14 DAY TRIAL // The zombie apocalypse survival scenario has attracted developers like fruit flies to a vinegar trap, in hopes that they'll be able to cash in on the still popular trend, and maybe release a decent game in the process.
Such is the case with Scorpius Games' I Shall Remain, an alpha build which is available on Steam Early Access, offering an alternative to the first-person shooter survival experience that's become so popular.
The setting is an alternate history at the end of World War II, when the Nazis have distributed a deadly virus all over US soil, resulting in widespread infection of the general public and the popular zombie apocalypse scenario.
The game's main story follows two brothers and their struggle for survival as the world attempts to live on through the Z0M81 Pandemic that has ravaged the continent, scavenging for vital supplies and fortifying against the rising menace in the remnants of the former civilization.
I Shall Remain is basically a story-driven action role-playing game where you go around dilapidated cityscapes and shoot and smash or cut down hordes of zombies, as you try to uncover the truth about the infection and attempt to see whether there is a future for the human race in the apocalyptic world or not.
It plays from an almost top-down perspective, and you mainly move around and shoot stuff, keeping an eye on various choke points and on your very valuable ammo supply, going inside buildings in order to scavenge for what limited supplies you can find.
That is because, if the infection level passes a certain threshold, you get some nasty negative side-effects which impact your ability to survive in the wild urban environment. The same is true for the fatigue and stamina bars, which you have to keep an eye on in order to maximize your combat prowess, adding a layer of deliberation and complexity that prevents you from just mindlessly charging in.
In addition to this, the actual character sheet is inspired by old computer role-playing games, with a bunch of main stats that influence the secondary skills to some degree, and they all level up organically. For instance, shooting a gun will level up your small arms skills, which in turn will result in higher accuracy and damage, and thus more incentive to keep using small arms.
In addition to this, there are a ton of perks which you can spend points on every time you level up, which depend on your skills and stats, conferring you a wide range of bonuses such as decreased stamina consumption while running or increased critical chance with a particular type of weapon.
This system represents a palpable way to gauge your progression, and seeing your character become increasingly apt at survival as you play is a very rewarding mechanic, especially since you don't lose anything if you die while in the story mode and so you can also experiment a bit.
The remaining humans are gathered in isolated and fortified communities, places where you can train your skills and exchange the various found supplies and weapons for serum, the game's currency, needed to keep your infection level under control.
In addition to this, you need to learn how to maintain you equipment in working order, as your tools of the trade will incur increasing penalties as their durability drops, and even cease to function altogether.
The zombies are pretty dumb, but truth be told, that's what you would expect from brain-dead shamblers in the first place, and you can always think of creative ways in which to dispose of multiple enemies at the same time, such as throwing grenades, planting mines and setting gas barrels aflame.
I Shall Remain also features a dynamic day/night cycle, complete with weather effects that affect you in various ways, as sitting outside in the rain will tire you more easily. During night time, you will have to make use of your flashlight if you want to venture around town, which will require new batteries from time to time.
The sounds are also pretty good, offering directional clues to where your enemies are coming from and a generally eerie but very fitting musical background. However, the game suffers in the visual department.
Although the maps offer some degree of variety, and the way the city looks seems pretty authentic, with tons of debris and abandoned cars piled on top of each other to make barricades and restrict access to certain areas, the graphics overall feel very dated.
The game certainly has the right atmosphere to it, however: it feels like a genuine apocalyptic journey, where you always have the upper hand but are by no means invincible, and have to muster the patience to slowly grind down the horde of infected, wasting as little resources as possible, before getting to your intended salvage points and then making your way back to safety.
Hopefully, the developers will be able to spruce things up in the future, and, considering that this is just an alpha version, there is a lot of room for improvement. They seem to have gotten the basics of the game and the gameplay dynamic right, which is the most important thing at this point.
