Zombie survival simulations usually develop on a immense scale. We follow a group of surviving civilians, forced to face terrible odds against a gelatinous horde of rotting flesh that breaks down barricades and flows through the streets until the last lights of humanity are finally extinguished for good. Some great games have been created using this model, but Into The Dead: Our Darkest Days, developed by the independent studio PikPok from New Zealand, completely refutes these patterns. It’s an experience of the sheer, spleen-wrenching anxiety of being alone in a room with one – yes, often exactly one – member of the living dead. And as it turns out, it’s also very scary.
At its core, Into The Dead: Our Darkest Days has a lot in common with other grim post-fall management games like State of Decay. The player becomes the leader of a modest group of unfortunate souls who suddenly find themselves surrounded by crumbling shells of the recently deceased. The only goal is to stay alive. So you will recover food and water from abandoned outposts, gradually improving the conditions in the hideout you have decided to call home. All the while, zombies at the gates are destroying the makeshift barricades outside, ensuring your crew never stays in the same place for long. What makes Into The Dead unique is that all gameplay is presented on a tight 2D plane, providing a greater sense of intimacy to the action. Players will never have to mow down a wave of zombies until their bodies are stacked like mountains on the horizon. Instead, the fight usually starts with looking into the basement door and disabling a passer-by with an senior pair of scissors before he knows what hit him.
In this sense, Into The Dead is clearly designed to evoke the true royalty associated with stealth games. The 2012 Xbox Live Arcade hit, Mark of the Ninja, comes to mind. Same with Gunpoint’s pulpy heist puzzle gem. But honestly, more than any other touchstone, hiding between these corridors is a bit like an senior Splinter Cell adventure where deterrence is the best asset in your arsenal. Once you press the door, you’ll be greeted with a keyhole view of the next room and the undead that may be lurking in the shadows. When approaching abandoned hardware stores and food markets that you intend to loot, it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for scaffolding you can climb, as they can provide a better vantage point of your operation. The problems Into The Dead poses are rarely solved by the brute force of headshots. In fact, when all goes well in this world, no one will notice that you were even snooping.
All resources found will be put to good exploit in the database. Into The Dead is built around uncomplicated day and night breaks where your colonists will rotate to keep the camp ecosystem running smoothly. One survivor may be assigned to spend the night at the stove to keep the hideout calorie-rich, while another tries to collect Macgyver’s gun at the weapons station and another performs repairs on the perimeter. Other times, the responsibilities you will assign are confined to pure rest and relaxation. Little sleep? Take care of the master bedroom for the evening. Are you bruised after a bad zombie encounter? Apply first aid kit where it hurts. All of these systems are incredibly clear and useful – perhaps even a little basic for more experienced survivalists. However, if these types of games overwhelm you, you can be sure that Into The Dead will provide you with a cushioned landing.
Unfortunately, one of the perennial problems that plagues zombie fiction is the lack of closure. How do you create a satisfying, long-term narrative when death threatens every day? So it’s no surprise that Into The Dead doesn’t have much of a plot in its current state. There are a few hints at the grand conspiracy at the heart of this zombie epidemic – glimmers of knowledge in the mud – but The Walking Dead isn’t like that. So Our Darkest Days makes up for it with tons of style. We’re back in 1980, in the heart of Texas, with all the cheesy wallpaper and flared jeans that the setting brings. As the notes merge and the screen is bathed in a smoldering afternoon sunset, casting long shadows over the last living, Into The Dead can rival the euphoric anxiety of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I know that’s a high rating, but PikPok has reason to believe it has something special on its hands.
