Review - STATE OF DECAY 2 - It's not just the zombies who are decaying

 
  In 2013, State of Decay was one of the best zombie/survival games experiences ever.
Managing the well-being of your community of survivors in an open-world environment was very satisfying(and also frustrating) and unrivaled at the time. 

  Since then, numerous high-quality zombie games like 7 days to die or Dying Light were released, and State of Decay is no more considered number 1 on the podium.

State of Decay 2 is trying to get the franchise back at the top of this popular genre.
Let's see if it succeeded.

Store	Platform	OVERALL RATING: 78%
Buy it on Amazon	PC	+ THE POSITIVE - Very nice 80s zombie movie atmosphere - Three different and large maps - LOOT! - Building bases is still as satisfying as before - Enjoyable multiplayer mode  - THE NEGATIVE -  LOTS of bugs - Some frustrating gameplay mechanics - VERY repetitive - Not very well optimized - Nights are way too dark  - UI is unintuitive - You can't give orders to your companions - Story is insignificant
Buy it on Amazon	Xbox One

BASICALLY? STATE OF DECAY ½.😕

  State of Decay 2 is a third-person view open-world zombie survival video game.
It also features cooperative gameplay with up to three other players.
 
  At the very beginning of the game, you have to choose between different couples of heroes, each with their own story and specific skills.

  After a brief unskippable tutorial, you start right away in this open-world which furiously looks like the first game. Your first mission is to find a nice place to establish your base and then bring survivors, who will all have basic needs that must be filled.

  At the very least, it will be necessary to build enough beds so that everyone can rest, store enough food to avoid famine, etc... 
All of these objectives will be accomplished by exploring the surrounding buildings...
And that's about the entirety of State of Decay 2 gameplay experience.
 

Like in State of Decay 1, the first thing you should try to do is climb up one of these big towers to survey the area and find "lootable" buildings, etc. Also, you can try a leap of faith for laughs.

Note!

The game is overall very buggy!

  You'll very often encounter minor glitches like open doors which are actually closed. More annoying, sometimes you'll be forced to abandon a vehicle because it's "stuck" in... A PEBBLE. 

  A few quests actually CAN'T BE COMPLETED because of crazy bugs. 
Prepare for some fun ragequit moments.

  Finally, the game suffers from various graphic bugs, random crashes, and annoying camera angles.

  The developers didn't try anything original with the storyline. 

While all deja vu characters have a unique background and plenty of custom dialogues, the whole story still falls too easily in the old clichés we have to endure since more than a half-century now, in both games and movies. 

  There's the borderline creepy overly optimistic joker, the tough guy wannabe who self-proclaimed himself the boss of the group, etc. 
Despite these types of people existing in real-life, it's very difficult to feel any kind of connection with them.

"Cosplayer"? The guy looks like he's in his 50s. Whatever his cosplay is, let's hope it's not Sailor Moon.😅

  The same goes for the different survivors that you will meet on your way, which you'll be able to recruit. Also, you'll have opportunities to interact with other groups of survivors, trade with them, or complete quests for them. 

  The completion of these quests will get you influence points, eventually increasing your status with other members of your group. You can eventually become a "community leader", which will apply a significant bonus to your entire colony, and allow you to build special buildings within your base, if there's enough space.

  The sandbox aspect of the game is accentuated in this second episode, and you have more freedom to make your community evolve at your own pace as you see fit.
  Get ready for a challenge, though, as the quick tutorial doesn't explain much and you'll be on your own very fast, having to figure out pretty much 95% of the game by yourself... Which is something we usually ADORE, but it doesn't work this time as the hermetic user interface is simply too confusing.

The ugly Microsoft-like UI is very unpleasant to use.

  In addition, the gameplay feels more like a "simulation" than the first game.
Micro-management related to your base and its occupants has more parameters than before, and it'll get worse as it gets bigger.
  You'll have to build more stuff to accommodate your people's desires and enhance their chances of survival.
And each of these new buildings will require continuously increasing food and medical supplies, raw materials, and ammo.

TIP!

  Try to claim as many outposts as you can, and early in game! It will provide you supplies once a day. 

  For example, once a food store has been explored and emptied of its zombies, you can choose to make it an outpost that will give food to the general stocks every day. 
It will also be useful to access the inventory of your main base and allow you to change characters without having to return to your HQ.

Claiming the Police Department will provide pig meat supplies every day.😉

GAMEPLAY - THE PLAGUE IS NOT MALARIOUS😅

  State of Decay 1 suffered from extreme repetitiveness, which made even the most  patient players give up pretty fast.
Well, this second iteration is proud to defend its heritage with conviction. 
  
  Your main weapon will be tenacity, in this world based on loot in all its forms. 
Searching everything becomes your second nature and the whole experience is built around the numerous resources and various other items accumulated during the raids. 

Just focus on surviving and improve the living conditions of your community.
  Unfortunately, looting again and again turns into a nightmare after a few hours. 
The slightest improvement to your base turns into a redundant round trip. 

Everybody is kung fu fighting!

