Zombie games have always been pretty popular certainly after the Walking Dead hype. Most zombie games require you to survive the zombie apocalypse as a human. I, Zombie is different in that aspect because in this game: you are the zombie. Make comrades by turning boring humans into awesome zombies. Conquer the world by making every human into a zombie and creating the perfect zombie world with you as the leader. I, Zombie is developed and published by Awesome Games Studio. We got a chance to test I, Zombie on the Switch so, with our trusty Joy-Con controllers in hand, we could finally satisfy our need for brains!

Story

There isn’t a story present in I, Zombie. When you start the game, you are immediately thrown into a tutorial. You learn that you can eat people and turn them into zombies. These zombies can be controlled by you. When everyone is a zombie or when the “evil” scientist, who is making a weapon against you, is undead: you win.

Graphics

The art style in I, Zombie is cartoonish with a tad of creepy neon green everywhere. The neon green that comes back everywhere in the game fits perfectly with the zombie theme as it is a typical zombie color. Characters in the game are pretty detailed even though they are small. Sometimes there are multiple characters of one design in a level. Luckily the main zombie stands out so there is no chance that you might mistake him for someone else. The design of the humans that turned into a zombie is pretty well done with distinctive features returning in the zombie form.

Backgrounds in the game are mostly the same with a lot of textures repeated. Mostly the same houses are used mixed with a broken down version or houses with a different color. The boxes that are spread across the levels are also pretty much the same except for dirt spots here and there. Although the graphics are pretty simplistic, they still look clean and nicely worked out.

Sound

I, Zombie’s music is very upbeat and is pretty similar to most casual games’ soundtracks. There is no change in the music when you get shot at or when you are nearly dead. Some levels have a different track but they are all in the same upbeat style. Sound effects in the game are fairly well done but there aren’t that many present other than the zombie and weapon noises. Although there is a bit of text in some levels, there is no voice acting. Since the zombie doesn’t speak and there is only a small bit of text present, voice acting really isn’t necessary for this game.

Gameplay

I, Zombie is a casual indie game with a small strategy aspect. You are a zombie and are able to turn humans into zombies as well. These zombies can be commanded by you. It’s your job to make more friends by turning humans into zombies. Of course, it isn’t as easy as it sounds since some of the humans can also defend themselves. These humans have guns and once they spot you or one of your comrades, they open fire. Of course, since you are a zombie, you heal after a while. So as long as your health isn’t at zero, you haven’t lost yet.

There is one myth about zombies that is very true: zombies are pretty slow. You yourself are a pretty fast zombie unless your health drops. Once your health starts dropping, your speed drops with it. So once one of the humans starts shooting you, unless you can get away quick enough, there is no escaping anymore and you’re dead. Your comrade zombies are a lot slower than you so they are a much easier target. It takes a bit of strategy to keep them alive while passing a gunner.

Keeping your comrades alive is very important. Since it’s harder for a gunner to kill a horde, attacking with multiple zombies is the best way to overwhelm them. Winning a level is done by turning every human into a zombie but sometimes only one human is the target. In some levels, a scientist is developing a weapon against you. You have to quickly get to him and stop him from making the weapon. Of course, this scientist is heavily guarded by humans with machine guns. These humans are nearly impossible to get to without dying so the best strategy is avoiding them.

Gunners can either stand still or walk an already laid out path. If you, and your comrade(s), try to approach from too far away, you get shot down before you’re even able to touch him. So the best strategy is to sneak up from behind a building and attack him when he’s close. Even when hiding behind something you have to be careful since sometimes the gunners can spot you from behind a building or box when the angle is just right. It might have been a good idea for the developers to implement a visible line of sight for the gunners. Since it can be really confusing to guess from how far away the gunners can spot you. Even if you sneak up behind them with quite a distance in-between there is still a chance that they see you.

Although every level has basically the same concept, the developers have made them diverse enough so that they aren’t boring or repetitive. Every level has a few ways to get to the end but you only get three stars if every zombie survived. So it’s up to you as the player to find the best strategy that keeps every comrade alive.

Conclusion

I, Zombie is a pretty fun game to take your mind of things and get peek at how life as a zombie can be. The game is perfect for the Switch since you’re able to bring it everywhere you go and pass the boredom by eating some silly humans. Graphically, or even in terms of mechanics it may not be the most spectacular game, but it’s fun to play and totally worth its price. So if you’ve ever wanted to know how it feels to be a zombie and how fun it is to command your own horde then definitely give I, Zombie a try. Even if you’re just bored and looking for a game to play I, Zombie is a good candidate.