I found this game to be pretty poor and I don't know how it passed nintendo's QA. 1st off, the game is full of bugs. My first play through, I fell through the floor near a save point. The game auto-saves due to it's quasi-perma-death mechanic. So it said I died, falling through the floor, auto-saved with no way to get my stuff back, but then it kept spawning me at the hole in the floor. So each time I tried to start from that save again it just threw me through the floor. So that was several hours lost after I had to delete my game and restart. I also ran into plenty of other game-breaking bugs in my several hours with the game.

The graphics are just awful. I'd say they're comparable to launch xbox 360 games like condemned: criminal origins. They're just really bad and it's often hard to see what you're doing.

The sound is awful too. Guns sound pathetically weak, zombies don't sound scary.

Some reviewers here are saying this is a "true survival horror" game. I found the game neither scary, nor having any real aspect on survival other than the quasi-perma-death and 1-bite-death mechanics. Other than that many areas of the game can be beaten simply by tossing a flare and sprinting away. If you make it to a sewer hole it acts as a checkpoint. No real survival here...

The gameplay is extremely basic. Melee weapons are boring consisting of one swing move. Guns are boring and feel unrealistic. The scanning mechanic to find items and stuff is cool...for about the 1st 5 minutes. Then after the 50th time you have to stop and scan a room using the wii u's game pad, it gets old and tedious.

Honestly I'd say skip this game entirely. A select few may find something to like here, but the majority of people are going to find this a shockingly low quality, boring game that uses none of the wii u's functionality well at all.… Expand

This game, for me, is one of the few actual survival-horror titles to come out in the last few years. Not only did it instill a true sense of dread and tension but it made me cautious of my every move and think about every situation. One of my favourite games of 2012 and a game I still enjoy playing now. A real slice of terror instead of the copy and paste spam fests of other 'tripple A' games.

A fun and enjoyable game experience not like most console zombie games. Fun gameplay and interesting use of the Wii U gamepad make it a must have for any Wii U owner.

I was looking forward into fun with zombiU, and when I got it, I had a little fun.
First of all, the game is a survival horror about the zombie Apocalypse in London,
the game is challenging because you have a limited amount of ammo, and
if you're character dies: they're dead and you have to play as another survivor,
but you can encounter your dead survivor and get his or her backpack back.
All though, melee is one way to quickly (or not) go through the game, though melee gets
repetitive after a while. The Multiplier is something less people mention about the game
though the 2 player VS mode is a little much like left 4 dead's VS mode, only with a Wii U gamepad
and Wii remote, if you don't have a pro controller, the survivor with a wii remote play's like an arcade game, only without the light gun and I found that for best results of using a Wii remote on multiplayer,
use a Wii Zapper, and if you don't know what that is already SEARCH IT UP. Anyway's multiplayer has only 2 modes one, which is just KILL that Zombie Then Kill the next as of it gets repetitive and frustrating after a while, the second one, in which one survivor must capture all of the points before the zombies do, think of it as team fortress 2's Capture the Point mode, only not as repetitive but STILL frustrating, even though it has good ideas. So, over all
SINGLE PLAYER: great
MULTIPLAYER: frustrating and repeatitive!
7 out of 10… Expand

ZombiU is a great game. While it misses on a few elements such as how many times it takes to kill a zombie with the melee weapon and maybe not having the most coherent story, what the game does well makes these flaws an afterthought. I don't think I've ever played a game that had me on my toes as much as this one. When a zombie pops up behind you or around a corner it's legitimately frightening. It's hard to understand the ign and gamestop reviews, I would of thought this game would be hailed as innovative and taking risks, unlike many of the FPS type games out today. The atmosphere of this game is really something special.… Expand

So far, the best Wii U game to date. It has completely changed the survivor/zombie game dynamic since Left 4 Dead. L4D was all about pure survival against the herd. ZombiU is the Splinter Cell of zombie games. You need to sneak around, listen to the radio voice and avoid surprises. ZombiU utilizes the game pad extraordinarily, even incorporated it into the game itself with having the character holding one. My one and only complaint is that there are portions that seem repetitive, but Ubi managed to fix it in some areas by having different looking zombies.

