World War Z: Aftermath PC Review

Saber Interactive is no stranger to game development or game publishing, and they definitely have a have in several genres on the development and publishing fronts. However, while they have a fairly long history, considering they were founded in 2001, they don’t have a long history of games. Normally this would be seen as bad but instead of pumping out games year on year, they release games that are for the most part, actually good. Aside from creating a few masterpieces, they also published a few as well which just added to their reputation. With games like Dakar Desert Rally released in 2022 and Evil Dead: The Game released in 2023, it’s clear they don’t focus on one genre.

 

Where things become a bit more interesting for them is with a semi-old release, World War Z, which was released in 2021. It’s an interesting Third-Person Survival game with hordes of undead so massive it’ll leave you riding the edge of your set. Normally a game like this would seem irrelevant due to its age, though this is what sets it apart. Almost two years after its release and it can still be seen as possibly better than its counterpart, Left 4 Dead, not to mention that it’s still being looked after by Sabre Interactive. Fast forward to the present, and World War Z got the mother of all updates along with their latest World War Z: Aftermath DLC,  which adds two more episodes to the game’s abundance of stories.

As for the world of World War Z, it began like your typical apocalyptical world-ending zombie outbreak, in a lab with someone being extra careless. This lead to a vast majority of the world population dying but not staying dead, and this is where things become interesting. World War Z doesn’t have just one singular story or protagonist, it has multiple. This is honestly just so profound and would typically be a mess of a game, but it’s actually amazing and really fits the overall theme so well.

In World War Z, you’ll follow the stories of several groups of people who are trying to find a safe haven for themselves, saving others, or even trying to retake their homelands. Each episode of the game takes place in a different place in the world and each episode also has its loadout of characters that are tied into the stories. The reason this works so well is because when your whole world is overrun by undead, it’s not just one person who’s saving the world or making that big difference, it’s everybody. From the random environmentalist who became known as a troublemaker to the ex-marine, you’ll find that there’s an unholy diversity in backgrounds, races, and even oddities that come together to make a difference while surviving.

 

Naturally, in a game like World War Z, you’ll need weapons, and lots of them. Don’t worry, the game has you covered on stopping power, enough to become the one-person army you’ve always dreamed of being. To go a bit further into detail on this super important matter, there are 3 tiers of ranged weapon, a heavy weapon, and a melee that will always satisfy your bloodlust.

Now that you’ve chosen your episode and chapter, you’ll always start off with a basic tier 1 weapon. However, the type of weapon you start with depends on the class you choose, but more on that very soon. Progressing through the chapter, you’ll see that there are weapon crates, ammo crates and sometimes, you’ll also find a heavy weapon. Where it becomes a lot more interesting is that as you go further through the chapter, the weapon tiers also climb. However, if you’re a fan of shotguns as example, there’s no guarantee you’ll get a shotgun in the next tier as you go, but you might find a tier 3 shotgun closer to the end or even earlier. Sometimes you just have to accept what you have or switch over to a different form of firepower. Though this is just your Primary weapon….

You’ll also start off with a Secondary weapon, typically a pistol with a silencer, because why go loud and noisy if it’ll only attract a horde of zombies to you. Going for a silenced weapon and a few well-placed headshots will let you clear a room, and you walk away no worse for wear. Though just like your primary weapons, you’ll also find different secondary weapons to essentially upgrade to or change out for. Just between Primary and Secondary, keeping your options open is a good way to survive, even more so if you’re completely out of ammo.

 

Now, if your Primary, Secondary and Melee don’t quite cut it for you and you want something a bit heavier, the Heavy weapon is your best bet. You’ll find these weapons scattered all over the areas and they do pack one hell of a punch. From RPG Missile Launchers to Flamethrowers, you’ll be decimating anything that comes your way and cutting through them like butter. However, unlike your other weapons, running out of ammo means the weapon is gone for good and you’ll need to find a new one.

Speaking of ammo, sooner or later, you will run out. Lucky for you, World War Z isn’t completely against you and you’ll see at certain points in each chapter, there are ammo cases typically surrounded by extra goodies. In a game like World War Z, ammo is life, mostly. This is where the melee shines, especially when you’re completely surrounded by zombies who are literally tearing you apart. A few hacks and slashes and you’ll have a clear path to escape. Your melee is also the only weapon that isn’t defined by class or random pickup, you’ll need to choose your melee weapon before going out into the undead world. However, each melee weapon comes with its own perks, ups and downs, so choose wisely.

One of the things that sets World War Z apart is the fact that your weapons grow with you, by gaining experience and becoming more powerful somehow. Sadly, it’s not exactly that simple. While the weapons you use can gain XP points and level up, you’ll need to earn coins by completing the chapters and then spend them to actually level up your weapons. When you’re just starting out, this can be an absolute pain because coins aren’t easy to come by and the cost of leveling up just keeps rising. However, this is where things go a bit more downhill… Gaining levels for your weapons is great and all, and after gaining enough levels for one weapon, you’ll unlock perks.

