No One Survived

There's no shortage of zombie-themed open-world survival games out there, but No One Survived is a game that insists on bringing its take to the genre. Honestly, from initial impressions, there's hardly anything that looks distinguishable from the legions of other similar titles. But then again, it's got a high production value that can always lead to impress.

No One Survived tags itself as a multiplayer survival sandbox game that focuses more on your character's well-being rather than endlessly blasting hordes of undead. We'll find a match where self-care precedes your ability to create a sustainable arsenal for survival. But despite there not being immediately prominent features of the game, we can't help but find a bit of interest in how the title will play out.

Quite the Character

The irony of firing up the game is that the title doesn't accurately describe the setting. Where no one survived, you'll find a land littered with NPCs and other players leveraging opportunities for survival. Let's not forget that you'll discover plenty of undead foes all vying for a piece of your carcass. But no denying that No One Survived is visually appealing, immersing with high-end environmental and character details.

So how about gameplay? No One Survived does what every standard survival sandbox should offer. There's the ability to craft, build, manage, and improve characters and settlements to create the ultimate fortress against a zombie threat. The amount of things to do made into the game is impressive, with the character creation screen being the standout part of the experience, detailed to the last chest hair.

Combat is pretty satisfying, either hacking and slashing with your machete or mounting a sniper's nest to take out zombies from afar. Overall, No One Survived is a complete experience in theory, but it doesn't come without hiccups. It still feels the same compared to other similar games. Genre enthusiasts will immediately understand why it doesn't feel different, discovering that many character and environmental assets are shared with other titles.

Not to mention, adding so many features into a sandbox game often sees little focus on them to make them unique. The idea is to promote self-care of your character, but still, players feel like they're in an aimless world, building, crafting, and fighting to no avail. Sometimes a game world can look as beautiful as you'd like but feels empty and purposeless.

The Aimless Apocalypse

Many gamers struggle with sandbox games because they have difficulty defining purpose in their experiences and need that direction. While looking visually appealing and mechanically sound, No One Survived isn't one of those titles that will appeal to that player base, offering no advice or purpose. It's the same issue many had with Valheim, although generally praised.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Beautiful game world to explore
• Significant diversity in gameplay
• The character creation screen is detailed and brilliant

Cons:

• The game world feels empty and without purpose
• Many assets are recycled from the game engine
• The UI feels clunky