The zombie apocalypse scenario has lost favor in recent years, and thank goodness for that. Seeing a new zombie game pop up every other week did start to get old after a while, didn’t it? That said, few of us ever got the zombie game we really wanted.
That is, until a little indie studio called The Indie Stone developed Project Zomboid. Sure, early iterations of it were rough, disjointed, and limiting. But the devs put in a lot of hard, dedicated work over the years to make what I believe to be the best zombie survival game we have today.
But what makes Project Zomboid so good? And, more importantly, is this almost forgotten indie gem still worth playing in 2025 and beyond?
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My return to Project Zomboid
Right, I call Project Zomboid almost forgotten because I myself almost forgot about it. It wasn’t until the recent dry spell we’ve had in game releases that I browsed through the darker, dustier corners of my library, and there it was. PZ.
In an instant, distant memories came flooding back as I immediately reinstalled the game. I remembered the desperate, pressing atmosphere, the crushing realism, the constant sense of danger, and, most of all, the sheer terror that this game once evoked in me.
But I’m older now, wiser, and way more desensitized. This game can’t hurt me in 2025, with its funny isometric camera and janky controls, right?
And there it is. That rising panic. That rush of adrenaline. That… damn… jumpscare sound. Nope, I’m still scared every time I boot this game up. There’s just something about knowing you’re always one bite away from a character wipe that just freaks me out.
So what is it that makes Project Zomboid so good, and why is it the best zombie survival game we have?
Why Project Zomboid is still the best Zombie game we have
We have plenty of fun zombie games today. The Dead Island series, Days Gone, the State of Decay (and its sequel), DayZ, and the list goes on for just about ever. Most of these, however, feel more like action games than survival, except for State of Decay and DayZ.
These two are great contenders, but DayZ falls out for me because it’s more of a PvP survival shooter than a zombie game. The zombies are little more than a nuisance once you know how to handle them. State of Decay is more of a base management game and thus removes you from the action a bit. Still scary, still fun, but not quite a true zombie simulation.
Project Zomboid puts you right in the action, and then punishes you for the smallest mistake. Look away for a second, and you could end up infected and hours away from your inevitable death. And that’s it, you lose your character and all the hours you spent building their skills. Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve maxed out all your skills, a single bite ends you.
Apart from that, you get tired, hungry, and thirsty. You lose and gain weight depending on your diet. Your hair grows. The trees grow and, hopefully, so do your crops. Time keeps moving, and the challenge becomes fiercer as you run out of… well, everything. And while muscle strain and painful mortality might be some aspects that separate your PZ character from the immortal superhumans in other games, there’s one critical aspect to discuss. The game’s camera.
Now, many might think that the isometric camera is what holds Project Zomboid back from being a modern masterpiece, but I disagree. I think that’s exactly what makes it so good – empty space.
The first-person camera gives you a decent view of everything in front of you. Whatever’s behind you, you can’t see, so it’s just out of mind. The isometric camera (and the specific way Project Zomboid‘s camera works) makes you aware of the empty space behind you. You can see the landscape, just like you’ll be aware of what’s behind you as you walk along in real life, but you can’t see what’s in the landscape.
For all you know, there could be a horde right on your tail. You’ll hear zombies around you, and as long as you turn around and see them, you’re all good. It’s when you don’t see them that causes the real stress. Are they in a tree nearby, waiting to lunge out and end your run? Have they somehow snuck inside your safehouse?
This camera, instead of removing you from the action, adds so much to the atmosphere. There’s an eeriness to it that’s hard to beat with any other viewpoint.
In the end, the realism, the constant threat of death, the starvation, and the unique camera are all valid points that make Project Zomboid one of, if not the best zombie survival game we can play, even after thirteen years of early access.
But even with all of this said, how has it held up in 2025?
Is Project Zomboid still worth playing in 2025?
Obviously, I think it’s not only worth playing, but it’s a must-play. Build 42 is nearing official launch, and I’ve been messing with the unstable branch to check it out. Every build adds so much to the game, and this is no exception.
There are animals in the game world now. We can hunt deer, breed sheep and pigs, raise chickens, and more. This is obviously a huge addition to the game, the biggest in Build 42 by far, but there are also plenty of other changes.
There are basements now that can spawn randomly alongside or even inside houses, and many smaller changes that influence the feel of the game—some good, some not so much, but progress nonetheless.
Overall, it’s a stunning game, and it’s getting even better as time goes by.
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