Currently, one of the games I’ve been having the most fun in is Project Zomboid. Project Zomboid is a 2D, top-down zombie survival game that aims to be hyper-realistic in terms of a zombie apocalypse scenario. There is no cure (unless you mod one in), there is only survival.
One of Project Zomboid’s essential mechanics is exploration. You must explore different areas to gather varying types of loot (food, water, clothing, medicine). As you continue to explore, however, you also introduce risk. You risk cutting yourself on broken glass if you break a window without removing the glass. You risk dying of thirst as you transition from town to town without enough water bottles to keep you hydrated. You risk attracting a zombie horde as you enter population areas.
Another mechanic that Project Zomboid heavily emphasizes is time management. Like in Runescape or the Sims, everything takes time to do. Will you wash your clothes and wait for them to dry, meaning you have to sit in one place for a while? Or will you wear your dirty and bloodied clothes and possibly become ill later on? Skill development (cooking, first aid, car mechanics) all take time to develop, and the more investment you put into a character, the more heart-wrenching it is when they die (as deaths are permanent for each character).
Everything you do has a continual risk and reward analysis that are foundations of the Project Zomboid gameplay loop. There’s always a lingering sense: one wrong fence jump, zombie encounter, or forest traversal can cause you to lose your whole playthrough. That’s what keeps me on the edge of my seat every time I play Project Zomboid.