  One of the biggest threats in the game is the "blood plague".
As soon as you're bitten by one of the special zombies who are infected by the blood plague, a fever gauge appears. 
After several bites, the gauge fills up and once it reaches max level, it turns into a countdown indicating the last few seconds you'll live on this planet.👍

  Hopefully, if this happens, you already built an infirmary in your base, AND also have the necessary ingredients to make a remedy or your character will be PERMANENTLY LOST. 

  Zombies carrying the blood plague are certainly not the most widespread, but have an unfortunate tendency to be resistant and to attack in packs. 
The eradication of these grotesque masses of flesh is also one of the main objectives of the game. 
Indeed, you'll find scattered all over the map and hidden in various buildings some "plague hearts", sort of nucleus which generate these dangerous infected zombies. 

I found this one at the back of a fast-food. Coincidence?

  These sources, easily detectable thanks to observation towers, can be eradicated with a  LOT of bullets(we suggest a grenade launcher!), as shooting them will generate an impressive amount of infected zombies. 
No need to tell you that these are the most dangerous missions you'll do in the game.

  Fortunately, you are not totally helpless against this zombie threat and each character in your colony can optimize his skills by practicing.
For example, a survivor who runs a lot will eventually improve his sprint ability, a bit like in the Elder Scrolls games. 

Excuse-me, can I have your autograph???

  Unfortunately, this brings up one of the first annoyances you'll encounter in the game.
In addition to health, you'll have to manage energy, and it's badly executed.

  Every time you get hit/bitten/whatever, it "nibbles" a little part of your energy bar, and you VERY often end up with an empty bar in the middle of a fight.
You'll appreciate it especially when you try to destroy one of these plague hearts.
This is where you'll embrace death most of the time.

The game takes place in a migrant camp in France, apparently.

  Speaking of death, it always lurks around the corner and the game does not leave you much room for error. 

Anybody up for some good juicy steak?

  Indeed, besides the bloody plague, trauma and various accidents can occur and cut permanently your life bar, forcing you to go back to your base and use precious drugs to fix your injuries. 

  You'd better plan this out very well, as if you do not have enough medical supplies, you will be leading a crippled team which won't survive 5 seconds on the zombie field.

  Yes, as you can imagine, if taking care of your own survival is already quite a challenge, trying to take care of your entire team is a whole different kettle of fish. 
  As you know from the first State of Decay, it is possible to ask one of your partners to accompany you in your wanderings. 

Unfortunately, although they can be pretty efficient in combat, they seem to have ZERO AUTONOMY. 
For example, even when their life bar is almost empty, and they have a health pack in their bag, they won't use it! 

"Begone, evil zombie thot!"  "But I'm one of yours, damn jackasses!"

  One of the BIGGEST annoyances in the game is your companions inventory management.

Also, they can carry only ONE item at the same time. (for example, these big orange bags full of supplies which you find in hangars?)

When you realize that you CAN'T GIVE ORDERS to your companions, and that you're going to be forced to take control of them, and THEN load the bags manually yourself in the inventory, you understand that something's wrong with the mechanics of this game.

  And then, you'll have to do all of this once again, but reversed, when it's time to unload all of the equipment into the trunk of a vehicle, for example. 

Stardew Valley 2 is looking good!

Oh boy, I took a wrong turn in Skid Row district...

  Here's something even worse: from time to time, you'll encounter survivors who have their own quests to fulfill. 

  Be aware that from the moment you take control of this character, it will not be possible to change back to your main character before you complete his quest.

  You can't wander around and do side quests anymore, as the game forces you to play the quest assigned to the character. 

If you try to open its inventory, the quest is CANCELLED. (What?? Is this a bug?)  
Sometimes, the quest never appears anymore, or only much later in the game. 

Nailed him! Literally.

  And frustration ends up in many aspects of the game. 
It is understandable that the developers aimed for a more realistic experience, 
but the unfair difficulty increase is also detrimental to credibility. 

  For example, it makes sense that vehicles are a nightmare to use, as most of them are just old damaged wrecks, but their extremely imprecise driving and insane gas mileage will make you feel like ragequitting more than once.

  Running out of gas in the middle of an isolate road surrounded with hundreds of hungry zombies is one of the most hilarious moments you'll experience in the game... or is it?🤔

One last word about the coop mode!

  State of Decay finally gets a proper coop mode that can gather up to 4 players. 
It works very simply too: the host invites one or more of his friends who will join his party, sharing his progress, with the character of their choice. 

  From this moment, only the person hosting the game will be able to read and accept the quests.
Every player is given a specific task and everyone knows spontaneously where to go and what to do, which optimizes greatly the missions. 

In coop mode, the major flaws we mentioned earlier, the wobbly inventory and the incessant necessary back and forth trips, are obviously no more.

Please note that whether you play alone or with 4 players, you will face the same number of zombies and plague hearts. 
So, you might as well play with friends if you find yourself stuck in the game and find it too difficult. 😉👍

GRAPHICS - STATE OF WORK-IN-PROGRESS😏

"Eeeer hello? I'm Ty Pennington, from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition! Hello?"  (I've got to say, nice Photoshopping though. This official screenshot shows very good interior lighting, something I've yet to see in the game.)

