Minecraft meets zombies in this crafting survival game…
7 Days to Die is an odd game, first of all it’s published by Telltale…but it was developed by a group called The Fun Pimps. As far as I can tell, this is the first game that Telltale has published that wasn’t directly made by them. The goal is simple…collect resources, craft items and prepare to fight off the walking dead.
You can play with 3 other players online, split-screen or solo. You begin with no items or tools, so naturally you punch objects till you start getting resources to craft with…sound familiar? After a while you’ll be armed with some nice melee weapons, as well as a bow to hunt with. Raw meat with attract zombies so you’ll need to craft a good fire and cook it quick. When you begin, the map will be randomly generated so it’s never the same layout…you can change settings before beginning, such as respawn options, how long a day will last and how fast zombies are.etc
It lets you customise the experience for yourself, which is nice. The main criticism from me is that it’s not easy finding the resources you need, for example finding feathers for bows is like looking for a needle in a stack of needles. The crafting interface isn’t controller-friendly either, it’s definitely more suited for PC…it feels like it hasn’t been optimised for consoles much, sadly.
7 Days to Die has lacklustre visuals, much like Minecraft. I’d say it’s more advanced than Minecraft, but not by much. Of course, visuals mean nothing when it comes to games like this…just look how popular Minecraft is when it looks the way it does. Unfortunately, 7 Days to Die isn’t quite as refined as that and is rougher around the edges.
The game has been met with a mixed reaction. Some saying it’s great, while others claiming it’s anything but. I’m somewhat in the middle of the two camps…the game has it’s moments, especially playing with others either co-operatively or competitively, but it is very buggy and the visuals will definitely put players off. The sound effects are also very low budget, as is the lacking soundtrack.
The Verdict
7 Days to Die has some great moments, usually followed by some great bugs. Toppled with a unfriendly interface for crafting and equipping items, it’s hard to recommend until it’s been fully optimised for consoles. It almost feels like I’m playing a game in Alpha or Beta, not a finished product…it doesn’t stop it being fun, but it’s definitely limited.