World War Z | PS4 | Review

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Based on the 2013 film of the same name, which was loosely based on Max Brooks’ original novel, World War Z the game doesn’t share a great deal in common with either. This survivalist shooter will be much more familiar to fans of Left 4 Dead, the zombie-slaying series which spawned and has defined a sub-genre for over a decade now.

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam
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Developer: Saber
Interactive
Publisher: Mad Dog
​Games
Platforms: PS​4, Xbox
​One, PC (Epic Store)
Players: 1 - 8

There’s no hiding that WWZ is an untimely and somewhat derivative release, but, regardless of that, developer Saber Interactive and publisher Mad Dog - responsible for other bizarre licensed games like NBA Playgrounds and Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn (which might not be as bad as you think) - have done a decent job of ensuring that perhaps their biggest project yet is still a good time.

Played from a third-person perspective, unlike Turtle Rock Studios’ seminal L4D and more recent cohorts such as Vermintide 2 and Earthfall, the undead epidemic at the centre of WWZ has already spread on a global scale. You’ll see that scale translated throughout the campaign’s four globetrotting episodes (playable solo or co-op), as you take in the iconic sights of New York, Moscow, Jerusalem and Japan.

Each location has a bespoke cast of four survivors, with each story being entirely standalone and comprised of two to three digestible levels. Barebones cutscenes accompany the brief character and location bios which are hidden away in menus, so there’s very little in the way of narrative motivation here, rather the cathartic pleasure of mindlessly deanimating the reanimate is what’ll spur you on.

With a hefty 16 selectable characters in total, it’s great that none are pre-assigned fixed classes, leaving the player free to mix and match their favourite aesthetic and mechanical choices in tandem. The six recognisable class archetypes - encompassing the likes of healer and different weapons specialists (firearms, melee, explosives) - each feature unique perks and starting loadouts which can be further customised in time.

You’ll begin any given level with a silenced pistol, or at least a basic melee implement, so it’s generally best to start things off stealthily. Anybody that’s played even a little Payday will know that many online players don’t have the patience for that, however, so docile pockets of undead will soon become a unified swarm.

There’s very little in the way of narrative motivation, rather the cathartic pleasure of mindlessly deanimating the reanimate is what’ll spur you on.

Zombies become a sort of hive mind once alerted to your presence, unflinchingly running towards their demise with no regard for anything other than killing their quarry. This is largely familiar stuff, but it takes on new life during regular scripted moments where they frantically clamber into fleshy pyramid structures to reach higher ground (launching explosives at the base to topple these is delectable) or fling themselves from above as makeshift projectiles.  

You’re given enough firepower that these imposing setpieces are never outright frightening, which could be good or bad depending on your perspective. Fixed defence units including barbed wire, electrified floor panels and turrets can be placed in designated positions, while devastating heavy weaponry can be carried on your person to eradicate entire swarms single handed.

Special infected types are where you’ll need to employ a greater degree of finesse, although L4D players will already be acquainted with the sparse selection. Lurkers are Hunters that do a great job of waiting around corners before taking you by surprise with the ol’ pounce-and-pin manoeuvre. Gasbags are a marriage of Boomer and Spitter. Bulls are Chargers. Most telling of all, the Screamer is equivalent to... the Screamer.

You can mark these nasties on your teammates’ HUD, though in-game dialogue will most often vocalise their presence anyway, which is one of the few ways allied AI proves to be dependable. They can’t interact with mission objectives, don’t level up alongside you to meet the difficulty curve, and can’t be switched from the default Gunslinger class in order to compose a balanced team. You don’t even gain the ability to pause when playing offline, but hey, they’ll never incur friendly fire (which is always enabled) if you really must go solo.

Should sticking with the normal difficulty setting be your speed – meaning you don’t anticipate toughing it out being a problem – just be aware that an initial playthrough should only take around five or six hours. Longevity thereafter is gleaned by upping the stakes to earn better weapons and perks, which you’ll then use to repeat the cycle, only one notch higher on the five-step difficulty rung. Levels subtly change between runs, mainly in terms of enemy and item spawn frequencies and locations, helping to keep things a little more fresh along the way.

​Even with randomisation it can become repetitive if you don’t dip in and out, which makes the unique PvPvE multiplayer a smart addition. Featuring separate classes and progression to that of the campaign, the mode has five classic game types in which two teams of four fight against one another and, at the same time, CPU-controlled zombies.

Its largely no-frills approach harkens back to a period during the last console generation where almost every game had competitive multiplayer, though in an oddly nostalgic way. That feeling is certainly helped by the fact it’s competent and fun enough on a base level not to feel just tacked-on.

Levels subtly change between runs, mainly in terms of enemy and item spawn frequencies and locations, helping to keep things fresh.

There’s an established early playerbase sticking around for the interesting dynamic of undead swarms which can cut off parts of a map entirely, but how long they’ll put up with the current balance issues is up for question. You can’t switch class mid-match, so if you made a choice that doesn’t synergise well with your team or effectively counter the opposition, you’re left no choice but to ride it out or quit. Certain weapons and strategies are overpowered, namely sprinting around with a double-barrelled shotgun and unloading both slugs or popping around a corner with the (thankfully quite limited) rocket launcher, yet the funk doesn’t end when you die. Spawns are incredibly inconsistent, as sometimes you’ll pop up right in front of an enemy with no temporary invulnerability to save your bacon, or, more to your advantage, right next to an unguarded objective.

​Whether online or off, in our experience, the PS4 Pro and WWZ servers at least do a good job of handling all the hectic on-screen action. Visually the game is just decent, with some jumpy animations being the biggest sore thumb, but that’s always a worthy trade-off in favour of securing a solid technical performance.

At a budget price point, World War Z offers completionists a lot of game for the money, but anybody with a more one-and-done approach might end up feeling shortchanged by the brief campaign. For either camp, in spite of the strong sense of déjà vu overpowering a few original ideas, WWZ is a good candidate to kick back and relieve a hard day's stress with whenever the time is right.

Pros

• Fundamentally solid, owing to the established Left 4 Dead structure
• Ramps the scale up beyond L4D and other peers
• Level randomisation and a glut of upgrades add staying power
• Loads of characters, none of which are locked into a specific class
• Old-school competitive multiplayer with an engaging twist...

Cons

• … Which could’ve used a modern level of polish
• At times uninspired and always familiar
• Mostly ineffective use of the World War Z license
• Friendly AI makes the campaign much weaker played solo
• Undead tsunamis aren't as scary as they should be

7/10