Terminus: Zombie Survivors is a wonderful game. It plays like a retro version of 7 Days to Die. I like the game quite a bit, but the developer might have tried to make the game too realistic.
The developer did a great job recreating the tension of X-COM: UFO Defense by having the game turn-based. It creates some tense moments where you need to sleep and get woken up by zombies trying to break into a house or attack you. It can be really great.
TLDR: A fun turn-based survival horror game.
Narrative
The game picks up after the zombie apocalypse. Society has already broken down, and you need to escape. Your goal is to reach the safe haven of Terminus. You need to find a radio to learn the location of Terminus, or you can find the train tracks. It is a simple story, but it is all you really need.
Gameplay
This is a turn-based strategy game. In some ways, it plays like X-COM: UFO defense, where you move your character, and then the Zombies and other survivors take their turn. It works well to build up tension but doesn’t make for a scary game.
At the beginning of the game, you pick a class for your character. Most of these classes are locked at the start of the game, giving you three choices. Here is a list of all the classes in the game:
- Soldier
- Firefighter
- Police Officer
- Athlete (Locked in the beginning)
- Security Guard (Locked in the beginning)
- Student (Locked in the beginning)
- Park Ranger (Locked in the beginning)
- Construction Worker (Locked in the beginning)
- Martial Artist (Locked in the beginning)
- Chef (Locked in the beginning)
- Farmer (Locked in the beginning)
- Doctor (Locked in the beginning)
- Engineer (Locked in the beginning)
- Driver (Locked in the beginning)
- Pastor (Locked in the beginning)
Each class has strengths and weaknesses as well as starting equipment. I went with Firefighter for this playthrough. I had fun with it, but I would like to try the other classes.
You need to scavenge for weapons and items. It is a constant thing that isn’t too different from other post-apocalyptic games. There is a crafting system in Terminus where you can cook food and craft weapons, armor, and tools.
Almost anything can be used as a weapon in the game. They have a durability meter displayed as a percentage on the combat screen. It works well, but watch what tools you need to craft things.
As you explore the city, you’ll run into other survivors. They won’t always trust you immediately, but you can build trust through trade and talking with them. When they trust you, they might join your party.
This ties into the ending of the game. When you reach Terminus, you’ll be given a score. This is based on a few things:
- Places you’ve visited
- Survivors in your party
- Zombies killed
- And others
Combat isn’t that involved. Once you see a zombie, you’ll have to move close to fight them. You can attack them from a safer distance if you have a ranged weapon (i.e., Gun or Bow).
During combat, you have three places where you can attack a zombie. You can hit them in the head, torso, or legs. I aimed for the head because of all the movies that reinforced that this is the only way to kill a zombie. You’re not fighting the Return of the Living Dead zombies, so hit them in the head. These are Romero zombies, so they won’t be running at you.
Some zombies have armor. They don’t look too different from the other zombies on the combat screen, but you can tell that they are wearing armor by seeing a second health screen. I like the way the developer did this.
It is not all fun and killing zombies. Your character will get depressed, tired, hungry, thirsty, and diseased. There were a few times when I ended up bleeding to death, especially early on when I was still learning how to play. If you’re lucky, you might find a pharmacy and have plenty of medicine to deal with this.
Once you’re in a building, you can fortify it from zombie attacks. You can cover the windows and reinforce the doors. It is also a good idea to be inside at night so you can sleep and recover your energy. This will give you more action points for your turn.
There is more to this game. I didn’t try to build a base or recruit more people. While trying to reach the end goal and missed some cool stuff the game offers. It is a surprisingly engaging game.
Visuals
Terminus looks okay. It is a top-down, turn-based game that resembles one of the X-COM games from the mid-1990s. I like the retro feel of the graphics.
The game has a day and night cycle and is done well. During the day, it is easy to see things as long as nothing obstructs your character’s line of sight. Your field of view is seriously reduced at night unless you have a flashlight or lamp.
You’ll also get a visual indication of zombies, and the tiles will be read. This will also tell you if you’re in range of zombie attacks. A similar thing happens when you come in contact with something you can explore.
The zombies on the screen don’t look special. They work fine for the game and look much better on the combat screen. You’re closer to them at this point, so I like the change in perspective that is given.
The combat screen looks like a Dragon Quest game. It is nice to see this instead of having a simple number on the main screen. I like how this is done.
The biggest issue I had was knowing what status effects my character had. There are icons above the character sprite, which are supposed to direct you to the character window. I didn’t realize this initially, but I got used to checking before I ended my turn. I bled to death a few times without realizing it.
8/10. While I like the game and think it is very fun, I don’t like some of the game mechanics. Much like 7 Days to Die, it feels like your character gets thirsty and hungry way too fast. This type of hyper-realism doesn’t work well in a game.
Pros
- Easy controls
- Good Crafting System
- Decent Graphics
Cons
- Breakable Weapons
- Too Realistic
- You run out of food and drinks very fast
Conclusion
This is a fun indie horror game. I like the idea of having a simple goal of reaching a location and having the option of doing side quests or turning the game into a sandbox. It does feel a little too realistic at times.
Terminus plays a little like a roguelike, where you die and immediately load the previous save. It is nice that this allows the player to learn from your mistakes. This helps out a lot because you might not see that you’re bleeding right away.
I don’t think this game is all that scary, but it did get my heart rate up at times. As you get closer to your goal, you’ll run into more zombies. It can be fun, and I would like to ignore the goal sometimes and build a base.