My wife always claims that in the event of a zombie apocalypse, she would be the first dead because she would simply kill herself immediately. It’s a sentiment that I completely understand because, having witnessed a number of Zombie breakouts firsthand courtesy of video gaming, I know just how bleak and horrific these apocalyptic scenarios can be. I like to think I would fight to survive, but it wouldn’t be a walk in the park, that’s for sure.
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That being said, not all zombie apocalypses presented in video games are created equally, and if given the choice, there would be zombie-filled worlds that I would much rather occupy than others. So, with that in mind, I want to look at all the zombies present in video games and their particular settings, ranking iconic zombie gaming worlds from least to most terrifying. So let’s get going, and try not to get bitten whatever you do!
10Medieval
Zombies For Cowards
Zombie Nickname(s)
The Stinking Dead
Fear Factor
Let’s kick things off my starting off paddling in the kiddie pool before diving into the horrors of the metaphorical zombie-filled deep end.Medievilis a zombie game in the sense that you are a member of the undead yourself, and due to a terrible oversight, you have been re-animated by the evil King Zorok and have a chance to redeem yourself after dying in the least honorable and most embarrassing fashion a century prior.
As you awaken in the cemetery, however, you’ll come to realize that Zarok’s undead army has risen also and you’ll need to put them back in the ground. Luckily, these zombies are bumbling oafs with next to no combat ability, so in terms of the fear factor, this is about as entry-level of a zombie game that I can provide.
9Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
The Blighted
We continue easing you into the world of zombie games with a wonderful little Metroidvania that I feel hasn’t ever got its flowers in a meaningful way. Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights places you in the shoes of the Princess of a world that has fallen to The Blight, which presents itself as perpetual rainfall that infects its host and turns them into a bloodthirsty zombies. The game has a dark and gritty setting not too far removed from the likes of Salt and Santuary, but even with this focus on dark fantasy, the game is still lacking in the horror department.
Where it makes up for this is through its wonderful platforming and its interesting spirit-based combat system. But by far, the coolest aspect of the game is the boss fights with the toughest of all The Blighted in the game. The lore and Souls-like gameplay are a joy to behold, and while the zombies aren’t scary per-se, this is still a certified zombie-apocalypse game and one you should try out if you want to keep the horror dialed down to a minimum.
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Ghouls, The Lost, Ferals
While Fallout isn’t an out-and-out zombie game, the Wasteland does have its own variant of zombies known as Ghouls. Humans that took on a bucket-load of radiation but didn’t have the good fortune to die. This comes with some perks, like the fact that they are immortal beings. But the downside is that, unless these ghouls are able to retain their sanity, which is a rarity, they will become what is known as a Feral Ghoul.
These are basically mindless zombies that tend to hide in dark corners of the world, like abandoned buildings, subway stations and caves, and if you encounter one, I can assure you, they can’t be bargained with or reasoned with. In games likeFallout 3, exploring the subway system and encountering these grotesque creatures for the first time adds a certain pseudo-horror feel to proceedings, and while there is plenty of respite from these zombie encounters, they still offer a certain fear factor worth a spot on this list.
Walkers, Shamblers, Runners
Dead Island 2is a weird one to place on this list because, in terms of the gory zombie-filled brutality on show here, the violence is pretty much non-stop, and it’s visceral. In terms of the world and the overall tone of the game, however, it’s one that doesn’t take the zombie threat all that seriously, making everything feel like a fun romp. Basically, it’s a zombie apocalypse that captures the insanity of LA as a place.
That being said, if you aren’t on your game and stocked with plenty of melee weapons and guns, you’ll find that the zombies dotted around Hell-A have more than enough in their locker to get up close and personal and gnaw on your neck like a chicken drummer. It’s a much more palatable zombie game due to the colorful setting, the larger-than-life characters and the fact that your character is a zombie-killing machine. So if you want traditional zombie-abundant gameplay with a party vibe,Dead Island 2is a superb option.
Ampulex Compressa Giganteus Zombies
A little fact about me: I’m petrified of Wasps. So when you take into account that the zombie outbreak inDead Risingwas caused by genetically altered wasps, this only adds to the overall fear factor of this already gory and intense zombie scenario. With reference to the first game in the series, this horrific scenario is made worse by the fact that you, Frank West, are trapped in a Mall with thousands of Zombies roaming around, and let’s just say, they aren’t there to make the most of the sales.
