at least an army faction.

So, I, Zombie is clearly not The Walking Dead, but it is a bit like Z-Nation, in the sense that the zombie you do play as, can control other zombies, much like “The Murphy” could get zombies to do what he wants. Due to I, Zombie being a game that feels like it belongs on mobile devices and only comes with a $4.99 price-tag, there is a limit to what you can do with your zombie followers, but don’t let that be a turn off just yet. Across the game’s 30 levels (20 Summer themed ones and 10 Winter themed ones,) those zombie followers of yours, will follow you wherever you stagger, (provided you press Y.) They’ll halt when you press A and if you press B, well, god help whoever is closest to them, because be they civilian, scientist or a soldier, B is your kill command and once your zombies successfully attack someone, they will turn them into a zombie, thus expanding your zombie horde.

Technically, there isn’t really all that much more to the gameplay of the main campaign, as the 30 levels are all about killing and converting everyone on the map, or just by killing the scientist who is creating an Anti-Zombie Super Weapon, but just because you’re undead, it doesn’t mean you can’t die. Every zombie has a life bar, especially the player’s zombie and when it empties, its game over. But should you find a safe place to rest, you and your zombie minions, can recover your life naturally, without having to eat brains and if your agenda is to properly complete every level, resting a necessity.

Adhering to a star system, finishing a level will only earn you a single star, but beating it with 11 zombies for example, will get you 3 Stars, which is important, since I, Zombie supports leaderboards and having the most stars collected, is one way to brag about your prowess as a gamer. Sadly though, despite the comic-cutesy graphics and somewhat whimsical soundtrack and strategic gameplay at play, I, Zombie is a game that can lose its flavour pretty quickly, but it does have the means to make up for a bleak main campaign and that is a level editor. Before we get to that though, I do need to point out that Screen and Video Capture is not supported, so there will be no sharing of screenshots as far as I, Zombie goes. On top of the lack of screenshots, for some reason, there were instances where the game froze, whenever replaying levels, to try and better my star score on them, which happened on 2 different days and yes, we have reached out to the developers to let them know and they are looking into it.

From a con to a pro, thanks to the Community Levels mode, players can create their own fun and engaging levels to play, but they can also be shared so others can play them as well and if other players happen to like what you were able to whip up, they can show their support for it. Granted the level making aspect aside, is just more levels that follow the principles of the main campaign, but they have a unique, yet user made feel to them that seems to stay entertaining a little bit longer though.

Conclusion:

If you are after a rich zombie experience in video game form, you’re not going to get one with I, Zombie. What you will find however, is a short-lived strategy game that can be easily bested and completed within a single hour that can have its appeal expanded if you’re willing to invest time into its level editor, so unless I, Zombie is a game you have played before and want to play again, you can give this one a miss and consider getting another game from the eShop instead.