Undead Labs is cooking up something rotten, and I’m not talking five day old sauce. State of Decay is making its way off the Xbox 360 and onto the Xbox One in the Year One Survival Edition. This newly remastered version of the 2013 hit single-player zombie survival game comes with both of the previously released DLC’s; Breakdown and Lifeline. But what does it really mean to survive in the apocalypse and how well do you think you would do? Follow these helpful tips and maybe you can take your group to salvation.
Before we begin, let’s talk about what State of Decay even is. This is a third-person open world game where you start off as Marcus, along with his best friend who walk right into the beginning of the apocalypse. This interesting take on the zombie genre features NPC’s that interact with you and the world around you. Even when you are not playing the game, the NPC’s will still use your gathered materials and even go off on missions where they could possibly go missing. All in all, this game has a feel that can be described as a mix between the control of a Sims game and the action of a zombie survival game.
So you’ve just gotten back from a fishing trip to find that the world has been overrun by zombies. Quick – what’s the first thing you do?
If your answer is anything but to find the biggest stick you can and start swinging, then you might not last very long. Your mission is simple: find other people and build yourself a community, rebuild the world before it completely destroys itself. In SoD, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing. The game allows you the chance to:
- build your own community of survivors and pull them together as a way to fighting off the incoming hordes.
- Upgrade your home base to make more beds, more medical facilities, and even a workplace to repair cars and weapons.
- Scavenge nearby buildings for supplies.
You are now the leader of a group of survivors. Act like it.
A group of survivors needs food, water, shelter, and of course medicine; so be prepared to make a lot of runs on a day to day basis. You have the choice of walking to all your destinations to keep out of sight, and taking a wide range of vehicles and risk having the hordes hear you. Check out these locations for the specific material:
- Houses can carry practical material such as food, some medicine, and construction material.
- Stores will carry weapons, food, some medicine, and construction material.
- Vet/Medical buildings will primarily carry medical material.
Gather all the material your bag can carry and run your ass home before the zombies know you’re out. Or, you can take the safe approach and send out your team members instead, but be prepared for them to get into a bit of trouble and have to go out to help them.
Sharing your world.
Zombies, of course, are the least of your problems. People are still alive out there, and they could either want to join you or want to take everything you’ve ever gathered. Prepare yourself to fight but keep in mind that violence doesn’t always have to be the answer.
Along with a world filled with zombies and people who want to take your things, comes stress. Your teammates can get stressed out and angry with your decisions as a leader. It’s up to you to keep everyone happy by talking to them as well as taking them with you on runs so they can blow off some steam. Make sure that they see tomorrow…and the next day.
Location, location, location. Keep in mind that the more you empty out your area, the fewer items your area will have. Be prepared to move to a different town or maybe just to a bigger location. Find someplace easy to defend where you can easily see an oncoming horde coming.
Speaking of hordes
Along your material gathering adventures, you will stumble upon large groups of zombies walking around. They roam around, and if you’re too loud while hunting for supplies, they will hear you, and they will come after you. Crouch down low and for crying out loud, open all the cabinets and refrigerators as slowly as possible; taking your time kind of outweighs having your face eaten off.
And since we are on the topic of dying, be prepared to die, a lot. If you die in SoD, don’t worry. While the character you just died as will remain dead, you will continue as a different survivor, whether in your group or outside of your group, who has to decide if it is worth it to go out and get your previously fallen comrades materials. It should be a heartbreaking moment seeing your past life all over the place.
State of Decay gets re-released on Xbox One and Steam on April 28 for $30.00, unless of course you’re buying it on the Xbox One and previously owned it on the Xbox 360, then you get yourself a nice little 33% discount on your game. Pre-ordering your hard copy of the game from Gamestop, BestBuy, or Amazon will get you a nice knife to have in your arsenal. However, if you preorder the game digitally, then you get an SUV, a new rifle, and a nice looking axe that will make the zombies shiver in their loosely hanging skin.
So go out there and get to cracking skulls and keeping people happy. Do your best to survive and be sure to follow for more tips on all your zombie needs. Don’t get bitten, and don’t get your body ripped in half by all the special infected zombies out there.