This one fails to cement itself as a truly terrifying zombie epic for a lot of the same reasons thatDead Island 2misses that mark, though.Dead Risingopts for a more kitschy and silly take on the genre, with lots of surreal and silly encounters with larger-than-life characters, the ability to kill zombies in innumerable stupid ways and the B-Movie slant to the writing. I still wouldn’t want to be there when it happened, but equally, it does seem like more of a fun time than a frightening one.
5Left 4 Dead
Smokers, Jockeys, Chargers, Boomers, etc
Okay, now we are getting into the realms of “actually scary zombie games.“Left 4 Deadis a rather traditional take on a zombie outbreak in which the breakout begins in Pennsylvania as people start contracting a disease known as ‘The Green Flu.’ A disease that causes a loss of motor function, extreme aggression, and in the case of certain hosts, strange mutations. This game allows you and a band of survivors, either played by the AI or by pals, to play through various intense missions where you must survive, get from saferoom to saferoom and hopefully survive the last stand at the end of every mission.
Unlike those that have come before on this list,Left 4 Deadactually hits a perfect balance between silly and scary, offering fun and fear in equal measure. This fear comes through the aggression of the zombies, the variety of the zombies on show and the intense nature of each mission’s end scene. Not to mention the unsettling locations such as abandoned hospitals, fairgrounds and the woods. It’s made a little more palatable as you can bring your friends for support, but at the end of the day, when the horde comes, and you’re outnumbered, there ain’t no one who can save you.
4Resident Evil
T-Virus Zombies, Cannibals, Ganados
I won’t lie: I still believe thatResident Evil 7: Biohazardis the scariestResident Eviltitle ever, and there’s barely a single zombie in that game. The series has you spoiled for choice, however, in terms of the zombie variants on offer. You have slow, shambling T-Virus victims, stronger, more agile later strains of the virus, and you have Ganados, a completely new treat courtesy ofResident Evil 4,and that isn’t an exhaustive list. As far as traditional mindless zombies go, this is probably the top of the pile in my book.
3The Last Of Us
A lot of the fear factor concerningThe Last Of Us’zombies is that this is actually an affliction that occurs naturally in reality. Now, before you proceed to barricade your doors and windows, thankfully this only occurs within insects, but still, scary stuff. The Cordyceps virus is a fungal infection where the fungus infects the host, kills it from within, and then grows from within. In the case of The Last of Us, however, this occurs in humans, causes a variety of terrifying mutations, and can be infected through airborne spores as well as bites and scratches.
Combine this with the gritty post-apocalyptic setting where resources are scarce and safe spaces are few and far between, and you have a recipe for a terrifying zombie game. There are so many dark and spooky areas within each game, but what you tend to learn throughout your time with each title is that humans are just as dangerous as zombies, if not more. It’s a truly bleak existence within this world and one that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
2Forbidden Siren
In most zombie games, you have a way to fight back against the horde, whether that be with bullets or blunt force trauma. InForbidden Siren(OrSiren, depending on where you’re from), however, you have no way to fend off the Shibito, a horrific brand of zombie that puts most other variants to shame in terms of out-and-out horror. In the village of Hanuda, a Siren lures the people of this village into the Red Water, a contaminated liquid that slowly replaces the blood within the body through submersion or through open wounds, with the end result causing people to become zombies, only with all their motor faculties and intelligence intact.
The supernatural and religious tilt to this zombie outbreak is nothing short of petrifying, and considering that the game only really gives you the ability to sneak around and use the power of sightjacking to evade these killer beings, which can pretty much survive all manner of injury and re-animate, only adds to the perilous nature of being a Hanuda resident. It’s a bit of a niche one, but if you haven’t playedSirenbefore, I would highly recommend it. If you dare.
Necromorphs
Shoot the limbs! That’s the advice that players are given as they embark on one of the most horrific and frightening gaming experiences on the market. WithinDead Space,Issac Clarke, an engineer, travels to the USG Ishimura to answer a distress call, only to find that, courtesy of a strange alien beacon known as The Marker, everyone bar a few aboard the ship has been transformed into grotesque mutated beasts known as Necromorphs. These abominations are great in number, and tough as nails, and only by shooting off their limbs and performing crowd control will you avoid being overwhelmed by these killer beasts.
The visceral transformations, their ugly nature and the various mutated variants they come in all add to the horror aboard the Ishimura. It’s the dark and claustrophobic setting, as well as the excellent audio and visual design, however, that makes this game a horror masterclass. Not to mention that you’ll rarely have any human interaction, so for most of the game, it’s just you and the necromorphs, and even if there were people around, in space, no one can hear you scream. It’s one of my all-time favorite horror games, so let that be the ultimate endorsement to jump into this series. Just do yourself a favor and skip the third one!
