A Good Horror Survival Game: 7 Days to Die

7 Days to Die has seen quite a few changes since I started playing it over a decade ago. Some of the changes were great, others took me some time to get used to. The version I played recently was 2.4, and I don’t like all of the changes that were made since the last time I played it.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I played this on and off with some of my college friends. That experience was a little strange, and I haven’t really spoken with them since that time. It is a little sad, but I learned that we had grown apart over the last few years.

At the time, I was working for the US Government, and many of the people playing with us weren’t people I knew. They said a bunch of stuff that made me uneasy, and I decided I didn’t want to play with them. My friends knew where I worked, and it was bizarre that they were listening to some of the things that were being said. It was just a strange experience, and I’m glad that I stopped playing with them.

Aside from that, I normally play this game by myself. I have more fun that way, and it makes things easy for me to do what I want to do in the game. I’m not sure I like all the changes made to the game since I last played it. Once I get used to the new map, and the way the crafting system has been reworked, I might like it more.

TLDR: A spectacular horror game with some nice twists to the Minecraft formula.

Narrative

There isn’t a story for you to follow. This is a sandbox game where you can do whatever you want within the limits of the game. As you explore the map, which you either generated or pre-generated, there are some things that might give you an idea of what happened. You’ll also find some truly bizarre stuff that left me scratching my head.

If you look closely at the posters and newspapers on the walls, you’ll get an idea that one part of the map was hit with a nuclear weapon. It explains why that region is radioactive and what is going on with some of the zombies. It is a nice touch, and it gives you some idea of the things that happened here.

In a few buildings, you’ll come across secret labs and temples. It is a little creepy. I get the labs because there are some messed-up zombies in this game, and they get labeled as mutants. The temples are a little strange, and I’m not sure what to make of them. I haven’t come across what is going on with them, but I’m sure something will pop up to explain things.

While it would be nice to have a story, I don’t think one is needed for a game like this. In a sandbox game, I’m looking more closely at the gameplay than I am at the narrative. The story is one of those things that would be nice to have, but not a necessity.   

Gameplay

This game plays like a more violent version of Minecraft. It is a survival horror game where you have to scavenge for resources and craft weapons, armor, and other items. The most memorable thing about this game has to be the Blood Moon events.

There have been some significant changes to the game’s crafting system since I started playing. The one that I liked the most was the addition of the pipe guns to the game. This was part of a total revamp of the guns in the game, and I think replacing the blunderbuss with these improvised guns was a great choice.

The game’s skill tree has changed a lot over the years. I don’t like the changes to it. Looking at how they did it, I think I can eventually get used to it, but this change has slowed the game down. It makes things a little harder for you to get some of the better crafting items or a few of the things that make it easier to build stronger buildings.

What I really like is how you can build a base anywhere in the game. The thing that I like to do is find an existing building to fortify it against the zombies. It is all a personal preference on what you want to do. I’m sure there are some “zombie-proof” buildings you can put together, but where is the fun in that?

Overall, the gameplay is very good for a game like this. It might not have all the options you have in Minecraft or other games like this, but what is here is very well executed. The multiplayer part of the game is a lot of fun, and the developers integrated Discord so you can talk with each other. I also like the way that the in-game communication worked, where the further away you were, the harder it was to hear people.   

Visuals

This is a very good looking game, but I don’t think my current laptop can handle it on maximum settings. I like how they’ve changed the zombies over the years. The models are more detailed, there is a greater variety of them, and some of the models have been abandoned in favor of better-looking ones.

The game’s world feels lived in. It has been abandoned by most of the humans, who’ve been turned into zombies or have fled the area. There are a few things in the version of the game that I played for this that look really cool.

A few area-specific creatures were added to the game. It looks like there are yetis in the winter area, some kind of mutant werewolf in the wasteland, burned zombies in the burned forest, and rotting zombies in the desert. This is a nice touch. The Blood Moon also has some zombies that I haven’t come across in any other region.

These zombies have explosives in their chests, and they can blow up. The game calls them demolition zombies. They look really cool, and I’m glad that they don’t show up too often in the game.

7 Days to Die is a great looking game. If you have too many zombies on the screen at the same time, then the game can slow down a bit. This isn’t that big of a deal, and it doesn’t take anything away from the game. Once I get a better computer, I’m sure it will look better.

N/A. The game still feels like it is in flux. The developers have tweaked the gameplay quite a bit over the years, which has resulted in a few nice additions and some things that I don’t enjoy. It is hard for me to give it a score, as it feels like everything could change again as they continue to work on the game and make DLC for it.

Conclusion

7 Days to Die is one of my favorite indie games. It is a great horror survival game, and I like it more than Minecraft. It has problems, but the more I play it, the more I get used to all of the changes.

A part of me misses playing this game with my friends, but I also don’t want to be put in another awkward position like I was the last few times. I suppose I’ll stick with the single player option. With all the changes made to the game, it feels like I have more things to discover, and it feels like a new game.

There is something that I like about playing this game in October. It feels like one of those games that was made for a spooky month. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and this is a fun game to dust off and play on that day. I have quite a few good memories of playing this game, which is a small part of why I like it.

If you like this post, please check out my other posts on indie and horror games, such as Infernax or My Favorite Retro and Indie Horror Games So Far.