Are you wondering about playing it? Oh definitely. Buy it? Oh I highly recommend it.… Expand

This game is NOT easy. Zombies do not go down quickly. The ones you meet later on are rough. To be honest the only reason why I gave it a low review is because I didn't like it on the WiiU. I didn't like how the gamepad removed me from the action onscreen. It very much removed the sense of immersion that the game works to build. But as far as zombie games go, it's fairly difficult, creepy and there's a fair amount of intensity in some parts of the game. It's not terrible though. I'm just not drinking the koolaid when it comes to a 2 screen experience.… Expand

ZombiU is one of the greater zombie games developed. It has a more haunting and creepy atmosphere than most zombie games. I feel that Nintendo achieved this with the lack of zombies you encounter. Sure, there isn't one around every corner, but that sense of surprise when you do come across one of the undead only adds to the intensity of the game.

It's a fairly solid title, but it could have been so much better. The things it captures well is the feeling of true survival horror with limited ammo and tense gameplay, It also uses the Wii U GamePad very well as a "Survival Kit" featuring Map, Scanner and some other functionality.

Where it really falls short is some design issues, Your main weapon is a Cricket bat, but using it is slow and repetitive with normal zombies taking forever to die, the graphics are also fairly weak for a game designed exclusively for a new console where it should be showing off what the Wii U can do.

It's a solid title, one that survival horror fans will definitely love and I would still recommend it to people looking for a fun zombie game. There is great potential here for a sequel with improvements.… Expand

This game Is a great Survival Horror game. It is very slow with great atmosphere. It is really good how one zombie can be a threat and get you. The gamepad features are really cool with 2 ways to control it, using the gyroscopic sensor or if you don't feel like moving it around you can use the right analog stick. The gamepad is used as a scanner and as your inventory which is really cool. There isnt a huge amount of content and the graphics are not that great. But the lighting system and the cool ways the gamepad is used make up for that. Is this a game for everyone no It is a game if you are a fan of TRUE SURVIVAL HORROR. A great way to tell if you will like this game is if you like the first 3 resident evil games. This game is slow paced survival horror and that is what I like about this game.… Expand

Sadly I am one of the wii u owners who rode the hype and bought this game day one. The game is pretty average but it has its terrifying moments. You would either love or hate this game but still this game is far better than what RE or SH series has become today.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Why ZombiU has recieved bad reviews- the world may never know. It isn't a game for everyone. And do not mistake it as your typical mindless-shooting, buns ablazing Call of Duty:Zombies-like first person horror shooter. ZombiU sets out to do 2 things- to scare the crap out of you, and to utilize the Wii U GamePad well. It succeeds at both. Since this is a Wii U game, I'll go over the Wii U Gamepad features first. Your primary tool in-game is a backpack (the BOB). It contains your inventory-you drag items you want to use to the top-when looking in the BOB's items menu, as well as a scanner (used to scan secret messages, tell you what items a zombie has, or are in a box or something), and as a map. The Wii U GamePad's touchscreen is used to turn on/off your flashlight (which can recharge automatically), as well as tapping it when breaking barriers or opening heavy objects (similar to button mashing scenes in videogames), and picking locks. In the assymetric local multiplayer mode, it is used, in a topdown view, to select where to place zombies on a map to attack the survivor(who has a Wii U Pro controller or Wiimote and Nunchuck, in a FPS view). When you are using most of these features (with the exceptions of multiplayer, turning your flashlight on/off, and the map), your TV is put in a third person view of everything in the room you are in, and at any moment, you could be attacked (which adds to the realism of this game-since in a real zombie attack, zombies are not going to stop persuing you just because you are looking in a box for food or ammo).

