Zombies have been an important part of video games for a long time. We mostly kill them en masse. But in 2005, Stubbs Zombie shook things up and allowed you to take on the role of a zombie devouring people in a futuristic city. This game has returned to modern consoles with a remaster that may be too bare for some.
Stubbs Zombie was developed by Wideload Games, a company of former Bungie developers who have left Hate a few years after Microsoft bought it in 2000. This connection to Bungie is how the studio managed to license Hate motor for the game, making it one of the only non-Halo games that uses that engine. Using this technology, the small team at Wideload created Zombie Stubbs in Rebel No Impulse, a bizarre action game about a zombie, Stubbs, who walks around eating brains, creating more zombies, peeing on stuff and participating in dance fights.
Stubbs wakes up as a zombie in the middle of the city of Punchbowl, a new city built in the 50s, which has large robots, laser cannons and cars in flight. Being a new animated zombie in this metropolis, you spend most of your time doing things with zombies, such as brainwashing and attacking people. But Stubbs is no ordinary zombie; he has special abilities that he can use after he has eaten enough brains. He throws his head like a bowling ball and blows up his enemies, turning them into zombies. He can break his arm, and players can control his arm like a remote-controlled car. Jump on a man like a hand and you will take command, letting yourself use any weapons he may have or allowing yourself to sneak into areas as a man. It’s rarely useful, but it’s funny.
Most of the game is spent doing the same basic thing. Stubbs enters a new area, kills some people, builds an army of undead, helps them spread, kills more people, and eventually fights with a boss or finishes a larger target, such as the destruction of a dam. While there are a few different things sprinkled throughout the game, such as some sections involving vehicles and a part where you pee into the city’s water supply, you spend most of your time using the same attacks to kill people in different areas or empty rooms. What makes this enjoyable is the setting and zombies you make along the way. Leading an army of zombies in the fight against scientists with plasma guns, while the singers of the hairstyle quartet in jetpacks attack from above is a unique experience that only Stubbs Zombie can offer.
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For the remaster, the publisher Aspyr Media decided not to change much. This is not a big and elegant remake; The main improvements and modifications include a nice 60 fps frame, achievements and modern control options, such as changing the inverted sticks. This is essentially the original game, only playable on new consoles and running a little better. Although I appreciate that the players from 2021 will be able to play easily now Stubbs ZombieI also found the lack of improvements disappointing. For example, although I understand that they don’t replace every texture, it’s weird and fun to see some HUD elements in the game using the original art from the 2005 version, which looks blurry and pixelated when blown up on a big screen.
Players may have a hard time returning to Stubbs. Video game design has come a long way since 2005, and many may be frustrated by it Stubbs‘ rare checkpoints, empty rooms, spongy bosses, lack of clear objectives and a repetitive game. Since Stubbs It took me about six hours to finish, these disadvantages do not mean that the game lost its welcome, which is nice. Shorter games are a feature I’ve been missing since the mid-2000s. Remember when games were short? What the weather.
Part of me wants to Stubbs Zombie received a complete remake, a more polished and modern adventure to the recent resident Evil recover. One of the achievements of the game refers to a sequel, asking fans to ask for one, so probably Asypr’s final plan is to create a certain enthusiasm for more Stubbs. For now, if you don’t mind some jerks from the mid-2000s, there’s a lot of fun in this short but charming Stubbs Zombie.
Stubbs Zombie appears on March 16 on Xbox One, PS4, Switch and PC. The game can be played on state-of-the-art consoles through reverse compatibility.