Zombies are undoubtedly getting back from the lifeless in 2019. Resident Evil 2 just lately reminded us how a lot we miss claustrophobic corridors stuffed with bloodthirsty undead whereas Days Gone appears to be like set to be one of many greatest video games of the yr.
NetEase is main the zombie resurgence on cellular although with LifeAfter, a publish apocalyptic survival recreation that mixes the motion and pressure of PUBG with the craftiness of Minecraft.
The sport pulls no punches proper from the beginning, with you concerned in a tense gunfight on the again of a pickup in opposition to some alarmingly quick undead. After preventing them off the pickup crashes, sending you flying into the wilderness.
Cue a terrifying chase sequence during which you’ll outrun the undead lengthy sufficient to fulfill a fellow survivor who teaches you the fundamentals.
You’ll scavenge for assets to make a easy machete earlier than finding your cute doggie companion who leads you to a hut. Security ultimately? Not fairly. The zombies discover you and drive you to run once more, at which level you witness some sort of large mutated creature that would swallow you complete – after which some.
You’ll then meet just a few stranded survivors, beg them to allow you to repair and use your helicopter, then make a fast escape by air. Properly, you’ll if that enormous mutant didn’t pluck it out of the air and chuck you right into a river, at which level the true journey begins.
The Good
The Good
We have been first impressed with the strong character customisation choices, which greet you as quickly as you open the sport. We may create any kind of character we needed, together with face, hair, and garments. Heck, you’ll be able to even customise your pet canine, from its breed to the color of its fur.
LifeAfter doesn’t get in the way in which of you enjoying nonetheless you wish to both. Proper from the bat you’ll be able to select whether or not or not you wish to full the tutorial. You may then both begin your story solo, or ship a pal an invite code that lets you play collectively over the web. Not solely that, however a pal can be part of you at any time throughout the recreation with a easy faucet of a button, so that you’re not restricted to the choice you choose at that second.
The presentation can also be prime notch – and that features the menu screens. The entire choices we talked about in our earlier paragraph? You tweak them on a country desk in first particular person, which is a pleasant twist and helps seat the scene proper from the start. The in-game graphics are additionally very spectacular, harking back to a PS3-era motion recreation. That’s doubtless to make sure LifeAfter works on as many units as potential, as you get the sensation that it may have been bumped as much as PS4 degree if NetEase wished it.
Console-style video games are sometimes tough to tug off with no controller on cellular, however we reckon NetEase has executed the most effective they may. The digital buttons are stored to a minimal, with a joystick, shoot, crouch, and swap weapon buttons. There’s even some nifty context-sensitive buttons that solely seem whenever you want them, like reloading or opening doorways.
Lastly, we have been impressed with the crafting system, which was stored mercifully easy. In one other good presentational contact, your character truly whips out a pill machine everytime you attempt to craft one thing. Right here you’ll be able to see all the recipes you’ll be able to craft, and the assets that you want to craft them. You may filter these by varieties, like Instruments, Weapons, and Ammo and swap between a simplified, or extra complicated, menu.
It’s also possible to queue as much as 5 crafting gadgets directly, releasing you as much as get on with extra enjoyable actions like slaying zombies, organising defenses, and scavenging for assets.
The Unhealthy
The Unhealthy
Whereas LifeAfter is a usually spectacular expertise – significantly on cellular – there’s an unmistakable degree of oddness that stifles the immersion. There are some pretty animations for actions like chopping down timber or choosing away at rocks however then different easy actions go completely with out. Cutscenes that finish on a dramatic word like falling out of a helicopter right into a river lose their impression whenever you simply seem by the aspect of the river as nothing occurred.
This extends to the fight too. Whereas there are some great melee animations, they lack any actual impression. The identical goes for weapons. For those who hit a zombie with a shotgun proper within the face, you count on some degree of gore or, on the very least, for the zombie to react to it. Many instances although, our zombie continued to shamble ahead unscathed for just a few seconds earlier than it realized it was truly lifeless this time.
Only a few individuals are doubtless enjoying this for the story, however people who do will doubtless really feel disillusioned on the dialogue. Whereas we actually respect the hassle NetEase has made to provide us dialogue choices, the precise textual content itself is unrealistic and, fairly frankly, dangerous. Extra effort may have been put into the interpretation, which might in all probability have helped.
The Verdict
The Verdict
LifeAfter is a powerful survival recreation that’s effectively price enjoying for followers of the likes of Minecraft or PUBG. It efficiently transports a majority of these experiences onto cellular, although not with no sure degree of oddness.