The story- there isn't much of one. A new plague, part of 400 year old, long deceased scientist John Dee's black prophecy, that is of the 'Blight' spreading across London, has come true. The Blight is the zombie infection that has spread throughout London. You are one of the survivors of the Blight, who has been saved by the Prepper, a war veteran who is your helper throughout the game. The Prepper believes that there is 'no saving the world- no evacuation. No cure', and that one must just... survive. Throughout the game, you will also meet a scientist trying to make a cure to the blight, as well as the Ravens of Dee, a secret organization trying to help survivors and stop the Blight. Throughout the game, you may read (or rather hear what your character is reading) or hear recordings of letters of people who were trapped and about to be attacked (for example, a recording in the nursery), which are creepy, and sort of evil,in the sense that they show you the damage the Blight has caused the people of London, and make you angry at the zombies, but even more afraid of them.

Now for the rest of the uniqueness of the game, and other info: The gritty, dirty streets of London gives it a post-apocalyptic atmosphere, and the music adds to the thrill. The gaming industry has been growing stale of truly scary survival horrors, and ZombiU is not only scary, but unique in the sense that when your character becomes Zombified, you play as a new survivor with 6 shots,a cricket bat and a flashlight, and have to find your last character, now zombified, kill it(as well as the zombie who zombified THAT one,and probably a couple more), and get your equipment back. Another thing that makes it unique is the fact that u have limited ammo, and have to scavenge supplies. This makes you rely primarily on your cricket bat. I have to agree with reviewers that this can get rather boring, with only one animation. If there were more animations, this would probably not get as stale.


Apart from the regular story mode, there is Survival mode (the same story, but with only one life), and an assymetric PvP multiplayer mode, that, while i had personally been skeptical about at first, is actually rather fun. The person with the GamePad is the 'King of Zombies', who places Zombies around a map (this requires strategy- especially with the limitations of where you can put them, and the number of them you can have at a time), VS a survivor with a class of guns and equipment, as well as more guns and ammo scattered throughout the map, to pick up at any time. There are three multiplayer modes- Kill Box (the survivor killing as many Zombies as possible), Assault (essentially Domination with four flags- the first player to control all four flags wins), and Survival. These multiplayer modes are incredibly fun, and they show off another of the Wii U's features, assymetric gameplay. Overall, I find ZombiU to be a very good game. It is scary and uses the Wii U GamePad rather well. While it is not the most beautiful videogame, it's lighting effects are great, and the dirty,gritty setting and creepy,suspenseful music add to the thrills that make this an incredible comeback to the horror genre. The game really places you in a Zombie appocolypse, and has amazing ideas, that are implemented very well. So I'd say this game deserves an 8.5 at the very least.… Expand

being a survival horror game veteran, craving games of days gone past where I'm not playing boring Quick Time Event filled with generic set pieces and countless over the top action sequences (yes Capcom, I'm referring to you) I was extremely happy to find Zombie U ticked all the right boxes for me. Currently 26 hours in and enjoying it immensely atmosphere, challenging immersive gameplay, edge of the seat and pulse setting scares have had me playing way into the night. Ok so a few technical issues were found towards the latter part of the game (some basic collision detection proved amusing for 30 seconds whilst some zombie legs jiggled violently through a door) none of which though detracted from this amazing horror experience. I've seen them all and played them all and this is by far the closest thing you can get to zombie apocalypse experience truly terrifying and 100% satisfying. An essential Wii U purchase for fans of the genre. Don't be put off from low reviewers complaining about the cricket bat and lack of weapons. This is a mans game! Not Call of Duty where you march in with nukes strapped to your thighs and dance around like a camp butterfly recreating daft scenarios from Die Hard 4.0 this is survival at its finest… Expand

