Summary
- The outbreak scenarios in zombie games vary, from comedic beginnings in Lollipop Chainsaw to serious survival in Dead Island.
- Yakuza: Dead Souls offers a wild twist on the zombie genre, with hordes attacking Kamurocho.
- Resident Evil 3 stands out for showing the end of Raccoon City amid the outbreak, adding depth to the story.
Every good zombie story, from movies to games, can have good setups for its outbreak scenarios. Maybe a virus was release ointo a population, or maybe some sort of demon infected a town. Whatever the case, the mystery can be half the fun. Many modern games and movies prefer to set their stories after the zombie outbreak has occurred.
The Last of Us is a prime example, as that game introduces with the outbreak but then skips ahead decades. Are there any g ood games that start with a zombie outbreak and continue through to the end? Let’s go through some classic zombie games and rank them based on how well the outbreak was conveyed and how the overall quality is.
7 Lollipop Chainsaw
In The Name Of Love
Lollipop Chainsaw
- Released
- June 12, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Hack and Slash
Lollipop Chainsaw is more of a comedic game than a serious one, showcasing the downfall of humanity via zombies. It begins with Juliet, a cheerleader, and Nick, her football boyfriend, out on a date when zombies start plaguing the town. Nick gets bit, Juliet cuts his head off, stuffs it in a jar to "stop" the infection, and then proceeds to slay hundreds of zombies with a chainsaw.
It’s a pulpy good time, with tons of great music tracks in the original release that were a bit faded in the re-release. Before taking over the DC cinematic universe, James Gunn actually wrote this game, and it shows.
6 Dead Island
From Paradise To Tragedy
Dead Island
- Released
- September 6, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Survival Horror
Dead Island starts at a wonderful resort with four protagonists living it up. The day after the welcoming party, whoever players choose will wake up to find the resort has gone up in flames with bodies and rubble everywhere. Additionally, zombies are on the loose. There are some B-movie levels of comedy in this game, akin to Lollipop Chainsaw, but the gore is more grotesque.
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The unique aspect of this zombie game, compared to others, is its leveling system and a custom weapon crafting mechanic. Taking down zombies with an electric machete, for example, never gets old.
5 Yakuza: Dead Souls
The Wildest Spinoff To Date
Yakuza: Dead Souls
- Released
- June 9, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, FPS
Some may have thought Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which was a pirate-themed action RPG starring Goro Majima, was wacky. If that’s true, then they probably forgot or didn’t know Yakuza: Dead Souls exists.
This is a non-canonical game that reimagines Kamurocho being attacked by hordes of zombies. Players can play as a few different characters, including Kazuma and Majima, with a lot more gunplay than typical series entries. While it doesn’t have a dramatic sweeping narrative or a big open city to explore, it is weird, which is what Yakuza fans appreciate most about the series.
4 Dead Rising
Mall Security
Dead Rising
- Released
- August 8, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Survival Horror
The first Dead Rising begins with a photojournalist named Frank West receiving a tip about something strange happening in a small Colorado town. Frank soon discovers that the town is infested with zombies, and players have to help him survive for seventy-two hours, which ticks down at a faster-than-normal rate.
The big hook of this game was cobbling together weapons like boxing gloves with knives to wreck zombies in an open-world abandoned mall. Malls are classic zombie settings, and Dead Rising did not disappoint. The original has its charms, but its remaster, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, is an easier game to pick up and play now.
3 Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Season One
Oh, Sweet Clementine
The Walking Dead
- Released
- April 24, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Graphic Adventure, Horror
The first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead starts at a similar point to the comics and TV show, just with a different set of survivors. It begins with Lee Everett, a convict who escapes police custody, stumbles into a neighborhood infested with zombies, and rescues a little girl named Clementine in the process. Together, they meet up with other survivors and have to make it through trials day by day, from gathering supplies to foraging for food.
Nothing has ever hit quite as hard as this first season, making Telltale a legendary developer that seemingly every major IP wanted to work with after this, from Game of Thrones to Borderlands. They helped evolve the adventure game genre, refocusing it on stories rather than puzzles. That said, players should definitely go through all seasons of Telltale's adaptation to see how the story concludes.
2 Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
Outbreak In The Old West
Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare Pack
- Released
- July 26, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare was a piece of DLC released for the main game. It was an otherworldly “what if” scenario that found the Old West erupting in evil happenings, from zombies to undead horses of the apocalypse. The story begins with John Marston witnessing his zombified uncle infecting his wife and son.
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John chains them up and goes out looking for a cure, only to find himself surrounded by nightmarish ghouls left and right. It’s still considered one of the best DLCs of all time, not to mention a good Rockstar adventure that kept the open-world design and just added zombies for good effect.
1 Resident Evil 3
Bye Bye Raccoon City
Resident Evil 3
- Released
- April 3, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Horror
The zombie infection was discovered and seemingly contained in the Spencer Mansion in the first Resident Evil game. However, one or possibly more zombies made their way through the woods, which led to Raccoon City being put on lockdown in Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3. Both games occur simultaneously or within days of each other, depending on the game section.
The reason why Resident Evil 3 is better from an outbreak scenario perspective is that players get to see the fall of Raccoon City firsthand. Jill Valentine, a protagonist from the first game, fights through the city streets, down into the sewers, and eventually into a hidden Umbrella lab. Just because Raccoon City falls doesn't mean zombies are done in this universe, though, as Umbrella continued its experiments.
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