Zelter

Review

Zelter is a Zombie survival game set in a post-apocalyptic, pixilated world. From the get-go, it is obvious how extensive and detailed the game is, with its unique crafting feature combined with a point and click combat system.

Plot: Zombie apocalypse has just taken place. The word is in chaos and society is falling apart. You are left alone to die, until a mysterious group of strangers takes you in and saves your life. As time passes you pick up crafting and survival skills from these strangers. Everything seems normal again, until it all falls apart . . . again!!!

Now you must venture out on your own and survive the apocalypse. Fending off swarms of zombies feels easy with your new-found skills. But the hard part is keeping yourself feed and hydrated.

Gameplay: Zelter features simple WASD movement machines combined with mouse movement to turn and handle the character. For the most part, this seemed simple and a good way of controlling, but I soon ran into quite a few bugs, such as sluggish sideways movement, getting stuck, the character starts walking without me hitting shift to walk, etc.

Zelter takes resource management seriously and keeps track of collected loot. Everything can be utilized either directly or combined with other items that can be crafted into something useful.

Crafting system: Zelter’s featured crafting system is simple and impressive. You can craft a variety of useful items rather easily with the loot and items you have gathered throughout your journey. A prime example of Zelter’s crafting ability is the Crossbow, easy to craft very early on with a few wooden planks that you have crafted.

As you progress in-game and venture farther, you will unlock more and more items that you can craft. Each item has its own requirements and crafting time associated with it.

Zelter also brings in an extensive base-building system. As you progress you will find more and more aggressive zombie swarms and the need for defensive bases will be a must. You can build defensive items throughout the game using the loot you have collected from your surroundings.

Combat system: Zelter features a simple yet effective point and click combat system. Early on you will get a revolver, 20 bullets, and an axe. Spending each bullet wisely is a must for beginners. As you progress you will be able to craft a cross-bow and arrows. With a bad damage number and slow reload you will have to time your shots. Missing shots can result in a brutal zombie attack.

As you progress you will find more and better weapons to use. Although Zelter’s combat system is pretty extensive and impressive, I must say the melee combat did not live up to my expectations; it felt slow and sluggish, and at times outright useless.

And if you don’t have any ranged weapons or you're out of ranged weapon ammo, you’re dead already. Unlike other games, zombies in Zelter can break through doors. So, hiding behind doors can prove fatal if you’re not ready.

Zombies: The star attraction in any zombie game, the zombies themselves. Zelter features quite a few different types of zombie. Each are well designed and animated. I was surprised at how how relentless and aggressive the zombies are in this game. And I was shocked that the developers allowed the zombies to break into the houses. Clearly, nowhere is safe, if you're not careful.

Visuals: Visually pleasing pixelated world, with great attention to detail, the game portrays an atmospheric urban environment. The only downside about the visuals and the world design would be the minor visual obstructions created by the trees and structures. After a while, I stopped paying attention to such issues.

Music and sound effects were appropriately themed and very well made, Creating a sense of tension during gameplay and silent nights.

Considering all the aspects, Zelter turned out to be a great zombie survival game with a beautiful pixelated world design. With an already strong base gameplay and a ton of features, Zelter has a lot of room to be expanded upon and can grow into something much better. A lot of issues still plague the game and I hope they will soon be resolved.

Review written by BiteMexD for Zeepond.com!