State of Decay 2 Reviews
State of Decay 2 is a game riddled with bugs and poor design choices. It is one of the buggiest games I have ever played in my career.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
State of Decay 2 is going to be very hit and miss for a number of people. If you can ignore the flaws, there is a fun game to be had when played with a friend. That said, even if you ignore its flaws, you can't deny that this game was not ready for release.
If you loved the original State of Decay thankfully you can still play it, because currently, this sequel is too rough around the edges to recommend.
Although there's a very competent core loop and entertaining resource management sim somewhere within State of Decay 2, it's really, really, broken. Unacceptably so. It frustrated me mightily to see a flash of a game I wanted to play, only to be immediately reminded that it's not ready for release.
The State Of Decay concept still holds plenty of promise but this sequel is so broken that laughing at its bugs and glitches becomes its primary source of entertainment.
State of Decay 2 is a moderate upgrade from its predecessor, providing an expanded environment and the heavily-requested cooperative play. What begins as a genuine care for the community of unique individuals assembled under an ever-developing roof quickly becomes a tedious venture to endure glitches that are more frightening than the undead wandering the streets. Staying one step ahead of the game’s issues becomes more of a focal point than actually enjoying what the game set out to do. After some much needed tender loving care from Undead Labs, State of Decay 2 may eventually become a zombie apocalypse simulator worth your time.
In the end, State of Decay 2 doesn't flip the script on the themes we've come to associate with the zombie apocalypses of our popular entertainments. Worse, the game doesn't even bother to make it seem like its characters even want to be alive in the world.
State of Decay 2 implements some interesting mechanics but fails to engage with them in a meaningful way.
State of Decay 2 has an impressive open world that comes to life in many ways, but lacks a sense of purpose which makes it boring. It’s a shame the game is filled with bugs because the strategic options are a great way to make play sessions unique.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Ultimately, State of Decay 2 has proven a disappointment. Undead Labs laid the groundwork with the original, but it's failed to build upon this to any noticeable degree. It's a much prettier, just as buggy, State of Decay 1.5. To some, just having more may be enough, but it would've been nice to see them push the boat out just a little bit more. Perhaps they should've done that MMO zombie survival game after all...
State of Decay 2 starts off strong but slowly fades into a repetitive and bug ridden mess.
Some of the execution has more room for improvement than you’d expect from a sequel, but overall it provides a unique, fun, and satisfying gameplay experience.
With hardly any other true zombie survival simulations on the market, Undead Labs present a competent horror game. It's rough around the edges, with many bugs and features that feel lacklustre, and a multiplayer that doesn't fully deliver on its promise, but it's still a fun ride with many other improvements over the original. For all of its faults, it's an adventure you can rely on if you were a fan of the first.
Undead Labs succeeds in making players care about their community in the zombie apocalypse, but fails to offer up something new.
As it stands, it's a fun enough budget title that fails to live up to the expectation of fans, including myself. I wanted a game that expanded on all the good things from SoD 1 and fixed some of the issues. What I got was basically a retread with a new coat of paint.
State of Decay 2 is an improvement over its predecessor, but it's still held back by a number of technical shortcomings.
State of Decay 2 is a fun and immersive sim... when it works. There are some bugs and a few odd design choices, but the game does what it sets out to do well.
State of Decay 2 isn't a bad game but it doubles down on too much of the first game's failings. For newcomers, the repetitive combat and mission variety, glitches and lack of polish can be a turnoff but the base-building and survivor management manage to shine.
State of Decay 2 feels very much like a remake of the original (or how it should have been released initially) rather than a new game, complete with bugs galore and tedious long term gameplay.
State of Decay 2's promise of improving upon the existing formula with cooperative gameplay, fails to capture our attention and ultimately is a disappointment. I've lost countless vehicles due to improper collusion in a mostly static environment. While there is an “I'm stuck” option for players, nothing can resolve anything with your car stuck between a table and a wall. There are too many systems that don't cohesively tie the package together. The game runs rather poorly, even on Xbox One X. The frame rate can undoubtedly dip well below 30 frames per second and is frequently under when on running on an Xbox One S. The included motion blur is way too aggressive, and even the slightest camera movement makes the visuals a blurry mess or swirling colors.