When the original State of Decay game launched in 2013, it broke Xbox Live Arcade sales records. Although it had some obvious technical shortcomings, it still provided an addicting and unique open-world zombie survival experience.

State of Decay 2, for better or worse, feels like more of the same. It does feel like a more polished experience than the first game, despite still featuring a ton of bugs, and 4 player online co-op is a welcome addition however it still doesn’t quite realise the potential the series has.

State of Decay 2 is all about survival. You take control of a group of survivors and try to survive the zombie apocalypse. The gameplay loop involves going out and scavenging for resources then returning the resources to your base. This at times does get tiresome and there will be times where you feel that you are just going in circles without making any progress. The grind for resources can be very addicting and it certainly will result in some heart pounding moments.

What progress there is in the game comes from upgrading or moving your base. On each of the game’s three maps, there are a several potential base locations you can set up at. Each base has its own advantages and disadvantages such as pre-built facilities and natural defenses.

The bases each have a different combination of slots where you can build various facilities to assist your survivor group. Despite the base upgrade system feeling deeper than the original, I still felt it was generally lacking. Upgrading is limited to the facilities you build, either increasing the facilities level or adding a modification. I would have liked to see the option to improve, customise or expand parts of your base outside of these facility slots, particularly when it comes to defences.

I found the maps to be generally just lacking in character. They are well laid out and there are countless buildings to explore so you won’t be short on things to do. The world just doesn’t feel particularly interesting. More exciting landmarks throughout the world would have gone a long way.

The game doesn’t have much of a narrative around it. Your survivors can have individual missions and other survivor groups can provide you with missions however these won’t really engage you. Completing missions for other survivor groups improves your relationship which over time may result in them providing a benefit to you.

One of the defining features of the game is perma-death. When you take a survivor out, there is a very real chance that they could die. Taking on one or two zombies are generally a walk in the park. Against a whole swarm though, things can much trickier. Once they die, there is no reloading or way to undo what has happened, I tried, death is permanent. This keeps you on your toes and forces you to learn when to run and when to fight.

The main threat in this game, other than the climbing down ladder mechanic not engaging, is the zombies. In addition to your regular zombies, there are a few special types of zombies. While these special types of zombies are more difficult, I found it quite easy to avoid having to face them by simply running away then coming back after they despawn.

Despite having much potential, the new blood plague threat turns out to be a letdown. The way it works is certain type of zombies have the blood plague infection. As they attack you, you begin to contract the blood plague. Contracting the blood plague is only a minor annoyance. You learn how to craft the cure as a part of the tutorial and from there you will find yourself of no shortage of required resources to produce more cures.

Combat in the game is basic but fun. You will commonly relying on melee weapons which breakdown over time which can lead to some exhilarating moments mid-fight.

Probably my favourite addition to State of Decay 2 is the online co-op. This isn’t to say co-op is particularly well implemented, rather co-op is just such a natural fit into the game and generally enhances the experience.

The most discussed shortcoming of the co-op is the tethering. When you enter your friend’s world, you have to stay within a certain radius of them. For the most part this isn’t that big of a deal. The radius is quite large and the way the game works, you will be generally sticking close together anyway. The only time you will notice it is if you decide to undertake different tasks in separate areas of the map.

For me the biggest shortcoming of the co-op is the way it is implemented.

The way it works is you bring one of your survivors into your friend’s world. You are a visitor and as such what you can do in the world is restricted. Due to the perma-death system, you will therefore be putting your survivor’s life on the line as an outsider for very little reward. While your survivor is there, your world is paused. They will still however accumulate fatigue and lose health. Because of this, after playing for an extended time you will began to create a backlog of survivors who are out of action due to your world being paused, they aren’t recovering.

State of Decay 2 isn’t a bad game, it is just abit disappointing. With a bigger budget, a new engine and a new console, I had expected the game to feature bigger improvements than it has. At it’s core though it is still State of Decay and it is still zombie killing fun.

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State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition is one of the most “2015” games you can play. A visually improved re-release of the original 2013 Xbox 360 title, and a survival zombie game set in an open world, it ticks all the boxes for what we have come to expect from games this year.