Disappointing Anyone who has had any substantial experience playing video games will immediately notice the many horrible game designs used in this subpar game. Allow me to elaborate, in detail, why this game is horrible and you should save your money for a more enjoyable game: 1. Controls (5/10) Aiming with a thumbstick is a horrible and outdated way of aiming in 3D games on a next generation console. It’s ineffective, slow and frustrating. The technology the WiiU has makes it possible to make aiming a much more pleasant and enjoyable experience than fumbling around with a thumbstick. One only needs to look at the Zelda Archery minigame in Nintendoland to see that aiming projectile weapons in games on the WiiU can be both easy, fun and accurate rather than backwards, clunky and inaccurate.
The rest of the controls such as map, inventory management, “pinging” for nearby zombies, scanning a room are all executed on the WiiU gamepad. Many of these features are used very often making looking down at the gamepad a common occurrence that detracts from the immersion in the game and makes it more difficult than necessary to accomplish simple and always repetitive tasks.
It seems that Ubisoft went to great pain to make sure their game used EVERY SINGLE NEW FEATURE of the new WiiU regardless of if it actually even added any value to the title. Just because your game can utilize a feature of the WiiU console/gamepad doesn’t necessarily mean it has to. The scanning feature is cool the first two or three times you use it, but pulling out your scanner and waving your arms around every single time you enter a new room gets repetitive, boring and slows the gameplay and action to a crawl. Over 50% of the time you play this game you will be spent either scanning each and every new room you enter or collecting the items you find during said scans. This makes the core of ZombieU feel mostly like a easter egg hunt game rather than a zombie survival game.
For a title that makes it’s main selling point the game controls, ZombieU leaves a lot to be desired on the controls front.

2. Graphics (5/10)
The game actually looks pretty nice when you can actually see it.
ZombieU has this persistent dirty screen effect that puts random circles on the screen that look akin to viewing the entire game through a dirty piece of glass. This I feel detracts from the game or was put in to obscure the overall average polygon counts in ZombieU.
ZombieU also has a habit of making light sources look like someone installed nuclear powered light bulbs in every socket. Being blinded by overly bright lights is just another graphics gimmick that makes actually seeing the environment difficult.
The game is also notoriously dark making the viewing area in such areas just as wide and as far as your non nuclear powered flashlight can shine. Flashlights in games are cool but only if they are used sparingly here and there such as in games like Metro 2033. ZombieU has a heavy reliance on flashlights making it even more difficult to view your environment.

3. Combat (3/10)
I hope you like that pretty cricket bat you get at the start of the game because 90% of all combat in this game will be you bashing zombies over and over and over with the damn thing. Between scanning rooms and bashing zombies over and over with your cricket bat, 80% of the time you spend in this game will be doing one of these two repetitive actions.
Aiming is difficult and the firearms in the game are weak. A headshot to a zombie (if you can even manage to hit a moving zombie in the head with a crappy thumbstick aiming device) doesn’t kill a zombie, it takes upwards of three headshots to kill a zombie. With ammo being scarce as it is already coupled with crappy and ineffective alternatives you are pretty much stuck with that crappy bat.
Speaking of that crappy bat, your character really really sucks at using it effectively. The animation (not animations) to swing it are slow, boring and repetitive making combat a thing of timing seeing as it can take a whole 4-6 seconds from the time you push the swing attack until the time you can swing again. Timing combos, varying bat animations and effects and not to mention just different melee weapons (knives, swords, hammers) could have made the melee combat more enjoyable.

4. Gameplay (4/10)
I hope you like a linear roller coaster gaming experience. This game is not open in the least, it does not give you choices to make you simply hop in the ZombieU roller coaster and tackle each and every problem it throws your way in the proper order it wants you to. There isn’t even any dialog choice to make, the only voice characters in the game simply talk at you rather than talk with you.

Overall, this game doesn’t feel so much like a fun well designed game but rather a gimmick to show off all the new features of the WiiU that will drive you utterly insane with frustration at it’s backwards game design.… Expand

This is a pretty good game. I enjoyed the fair amount of challenge it gives, although there are some things that could have been done better. Yes, the combat is dull to some people, but this isn't a gun and run game. Its NOT L4D. You are NOT immune and one bite will mean the end for your character. If you want a gun and run game, then you're better off with L4D. If you don't like being cautious and having a limited about of weaponry and such, you're better off dodging this game.… Expand

I don't know how this got anything below a 7. I understand that its not perfect but overall it is a very good horror/first person shooter. ZombiU is very fun and has kept me on th edge of my seat the entire time I have played it and it keeps me interested even when Im not playing it. I cant wait to get off work so I can go home and play!

