The rumours were right: forgotten Wii U exclusive ZombiU will rise from its grave on the PlayStation 4 next month. The game will launch on 18th August in Europe and North America as Zombi, where it promises to frighten an entire new generation of players via the PlayStation Store. Ubisoft's promising that the "nail-biting survival experience has been optimised" for Sony's new-gen system, although there's no word on how it intends to work around the missing second screen.
"Players will experience the original oppressive and intense elements that made ZombiU so innovative," explains a press release. "The bug-out bag is a necessary component for survival for each player as it contains all of the player's tools, inventory, first aid kits, maps, and more. With permadeath, players are faced with a death mechanic which puts them in the body of a different survivor each time that they die."
As with the Dark Souls games, if you bite the dust, you'll have the option to either reclaim your supplies or start scavenging afresh. But while this all seems like a nifty twist on the traditional survival horror experience, we're yet to be convinced that the game will actually make sense on the PS4. Indeed, there are already better undead adventures on the platform, so is an ageing port without its primary gimmick really going to attract that much attention? We're about to find out...
Comments 40
Worst game I own on my WiiU. I think it's the only game in the last 3 years I started but did not finish due to it being too dark, bad controls and a stupid story.
If you really want to try it, wait for a PS Plus offer... should happen 2-3 months after release.
Curious how much it's going to cost. I'm looking for a price now but haven't found one yet. Do drop me a link if you spot it elsewhere. There's no mention in the press release.
Didn't really care for this on Wii U, probably won't care for it when it reaches PS4/Xbox One.
Meh...
I personally enjoy the game, but I wonder how they are going to do things that used the game pad like scanning, radar, swapping items, etc.. If it is done well then I would personally recommend this game.
This was a great game for the Wii U, but more for the fact of how brilliant the GamePad integration was. Porting this over to the newer consoles without the second-screen gameplay really takes away from a massive chunk of the experience.
Owning and having played ZombiU, it's a decent game at its core made better by the Gamepad mechanics. It's a truly scary game, at least for me. It's definitely worth playing.
Not sure if it'll effectively translate those mechanics to non-second-screen platforms, but I'm willing to give this another whirl. Will likely pick up the PC version (as my PS4 is mainly used for console-exclusive titles).
The trailer's music makes me want to leave Earth.
Wow. Looks exactly the same as it did on the Wii U. Which is kinda terrible, considering that now there's absolutely no reason to play it on any other console since the game is pretty mediocre at its core, only made any good due to how it implemented the GamePad really, really freaking well.
Although the 0:55 mark shows a shovel being used as a melee weapon. Wasn't the bat the only melee weapon in the Wii U version?
I might pick it up on PC if it's any decent, but something tells me it'll be terribly optimized. Can't wait to hear TotalBiscuit's thoughts on the port.
graphics = Zzzzzz
When I owned a Wii U, I had this game and I thought it was boring, terrible graphics, and just overall horrible. I definitely won't be getting this, even downloading it if ps+ had it for free would be a waste of hdd space
Game will be meh without gamepad. The gamepad use made it slightly above average.
@yokokazuo Well all the gamepad really is is an overlay for the TV screen. Functionally it's no different than, say, pressing R2 and bringing up an inventory on-screen. That's why it's such a bad gimmick.
@Matroska I disagree. The gamepad itself had great potential, it just never got the opportunity to be properly used to its full potential.
@Matroska I also disagree, Mario maker will be perfect for it
I enjoyed the original and wouldn't mind playing through it again for Trophies on PS4, if the price is right. I doubt it'll be as good on PS4, given that the original was really only a mediocre game with fantastic Gamepad mechanics, it can really only go downhill with the Gamepad removed. That, and we all know Ubisoft has never 'optimized' anything. They are the king of the lazy port.
@matroska no... Not at all.
Bargain bin
This game did give us a great E3 moment though...
"I LIKE FRENCH FOOD"
I will be buying this .specially if they let me use my newly aquire PSVita as the handheld device.
No dual screen, no awesome local multiplayer, and the exact same launch-title visuals? Why? Why did they even bother? The gamepad is what made the game great; without that, it's just another dime-a-dozen horror game with nothing that stands out.
@Matroska
The dual screen set up can be used brilliantly if the developers know what they're doing. Just looked at how amazing well-made games on the 3DS and DS have used its two-screen format. The Wii U is no different. Most games don't utilize it well if at all, but that doesn't mean that it can't make games amazing.
