World War Z: Aftermath is a large update to the base game that adds new locations, a vanguard class, and a first-person perspective to an already established game. The co-op shooter was originally launched to tepid responses and varied reviews. However, the development team released continual updates to grow a consistent fan base. Now totalling a staggering 15 million people have played the game, it is an example of how a slow and steady burn can redeem a launch that stumbles out of the gate.
The game is based on the 2006 by Max Brooks book, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. This was adapted to a film in 2013 and then the licensed moniker was put on the original 2019 release of the game. All that to say, the game probably has much more in common with the original book as it is an episodic, international romp through multiple groups’ experiences of traversing unique settings and eventually finding safety in exfiltrating from highly populated areas.
You will play as one of four player-controlled characters, and make your way through various locations until a defensible location is found. You’ll have a set time to fortify these massive kill boxes followed by thousands of undead attempting to overrun your location. This game is at its best when you’re spraying a .50 caliber machine gun into an oncoming deluge of ghouls while they crawl over each other to eat you alive. Balancing the strategic defenses of traps, auto-turrets, and mortars with the inevitable swarm of undead enemies was what shined about the previous version of World War Z, and with some quality-of-life patches in this update, it is still the high-point.
You’ll be able to switch to a first-person view for the first time, but don’t expect a snappy first-person feel. Like Grand Theft Auto V’s addition of this feature, in 2014, changing the camera perspective does not change the ground-up mechanics of how a 3rd person game feels and was originally designed. I played through one level completely in first-person. It was a fun challenge to have the more limited view and closer audio proximity to zombies hiding around the corner, but the lack of a true aim-down-sight mechanic was sorely missed. As you squeeze the left trigger to take aim, the camera will slightly magnify your view and tighten your crosshair spread, but you won’t be able to see through that fancy new scope you just purchased to put on your favorite gun. I suspect, like me, most people will turn it on for about 5 minutes and then want to disable it. It’s a great bullet point for your marketing team, but don’t expect the tight controls of a Call of Duty or Halo.
The melee system got an overhaul as well. Now, you can dual-wield smaller knives or sickles to quickly dispatch a wider arc of deadly force on a group of zombies. Previously, you had slow, two-handed weapons that weren’t useful when being overrun due to their encumbrance. This addition gives the player a fighting chance when cornered and it’s a welcome addition. I found myself swinging away once my clip had run dry to try and relocate to then take aim and start unloading on enemies again. It smooths out a wrinkle in the gameplay loop.
The second combat addition is the inclusion of a Vanguard class. In this upgrade path, you’ll sprint forward at oncoming enemies with an electrified shield. It was the perfect answer to being cornered and out of ammo. I loved bulldozing under the base of an ascending wall of zombies and watching them tumble over themselves. It’s a nice addition to current classes and can add a fun wildcard in a group being overrun.
The two new locations are Vatican City in Rome and the snow-covered Kamtchaka in Russia. Each location took about an hour to run through on a lower difficulty and felt meaty enough to warrant the $20 upgrade. I was playing the PS4 version via backwards compatibility and ran into some very heavy frame stuttering in Rome and even some crashes. There was one particular time when I was tackled through the floor and saw the horrific underbelly of shambling zombies as my character fell to the great abyss. These few incidents aside, I hope future patches will stabilize the game.
World War Z originally sucked me in with the promise of copious amounts of undead sprinting towards me and the latest update in Aftermath builds on this solid foundation. It’s still a blast to party up with three friends and mow down droves of rotting monsters as we yell at each other when we’re reloading. The addition of first-person may be a bit of a party trick, but the new melee system gives you a new tool to grab when you’re in trouble. I hope that the stability issues are patched and the team’s impressive technical abilities can shine brighter on older systems. Given the broad player base and the base games availability on Gamepass, I’m sure plenty of people will agree that Aftermath is well worth the price of admission.
