Some of the great zombie (or zombie-adjacent) games give me the creeps to the point I often abandon the game to preserve some sense of sanity. Jump scares are a thing I can enjoy but I don’t need them repeating themselves every 5 minutes. Luckily some developers noticed the demographic I belong to and made a zombie game with the main focus on humor instead of scaring the shit out of their users. Welcome to ParadiZe is one of those latter games.
ParadiZe with a capitol Z
The world is plunged into chaos through the outbreak of a highly contagious and deadly virus. Zombies roam around the world and the chances of survival seem very slim. Billionaire tech mogul Jeff Tusk emerges as a beacon of hope. Tusk Industries spearheads the development of the Zombot Hacking Helmet. This invention allows humans to control the minds of the zombies to turn them from brain-eating enemies into obedient workhorses. This led to the creation of ParadiZe, an idyllic community built from the labour of Zombots. With Zombots constructing, cleaning, and even defending the place this seems like the safe place you’ve yearned for. As you embark on your journey towards ParadiZe, you’ll soon discover that not everything advertised has become a reality.
A slim chance of survival
Once you arrive at the gates of ParadiZe you see shimmers of what once was the intended “paradise”. The place is in absolute shambles with malfunctioning Zombots wreaking havoc. Luckily a few quite eccentric-looking survivals can still be of use to your quest for survival. Throughout these encounters you’ll learn more about Tusk industries and what has happened in ParadiZe. Something still looks salvable although it won’t be easy. With hordes of the undead Zombots roaming around you’ll have plenty of opportunities to perish from existence. Luckily the game will try to even out the odds by granting you the zombot technology to control zombies you’ve defeated to do your bidding.
Action RPG
The core gameplay loop revolves around exploration, resource gathering, crafting, and combat. Through scavenging the different environments you’ll be able to craft different weapons, new abilities for your Zombots, armour and even whole structures to aid your survival. The locations range from snow-capped mountains to sun-scorched deserts all with little disadvantages to monitor. Cooling down too much or heating up too fast can also take you out of the fight for survival. Either get out of those areas when the vitals go down or use an item to aid you. “programming” your Zombats to act compatible with your loadout is also an important thing to get the most out of Welcome to ParadiZe. These loyal undead companions will be the best defense against hostile humans and other zombies.
Chaotic combat
Welcome to ParadiZe uses the classic isometric top-down action RPG style probably best known from the Diablo games. The hack-and-slash mechanics are a satisfyingly chaotic affair at first. The added element of commanding your Zombats to attack anything you point at with some crazily crafted weapons feels oddly heart-warming. However, looking beyond the idea you’ll soon notice imperfections in the combat system. The controls are a bit imprecise resulting in some untimely deaths. This game allows instant regeneration with a bit of XP penalty, so dying is never a big issue but it’s still annoying when you need to backtrack. The repetitiveness creeps in along the way (as is often the case with these hack-and-slash action RPG games). The game tries to gift you new abilities, but they never feel rewarding enough to keep repeating the same mechanics in a different area.
Quirky and humorous
The quirky story is the saving grace for this title. It’s silly enough to the point it gets good again. The many nods to the real world – Jeff Tusk is an obvious play on Elon Musk – had me laughing more than once. The cutscenes, although basic visually, add a much-needed escape from the grind and are often very humorous. The environment has nice moments when coming along some remains of civilisation but are for the most part pretty bland and – pun not fully intended – quite dead. The visuals could’ve used more care and feel mostly outdated.
Conclusion
Welcome to ParadiZe is a game with a great central concept that offers a unique and sometimes hilarious take on the zombie genre. Those who don’t mind the grind will surely get something out of this game as it could be a great distraction from a more serious game. If you can overlook some technical shortcomings, Welcome to ParadiZe might be the zany adventure you’re looking for.