The game started off great. But then zombies that explode on contact simply because they're wearing a tank on their backs even if you don't actually hit said tank, and a plethora of game breaking bugs just made this a pointless purchase really. With no official word on a patch to fix the various issues with the game, I'd say skip this. Don't even ask for it as a gift.

A great idea but very dissapointing. ZombiU amazing captures what we all love about survival horror. You always feel a bit on edge. In my eyes this is what newer Resident Evil's SHOULD have been like. But the game is falls short with repatitive combat and difficulty to the point of just being annoying to some. But it really does show what the gamepad can do and I'd love to see a sequel with little more polish.… Expand

Okay, the amount of 10s here is kinda baffling. The game starts out good, but quickly goes downhill. The combat system is clunky and dull, which I thought was fine at first, because I wasn't playing a highly skilled character (except for the policemen, majors, generals, etc, who were just as useless with a gun as the musicians and clerks), but the kind (and amount) of enemies they throw at you after a while makes killing them a chore. You have zombies in riot gear, which is understandable, at least some people would have been wearing riot gear when the infection spread, but there are tons of them. And they take like 20 slow slow slow hits to kill (also, they're bullet proof). Then you have zombies that spit acid.. and zombies that self detonate. Which makes absolutely zero sense if they're normal zombies. Maybe someone is controlling them? I won't find out, since I quit playing after 10 hours, which, normally, I NEVER do... but there are so many missed opportunities and bad decisions in this game. You'd think having a map/pad thingie with motion sensors would offer the player some sort of strategic advantage, and would allow for creative solutions to maps, but it only serves to warn you about the zombie's presence (except for when zombies are just waiting for you to approach them before they start moving, which .. doesn't make sense T_T).. you'll have to take the same route regardless. Throughout the game they use cheap tricks to scare you, like loud aggressive music, sounds that get triggered (every time) you walk past certain areas, flashlight going out in some areas. Which wouldn't have been necessary if they got the basics right. Sorry about the messy review, it's not often I'm so mad at a game that I quit playing it halfway through, so I won't waste too much time on this review. OH, and one time when I jumped off a six feet pier into two feet deep water, I died from the fall damage. I was at full health. GG Ubisoft, GG.… Expand

The market is flooded with run and gun shooters and this one sets itself apart. It's more about surviving with limited resources and I mean limited. The atmospheric sounds add a great deal to the experience especially traveling in the dark. There is so much detail in this game I don't know where to begin like the fire and water effects are nicely done as well as lighting. But sure the visuals are not the games strong point but the gameplay is where it strikes. It's about carefully executed events that keep you alive and never rushing to reach the next objective, one small mistake and it's zombie food. Do yourself a favor and try this out. Get ready to jump out of your seat because they come when you least expect it.… Expand

ZombiU won't be for everyone, but that doesn't mean it's a bad game. It is pure survival horror, something that I missed within these past few years. I enjoyed every ounce of gameplay of the 15 hours that I poured in. One bite and you're gone, n ifs and or buts about it. If you need to grab something out of your inventory and you have a horde of zombies on you, the game will NOT pause, which in turn is a good thing and makes things tense. The world is set up sort of like "The Darness" or somewhat like "Bioshock". The Safehouse acts like a hub and from there you can either walk to each connected place or fast travel (given that you unlocked a manhole cover in that area) to each location. There will be certainly back traveling for doors you need to go back and unlock, looking for more ammo (yes, ammo is scarce), or looking for other player's zombies for their loot. While the game doesn't have any online multiplayer components, it does allow other people to infect your world, where they previously died and if you kill them, you'll get whatever loot they had in their backpack at that time. You can leave messages for others on virtually any wall or floor, to give people hints, warn them or trick them. Leaderboards are also posted for people's best survival character's score. Your score resets when your survivor dies, which in turn you start a new survivor and you get a chance to go get your loot back from yourself. There is also a "Survival Mode", which basically and bluntly, if you die (even at the end of the game), it's game over, period. Graphics are quite good and I have no complaints with them. Certain glitches may appear with zombie's heads turning kind of oddly, but other than that, the atmosphere is so surreal, that it really gives the impression that this world as we know it, is dead. It'll take you in some pretty unnerving places that will cause you to really take your time and keep watching your back. The sound is pretty outstanding, if not a little low in certain spots. You'll hear people screaming around you in houses, garbage being tipped over, crows, rain and thunder, voices all around you, growls. I did have a few lock ups/freezes (3 in fact) during my play time. One glitch happened when I was sliding through an opening, and it locked up, couldn't do nothing. Two others were pure lockups upon loading a section or in the middle of killing a zombie. In closing, I can recommend this game to any WiiU owner from now and probably until the end of the WiiU's life cycle. It is THAT good.… Expand

