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‘State Of Decay’ Review: Survival Of The Fittest

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The zombie genre is bustling right now. You can’t turn a corner without bumping into a Resident Evil, The Walking Dead, DayZ, Lollipop Chainsaw, ZombiU, The Last of Us, Dead Island, etc. Some might even say there are too many zombie games out there right now, that the market has, or is about to become, oversaturated with the undead.

With that said, even if all of the above is true — and it may very well be — if we keep getting games like State of Decay, I’m completely okay with it.

When developer Undead Labs first began work on that game that would eventually become known as State of Decay, it was known as Class3. They were vocal about their goals to start small, with a simple idea — a single-player zombie arcade game — as a concept, before releasing a more ambitious game called Class4. If that mysterious game is still in the works, I have some ideas for it that we’ll get to in a bit.

First off, let’s talk about this game.

For the unfamiliar, this is a XBLA exclusive action RPG set during a zombie apocalypse. You control a survivor — one of many — who’s been tasked with gathering your fellow survivors so you can all survive together against seemingly endless hordes of the undead.

I’ve sunk roughly twenty hours into it and I still feel like I missed a lot. The amount of content Undead Labs has thrown into this game is extremely impressive. You have the main quest-line that progresses the story, but in order to complete that you’re going to have to spend quite a bit of time with the side quests.

The side quests include helping defend neighboring groups of survivors, or enclaves, lending a hand to individual survivors, scavenging for supplies when your base is low, clearing dangerous infestations, and much more. The optional missions are randomly generated, and they don’t last forever. That means if someone is in trouble and you can’t find the time to assist them, there’s a chance they’ll die.

In State of Decay you have a home base that can be fortified with a shooting platform, dojo, library, shooting platform, garden, workshop, kitchen, etc. Each base can only support a certain number of buildings, so you’ll have to decide which ones you choose to build and upgrade for even better bonuses.

To keep the area surrounding your home base clear it’s necessary to claim outposts. This can be done by clearing out a building and sending in a Runner — more on these guys later — to fortify it with traps so it’s safe from the hordes.

Oh, did I forget to mention the hordes? Essentially, they’re groups of zombies that walk, er, shamble together. If you make any noise near them, they’ll all be alerted at once. Unless you’re in a car, if you alert a horde it’s best to run.

When you first start off, the hordes are very intimidating. My first couple hours with the game involved a lot of me waiting out hordes as they passed the house I was exploring. However, as you continue playing and your characters become more capable, you’ll eventually become more confident.

There aren’t skill trees in State of Decay. Instead, you have basic skills, like combat, fighting, shooting, and leadership. You become more adept with guns, melee weapons, running, and managing fellow survivors the more time you spend doing it. There are also random features that are unique to your character and are determined by their personality. I met a soldier whose friend had been killed by dogs, so one of her traits was a “Fear of Dogs.”

There’s an incredible layer of depth in State of Decay that you don’t see in many retail games, much less arcade titles. I’ve only scratched the surface.

On top of all that, you have the human element to keep in mind. When you’re not busy scavenging for supplies, fortifying your base, completing side quests, making progress on the main quest, or just driving around hunting for hordes to run over with your car — so fun, by the way — there are people you’ll need to manage.

First off, you’ll need to keep everyone happy. You can accomplish this by being good at everything I mentioned in the previous paragraph. If someone starts to get angry or afraid, you can step in and take a walk with them to calm them down. Finding new survivors and making sure everyone gets enough sleep and plenty to eat also helps. Basically, it’s like managing a 10-20 Tamagotchis at the same time.

On one hand, I liked this. It kept me busy at all times, and that’s how a post-apocalyptic scenario would likely play out (only if I were the one in charge we’d all be living in a Best Buy playing video games and eating Cheetos. We’d also all be dead in about a week.) On the other hand, there were many occasions where I’d embark on a mission and by the time I returned three people would be sick or injured, two would be missing and a horde would be at our doorstep.

You won’t be the only one who gets tired of all this. The character you control will become fatigued, lowering their maximum stamina (and health, if they take enough damage). Thankfully, you can switch between the survivors in your community who you’re friendly with so they take over. This is a neat way to break things up if you’re getting sick of playing as the same character for so long. Just switch to someone else and play from their perspective for a bit.

It’s intense having so many virtual lives in your hands, but at times it can border on the frustrating. All I want is that damned illusive achievement for getting fifteen survivors in my community, and it took way longer than I wanted it to because these idiots kept getting lost or killed.

Speaking of stupidity, the AI isn’t particularly smart. Enemies and friendly NPCs would get caught on objects in the environment, or in one case, a survivor I had just saved got stuck on my car’s rear bumper. Nothing else was nearby, she just couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around the whole “go around the car” bit of our hasty escape plan.

Overall, the game looks great. The day/night cycle is a fantastic addition. I would’ve liked a bit of weather, too, but that’s not a big deal. The enemies are moderately unnerving to look at, even if they’re a little too familiar. You have fat zombies, fast zombies, zombies that explode, zombies that scream, alerting nearby zombies, etc. It’s not particularly original.

Adam’s Wish List For State of Decay 2/Class4:

A Mass Effect style conversation system. I hated every word that came out of my survivor’s mouth. Give me the option to choose.

Dawn of the Dead style car customization. I want to be able to reinforce my car with kneecappers, a stronger frame, more lights, a cow/fat zombie/ catcher, etc. I also wouldn’t mind a little weapon customization.

Give me something else to hunt. Zombies get boring, even when they come in a variety of flavors. Outside of birds, there’s zero wildlife in this world. I want zombie bears, cougars, whatever.

Co-op. The entire time I was playing this game all I could think about was how much better it’d be if I had a friend to experience it with.

Deeper combat. The combat in State of Decay is deeper than I thought it would be. You can distract zombies with loud noises, evading attacks is easy, and you can easily push them away. There’s a light attack, strong attack, lunge attack, executions, but even with all that I often found myself knocking a zombie down so I could finish it with an execution. If I had an arsenal of moves to choose from, possibly ones I learn from the dojo, that’d give me a way to mix things up.

State of Decay is a fantastic game. The issues I have with it are minor, because in the end, Undead Labs has made a true survival game with a dash of horror, RPG, and human drama. It’s insanely addictive, sounds great — thanks in large part to an incredible soundtrack by Jesper Kyd — plays exceptionally well, and for $20 (1600 MSP), it comes packed with more than enough content to keep you busy for a very long time.

The Final Word: This is a zombie fan’s dream. State of Decay expertly combines elements from RPGs and survival horror, mixing in human drama and an engrossing story into a neat post-apocalyptic package.

This review is based on a code for the XBLA version of State of Decay, which was provided by the publisher.

Have a question? Feel free to ever-so-gently toss Adam an email, or follow him on Twitter and Bloody Disgusting.

Gamer, writer, terrible dancer, longtime toast enthusiast. Legend has it Adam was born with a controller in one hand and the Kraken's left eye in the other. Legends are often wrong.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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