Zombie games jump all over the horror spectrum. Some offer hack-and-slash gameplay, while others focus entirely on survival. With dozens of different origins, tones, and gameplay mechanics, each zombie title is unique in what it has to offer players.
There are some games though, that have unique gameplay elements and mechanics that aren’t as common as others. These mechanics can help set them apart from other games in the same genre and create an interesting gameplay loop. While some might be a bit difficult to maneuver, they all enhance the realism or chaos of the experience. These are ten zombie game mechanics that need to come back.
10 Realistic Scavenging
Anything Can Be Used As A Weapon
The Dead Rising franchise chooses a location and shoves hundreds of zombies onto the screen at once. This gives you the feeling that you actually are living through a realistic zombie apocalypse. However, it also has another gameplay mechanic that ups the immersion.
Dead Rising lets you use anything you can get your hands on as a weapon. From fire axes and baseball bats to the less common bag of marbles. This kind of gameplay is rarely seen in zombie games but would go perfectly with modern technology such as VR.
9 Aim For The Head
One-Hit Headshots
Since the days of George Romero, a clean headshot has been the only thing that can stop a zombie from approaching you. The only problem is that it doesn't always translate well into fast-paced gameplay.
Regardless, one-hit headshots often take a backseat in favor of special infected and using combined weapons to hack and slash the undead hoard. The mechanic, however, can be found in more hardcore zombie games such as No More Room In Hell and Contagion.
8 Ragdoll Physics
Realistic Body Drops
There was a time when ragdoll physics was the next big thing. Enemies no longer had a singular dying animation or stood plastered to the floor. One zombie game with ragdoll physics is Left 4 Dead and, to a slightly lesser extent, Left 4 Dead 2.
As dozens of fast zombies swarm your location, shooting the hoard can be quite disorienting. Some zombies have death animations while others simply keel over. This gives a sense of realism to the game, as zombies and characters feel more like empty husks when killed.
7 A Clock System
Real-Time Events
Dead Rising introduced a gameplay mechanic that split the community in half. This 72-hour system gives players approximately six real-world hours to complete every storyline scoop and side quest, adding a new layer of challenge.
This system requires players to add time management to their set of skills. It also forces them to learn shortcuts as events occur around the map in real-time. Like a realistic zombie apocalypse, things will be happening all around you and if you miss these events, you can’t turn back time.
6 Getting Bit
The Infection Spreads
One of the most iconic tropes in zombie media is when a character gets bitten. It’s only a matter of time before the character turns and goes after their friends. Zombie games have characters getting bit left and right with no risk of infection.
In some games, like No More Room In Hell, Zombi U, and Project Zomboid, infection is a mechanic that has you turning against your friends. While it may seem unfair, it's an interesting mechanic to bring back and slot into different game modes.
5 Parkour
Enhanced Movement
Dying Light has one of the most unique movement systems in a zombie game. It rewards you for considering your environment when tackling missions or fights with zombies. Rooftops can be safe, while ground combat can leave you overwhelmed.
The ability to use parkour to traverse a zombie-infested city sounds like a match made in heaven. It's the ultimate game of the floor is lava that needs to keep coming back with even more fluid movement each time.
4 Fight Yourself
Killing Your Previous Character
Zombie U is an obscure game released for the Wii U and then rereleased for PC with a few tweaks. The game offers a unique way to play with no set protagonist. Instead, each time your player dies, a new character takes their place.
What is interesting about this mechanic is that your old character becomes a zombie in the world. They carry a backpack full of your old equipment and killing them is how you get your stuff back. It’s a rare mechanic but one that should come back in a future zombie game.
3 Claustrophobic Level Design
Make Zombies Scary Again
The original Resident Evil games and their remakes make slow zombies scary again. It does so by reintroducing a claustrophobic-level design. These tight areas can make even a single zombie a real threat.
With more games opting for open worlds, zombies have a harder time being truly scary. Resident Evil 2 Remake balances this with slower character movement and tight spaces. Do you risk trying to run past them or do you use your bullets to clear the path?
2 Play As Patient Zero
Causing A Zombie Apocalypse
Stubbs The Zombie is an undead salesman who resurrects from the grave and starts going after the mayor of Punchbowl. What makes the gameplay so unique for this title is that, for once, you are the one causing the outbreak and multiplying your numbers.
So many games have you surviving a zombie apocalypse, but not enough have you being the driving force behind it. Sending zombies to chase after humans and turning them into even more subordinates for your army is an underutilized mechanic.
1 Vehicle Upgrading
A Zombie Killing Machine
There are plenty of iconic vehicles in zombie media, from Jimmy Gibbs Jr’s race car in Left 4 Dead 2 to the Tranzit Bus in Call of Duty Zombies. However, very few games integrate the vehicle as part of the progression.
Days Gone attempts to do this, but it falls a bit flat. Regardless, it’s a unique gameplay element that needs to be explored further by having a vehicle you care for and upgrade to drive through hoards of the undead and reach new locations.