It joins a host of re-releases on Microsoft’s platform, including exclusives such as the much-maligned Halo: Master Chief Collection and a rumoured Gears of War re-release, in addition to multiple third party games such as Diablo III: Reaper of Souls and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition.

As the re-release virus continues its spread, can State of Decay break through the hordes to make its mark?

This edition of State of Decay is an updated version of the 2013 title that became known as the fastest selling title to reach one million in sales on Xbox Live Arcade.

The new edition includes a substantial upgrade 1080p – far higher than the sub-HD resolution of its originator, improved lighting, more detailed textures and higher resolution shadows.

In all it represents a substantial graphical upgrade from its predecessor, though it is still obvious that it was designed for a previous console generation and unfortunately still suffers stutters and frame-rate dips below 30fps in certain area.

The new edition also includes two major DLC packages: Breakdown and what amounts to effectively a whole new military themed campaign in Lifeline, in addition to online migration from Xbox 360 to Xbox One and a discount if you already own the original game on 360.

It adds up to a sincere attempt by Microsoft and Undead Labs to bill this as “not just another HD remaster.”

At its heart, State of Decay is an open world survival game in the same vain (except for its single-player nature) as DayZ, H1Z1 and many others.

With a brief tutorial-like mission, your initial characters discover the world has changed dramatically since their return from a jaunt in the countryside. Zombies have taken over and survivors desperately attempt to hang onto what they can.

Fortunately, the well-worn (and frankly unimaginative) zombie story is not a prominent feature of this game, and once you are set loose in the city of Danforth and surrounds the game begins to show its true colours.

Your time in Danforth will revolve around scouting for limited resources, building bases and communities of survivors to befriend.

Situational awareness is therefore vital. Luckily, lookouts are relatively common throughout, allowing you to spot especially tough enemies such as a SWAT zombie, see where resources such as food or a vehicle may be and discover potential new hideouts. Understanding where these are is vital.

Avoiding enemies and getting what you need for you and your buddies to survive one more night is at the heart of the game.

The communities of survivors though are the key to what makes State of Decay special. Resources such as food and enemies are handled competently (head-smashing animations are especially satisfying), but it is the other survivors that you find whom are most important.

Unlike almost every other game, there is no real “main” protagonist and instead you can swap between characters you meet by gaining their trust. In this way characters are more like RPG character choices or even Pokemon, where some can be leveled up and become powerful while other are less developed.

If you’re the type of player who loves to obsess over individual character’s loadouts, social status and levels, then you will be well satisfied by State of Decay. Personally, just as in many JRPGs, I found this system to be somewhat overwhelming; keeping track of every character in every hideout.

The menus and inventory management can be also a chore, and the comic sans-esque font is somewhat distracting.

The complex character development system does however make the death of your players even more powerful, because when they die, they’re gone forever.

The introduction of permadeath introduces real stress into combat, and further increases the attractiveness of taking a stealth approach. If you lose a high level character you’ve spent hours playing as, their death can be quite brutal.

You therefore take great care moving around the city, as zombies are attracted by noise and sight. You won’t always be able to fight your way out of every situation as weapons and vehicles break down while ammo is scarce.

This game asks you to make hard choices – should I open this loot crate quickly and make noise, or take my time and be quieter? Is it worth the risk to get those resources or rescue those survivors? The one exception to your careful exploration are the cars, which are vastly overpowered.

Have a mob of zombies chasing you? No problem, as long as there is a vehicle nearby. Simply kite enemies towards a car, get in it and run them over.

This game is the end result of the weaving of two narratives that have dominated the gaming space over the current-generation’s lifetime: zombies and re-masters.

One is indicative of gaming’s content and the other indicative of gaming’s business meta. The question remains, though, can these iterations on well-trodden themes result in a game that’s fun?

Undead Labs and publisher Microsoft have made smart decisions about incentivising players to upgrade to this definitive edition.

And in the end State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition is superb value, especially if you own the original and are looking to upgrade.

For only $30 (AUD) you get a huge amount of enjoyable content. Many full-priced AAA titles offer far less.

Undead Labs’ debut on Xbox One is a thoroughly competent and worthwhile upgrade of a great game. With the studio signing a closer partnership deal with Microsoft, there are good signs that the studio has not succumbed to the virus of tepidity, at least yet.

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