When it comes to horror trends, few have been as long-lasting as zombies in gaming and pop culture more broadly. You’ve got The Last of Us and all manner of zombie survival shooters like 7 Days to Die and Left 4 Dead. But many zombie games these days have a multiplayer survival or shooter focus, which isn’t always what you’re in the mood for. That could be part of why a newly released single-player focused zombie game is surging up the Steam trending charts this week.
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Quarantine Zone: The Last Check released on January 12th from developer Brigada Games and publisher Devolver Digital. The game delivers post-apocalyptic zombie vibes, but with a first-person simulation spin that sets it apart. And clearly, gamers were ready for something different. Since it launched, Quarantine Zone has held pretty steady with a daily peak in the range of 20K – 27K concurrent players. For a new indie game that’s not focused on co-op, that’s pretty impressive. In fact, those numbers have put Quarantine Zone at the top of the Steam trending charts according to Steam DB for several days. But what is it that is keeping players invested in Quarantine Zone?
Quarantine Zone Captivates Steam Gamers with a New Take on the Zombie Apocalypse
In Quarantine Zone, players aren’t simply running around battling zombies and building up their defenses. Instead, you’re in charge of screening survivors at a checkpoint. To help keep the zombie outbreak under control, you must scan incoming survivors for signs of infection before letting them onto your base. Quarantine those at risk of turning and take care of those who are too far gone… or else. One wrong move could end in disaster for your base.
Though the game is largely focused on screening and dealing with survivors who may be zombies in waiting, there are some base-building components as well. You’ll need to manage the new home of those survivors who pass your screening, keeping it well stocked with food, medicine, and electricity. And in the event of a zombie attack, you’ll take charge of the drones that keep breaches at bay.
Quarantine Zone currently sits at a Mostly Positive rating on Steam. Positive reviews praise the game’s reasonable price and solid gameplay mechanics. Many compare it favorably to Papers, Please, a 2013 indie game that puts players into the role of immigration inspection. That said, some reviews note that the game still has a few bugs that need to be worked out and that it can be a bit tricky for colorblind players, even with colorblind mode turned on.
Since its release, Quarantine Zone has already received its first free content update, adding Dead by Daylight collab characters to the game. Hopefully, this means that there will be additional patches to fix some of the bugs and add new content to keep the gameplay loop feeling fresh.
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check is $20 on Steam, with an introductory 10% off discount until January 26th. You can also grab it bundled with similar games like Dead by Daylight and Contraband Police if you’re feeling called to re-enter your zombie gaming era.
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