I don't know what people are complaining about. This game is awesome! The graphics are okey, maybe not the best but still better than most console games. The sound is amazing. It sets the mood sky high, especially when you're outside in the stormy weather. It's a pretty hard game, maybe that's why some don't like it. If you die your character dies for good and you have to start from the beginning. You can however track down your former character, kill it and take all the items that you lost. If you got a Wii U and like horror action, this is a game for U… Expand

ZombiU is a fantastic survival horror game. This is the first thing that should be taken note of when looking at the game. If you're going into the game expecting the casual shoot-fest you'd get in a game like Left 4 Dead or any other modern FPS, you're going to be severely shocked. The game is a complete revival of the survival horror genre of games, which has been sitting in disrepair ever since Resident Evil dropped it for a more action-oriented game focus. The game makes superb use of the Wii U's innovative gamepad, from the single player all the way to the multiplayer, which I feel is possibly one of the coolest concepts for a multiplayer game in a long, long time. If you love REAL horror games and you want to play a challenging zombie survival game, you will get just that with Zombi U.… Expand

Zombiu is a great survival horror, better than the new Resident evil style. This is a terrorific game with an interesting way, great atmosfear and beautiful graphics. I love this game, this is a fantastic surprise for survival horror fans.

ZombiU is a bit of a average score. Usually ZombiU is a survival but then soon as you get bitten you turn into a zombie. And since when you were human there where no zombies whats the point of being a zombie. Sure, there are good graphics and story but the point is a short time survival and boring zombie play.

A very good and hard Survival Horror game with multiple endings, pretty intense and probably will scare the sh*t out of you, great controls and great use of the GamePad, definitely a must-have for the Wii U.

I really loved the ZombiU experience.
The gameplay was awesome, I really felt like i have to survive, and have been scared many times.
The game was hard and addictive, each death is gonna make you scream.
The graphisms were quite good and acceptable.

ZombiU is a survival horror, not a FPS, If you prefer shoot zombies instead of hit them with a cricket bat, choose Call Of Duty Black Ops II.

One of the best games of the year. Its a zombie game that's actually scary to play. It makes even one or two zombies frightening, let alone a hoard. The sound/music is amazing and perfectly timed. The use of the Wii U pad feels natural. Its also very challenging which gives you an authentic zombie experience. People say the melee system gets repetitive but they probably didn't even find all the hidden weapons or loot for ammo because there are great weapons like the cross-bow where you can pick up your used arrows. Plenty of great weapons and ways to kill while still giving you a scary feeling. You also have the option to play this game with 1 life, meaning 1 life and your whole game is over. Up for a challenge?

The worst part of the game is the story. I didn't feel it was too bad myself, but when you have many children who don't want to dig deeper at the story, its understandable. It doesn't tell you everything up front, and even then, what kind of story other than survival do you expect? There's also letters around the game that you could read and try figuring stuff out but I never read them. There's a story but I wont go deeper. Buy this game if you're into zombies and survival. Don't buy it if you rather play Borderlands.… Expand