I loved it on my wiiU but don't think it will be any good on ps4, xbone and pc since it's just a port stripped from it's features that made it awesome on wiiU. also I prefered the music they used in the cinametic announcement trailer when it got announced on wiiU.
but unless it isn't much more expensive than the wiiU version, will have new features, a better story and more replay value I won't recomend it to anyone unless they buy it on wiiU.
@get2sammy @shogunrok
guy that works at Ubisoft "I was pressing some random buttons while in the ZombiU files and by accident made it playable for ps4, xbox one and pc. what should I do?"
CEO at Ubisoft "I DUNO, just put it on the xbox arcade, the ps store and steam I think."
guy "but what about the U? it stand for wiiU."
CEO presses backspace
and that's the story of how zombiU became zombi.
Looking into your bag with the Gamepad is really no different than looking into the bag in the Last Of Us with the DS4, the only difference is your not looking away from the TV. In Tearaway PS4 version you'll be using the light bar on the DS4 to point & light the way, as well as for a lot of other things. Not really especial you say? well it is when you think about the fact you don't need a PS4 camera in order to do these in-game things. So there could be some DS4 usage in this, but there probably won't be.
@darkswabber At least that makes more sense than actually purposefully deciding to re-release it!
@get2sammyb If they did this for $20, I think it could work.
It doesn't really appeal to me. I'm tired of zombies.
I reckon Ubi are just trying to squeeze a few more coins out of this seeing as they got burnt by heavily supporting Wii U at launch...
Count me out though!
@ElkinFencer10 It's just an illusion, though. If you play a DS game in an emulator it's exactly the same experience yet it's on the same screen, in the same window. The practical reason behind having two screens seems to just be that it's cheaper to only have half the viewing area be touchscreen. It's really just one screen for all intents and purposes, just with a plastic bar in the middle.
Same with the Wii U controller. You're either looking at your TV screen or at the tablet controller. Therefore you're choosing between one screen or the other, so it's the same as if you just brought up an overlay over the stuff on the TV.
@xVAKAR1ANx Because of course, you couldn't just design the levels on your TV and then test them on your TV? It's not like actual game designers use normal PCs and normal displays to design levels or anything, right?
Coming from England where most people have completely forgotten that Nintendo exists, it's always strange to speak to people who still fall for their childish gimmickry.
@Aromaiden Name one thing that gamepad could do that couldn't just be done on a single screen. All it is is an overlay, like say if you press Triangle in a Final Fantasy game and the menu comes up and covers the regular gameplay screen, but it's an overlay that's always visible on a separate screen. Nintendo just got people to buy an incredibly overpriced PS3-tier console about 8 years too late, with hardly any games on it... because you can have a menu permanently displayed on a crappy old tablet.
@Matroska It must suck to hate fun stuff.
I'm surprised they didn't just keep the title and claim the U had been standing for Ubisoft all this time.
@XCWarrior What game came to PSN then 2-3 months later became available for Plus? I want to know.
@Matroska From my understanding, the gamepad in ZombiU is used largely to forcibly divert your attention from the tv, challenging you and creating tension by forcing you to split your attention between two simultaneous always-on inputs. Claiming that's functionally the same as toggling an overlay on a single screen is as reductively absurd as saying "All video games are fundamentally just manipulating a state machine to reach a specific win state, therefore everything since Pong has just been a gimmick."
Likewise, to claim that the screen layout of the DS had no effect on games designed for them is just denial of reality to fit your ideals. It sounds like you play a lot of games on emulators, because you seem to be in denial that the medium a game is played on can fundamentally shape the end experience
I'll buy if they keep the second screen function using Vita and is relatively cheap but otherwise I probably won't bother
It would be interesting if they used the vita as the second screen as others have mentioned above. The trailer doesn't look that inspiring unfortunately. Maybe a demo on the ps store (or do they call them "betas" now) would help me decide if it's right for me. Also, Ubisoft -_-
@Matroska but it makes a lot easier and quicker. Still I will enjoy it and have fun.
THey could have reworked it... It looked like a rather ugly Wii U game when it released, now it's an even worse "Next-gen" game. I'm still going to get it on the Wii U one day. I tried the demo, but it was a bit too bland for me. I wish they made a much better sequel instead of this.
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