  Despite the switch to the Unreal Engine 4, the game looks average in general. 
Textures are disappointing, flat and blurry, and just slightly better than the first game, which was released years ago.
Lighting is even worse, looking also flat most of the time, like in a 2000s game.
Indoors are a bit better, but not as good as what the photoshopped pictures suggest.

  Although the realistic day/night cycle is very much appreciated and improves the atmosphere, exploring at night is hell, as everything looks way too dark. Like, PITCH BLACK.

TIP: Trying fat-shaming in this situation doesn't help. We tried. Just run.

Unlike that guy, the graphics didn't blow our minds.

  As you can imagine, the very numerous melee fights become very confusing, and let's not mention how frustrating it is in confined spaces, which are already suffering from a rather broken camera system.
Worse, your torchlight is a pain to use and not precise enough. 
Let's hope that a mod will be able to fix this.

  Eventually, we have increased the gamma to 1.20 in order to play in acceptable conditions. The original game already suffered from the same problem, but this seems to be even worse in this one.

Characters and zombies look better overall, with more realistic looking clothing, and more importantly, MUCH better realistic animations! (the first game had piranha bytes-like animations.)

Finally, there aren't many special effects in the game, but explosions look MUCH better than before, thanks to the new engine.

MUSIC - IS THAT ROYALTY-FREE?🤔

  The entire OST is made of very long monotonous pieces, with some unoriginal arpeggios (Is that Omnisphere synth again?), and ultra-depressing "melodies". (Last time we heard a great OST in a zombie game was in Left 4 Dead 2... It's starting to get old.)
Brackets are required as it is uncertain that something made of three different notes being continuously tweaked qualifies as a melody.

It seems that many modern times composers don't find inspiration at all in 70s and 80s horror movies.

Although, if you really want to listen to some nice horror music while playing, then we highly recommend you to play Left 4 Dead OST instead.
Listen to that legendary theme:

SOUNDS & VOICES - VERY IMMERSIVE SFX, LESS THAN IMMERSIVE VOICES😊

  "But it's an atmospheric game! It's not supposed to have music anyway!"
True, and the game is actually much more enjoyable without music at all, which makes it even more tense and disturbing, like any good horror movie.

 Speaking of atmospheric, the environment sounds are very realistic and makes you feel like you're part of a living and breathing world. If only there wasn't a zombie trying to kill you every 5 meters, it would be a pleasant walking tour in the countryside.  
  

Let me guess. You guys want me to join the weight watchers program?

  Alas, voices sound depressingly unconvinced, and most actors seem to take the whole thing as a joke, which is understandable, when you realize how insipid the conversations are.

TIP!

 DO NOT underestimate the radio, and listen to it very often!
You can ask other survivor groups to help you, sell you equipment, etc.
Later in the game, you can even launch extremely devastating airstrikes, at the cost of influence points, though!

  At least, we had fun listening to the female characters, who seem to be voiced by the male actors. Or maybe they just ate too much testosterone-injected-beef?

  Funnily enough, the most convincing characters are the zombies. Playing a braindead unleashes your true acting potential.

RATING BOX

	VERSION TESTED:1.0 Publisher: Microsoft Studios Developer: Undead Labs Release Date: 22 May, 2018 Genre: Survival Single-player/Multi-player Difficulty: Normal  Store Platform Buy it on Amazon PC Buy it on Amazon Xbox One
GRAPHICS: 74%
A VERY big disappointment. It's almost the same game as State of Decay 1. Textures are only slightly improved, and lighting looks flat in general. It looks like a 2010 game.  On the other hand, animations are professionally made and look very "cinematic", breathing life into every character and zombie.
MUSIC: 40%
Even if the composer tried to make it more boring on purpose, he couldn't. Our advice: cut it off completely to make the experience creepier and more immersive. Too bad, the production itself is top-notch.
SOUNDS: 87%
The developers managed to create a very realistic interactive audio environment, and it contributes a lot to make the player feel immersed in a living world. Don't pay attention too much to the subpar acting, further worsened by abysmal dialogues.
GAMEPLAY: 80%
It IS actually good. It's just a better version of State of Decay 1, with also the same numerous drawbacks and various annoyances. The experience turns quite early into a grindfest and only the most patient players who are not afraid of repetitiveness won't give up.
OVERALL RATING: 78%
State of Decay 2 relies too much on the previous game, and feels more like an aging DLC than a game of its own.  Mistakes of the past still haven't been corrected, and many gameplay mechanics are very annoying.    Despite being open-ended and offering many possibilities, its boring repetitiveness and unfair difficulty at times will make you feel weary very early in the game, especially if you already played State of Decay 1 for years.    On the other hand, if you never played the first game, we recommend to get this one instead, which IS BETTER overall, especially for newcomers, and still a solid zombie survival experience. Thanks to his numerous characters and 3 large maps, State of Decay 2 manages to let us feel totally immersed in this convincing apocalyptic world, served by an extremely effective and uncompromising atmosphere when it comes to survival in a hostile environment. If possible, enjoy it with a friend in co-op mode!

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