 

Perks as we all know, are glorious game-changers that add a little extra flare to anything. In terms of weapons, they can make life a lot more interesting but there’s a catch. Perks come at the cost of Challenge Coins. Sadly, it’s not even a small amount and challenges are nothing to laugh at in this game. Then again, challenges are supposed to be challenging, but these challenges can come off as a bit over the top. This is, unfortunately, a mood killer when you work so hard to get just one weapon to level for perks after spending a literal mountain of coins, only to find out that you need a literal mountain of a different type of coin just to unlock a single perk and equip it to said weapon.

On to a more exciting aspect of World War Z, Classes, a little diversity in how you shred the undead is what makes a game like this shine. There is a multitude of classes to choose from, each of them bringing their own unique touch to the action and it’s nearly guaranteed that there’s one that will appeal to you. Each class has its own starting weapons and consumable type. For example – The Exterminator class starts with a simple shotgun, silenced pistol and the Molotov consumable. The best part of it all, as mentioned before, your classes level up too. Sadly, nothing is ever free from the looks of it since the level ups only unlock the many perks each class can have access to. Actually having them active means that, yet again, you’ll need to buy them with coins. Luckily, you don’t need every perk there is and you can simply buy the ones you want. To sweeten the deal, they’re at least cheap enough to not ruin that bit of enjoyment.

The part everybody’s been waiting for, the co-op action. World War Z is technically a Co-Op game but just like its counterpart, you can go solo and fill the remaining spots with bot-controlled teammates. For the most part, they work well enough but they do lack single-player control, like tagging items for them to pick up. Instead, they’ll follow you, revive you if you go down and fight alongside you, but that’s about the extent of it. So, if there’s the equivalent of a fetch quest where you need to get items, you’re stuck getting them one by one by yourself. It’s a pain, but it could also count as a form of encouragement to use the public matchmaking, maybe even make a few friends who can help cut down the hordes of undead.

 

So, World War Z has hordes of zombies that would put any other horde you’ve seen to shame, a massive array of weapons to choose from, and an even bigger variety of classes that can change to your taste, but what about those of you who want a story or lore? Once again, World War Z has you covered. Along with each character in the game having their own unique backstory to follow, you’ll also see how each character plays a part in the episode you’re playing and how they came to join their respective teams. As mentioned before, there is no single protagonist in this world, but it does give a much more realistic feeling to the game as a whole because the only thing that would matter in a situation like that is teamwork.

Having mentioned Left 4 Dead, World War Z also features its own set of unique champion zombies too. While not as iconic, they still play a massive part either way. From the Infectors to Screamers, each champion has its own set of skills that make them either incredibly dangerous or just a pain to take down. However, they do add a nice twist to the madness when you’re gunning down the garden variety undead.

As for the latest World War Z: Aftermath, this not only brought new weapons to the fight and several major quality of life improvements. Aftermath also brings in two new episodes that take place in Rome’s Vatican City and Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, bringing the world another step closer to being free from the undead infestation through new and returning characters. Though if the normal amount of undead wasn’t enough for you, Aftermath comes with the Horde Mode XL game mode, because when literal floods of zombies aren’t enough and you need even more to go on top of it all.

 

On the sound engineering front, the most important part to take note of would be the nightmare inducing zombie sounds. There’s never a dull moment, and you’ll need to stay on your toes or at the very least, keep your ears open. Seeing what’s coming for you is fine, but hearing where it’s coming from is a lifesaver and brilliantly implemented in this game. To spice things up even more, all the characters are fully voiced and bring an extra layer of life into the game. In a game like World War Z, voice acting is the last thing you’d look at, but the conversations between teammates and those you help or fight against really play an important role. The music in World War Z is just as important, while it’s not overbearing, it does fit the theme a little too well while giving you that sense of danger and urgency to keep you alert.

The visual side of World War Z definitely shows there is a passion for detail, with each episode taking place in a different part of the world, you’ll actually see quite a few similarities to how those areas look outside the game. However, the most important part of this game would naturally be the hordes of undead. Of course, you’ll be gunning them down, but there is a massive variety and difference between each zombie you fight. Instead of just using a generic group and duplicating them endlessly, it’s still duplicated quite heavily, but the group is actually massive. Without paying close attention, it’s like each zombie you shoot down is different from the last, and this is a nice touch that keeps things interesting. Then naturally, your champions also stand out from the rest with their own unique designs.

 

Overall, World War Z: Aftermath DLC is a must-play if you’re a fan of anything zombie related, with the weapons and classes to choose from, you’ll likely end up coming back for another round of chaos in the undead infested lands before you. To top it all off, you even get to experience the chaos in several parts of the world combined with the stories of several groups of people. The only downside is that almost everything comes at a cost which can be a mood killer if you don’t know what to expect.

Jay Claassen (@R3GR3T_3NVY)
Editor, NoobFeed