I Want to Love Project Zomboid, I Really Do

Project Zomboid has seen a long life. In fact, it’s been almost ten years since it first crawled onto Steam as an Early Access title. Although it’s been a rough ride, the current state of the game is subjectively a far more polished and fleshed-out experience than what released way back in 2013. A.I. improvements and overhauls, character animation improvements, and the addition of co-op are just a handful of the larger, more noticeable improvements we’ve seen over the years, and now Project Zomboid is entering Build 41.

I was first hipped to Project Zomboid about two years ago, when Half-Glass Gaming’s owner and editor Josh made mention of it. At that time, I had just gotten back into PC gaming and was devouring every survival/zombie survival title I could get my hands on.

Although the isometric style of Project Zomboid didn’t really speak to me, I got it for a decent price and gave it a shot. And although I could see the potential (especially after watching a bevy of Ambiguous Amphibian videos on YouTube), I just couldn’t seem to latch on. Mostly it was the cumbersome inventory systems (on top of the aforementioned isometric visual style) that I just couldn’t vibe with. I think a big part of it was that I hated using a keyboard for gaming, and Zomboid is a keyboard-heavy title. Perhaps I was destined for failure from the get go.

And so, I put it back on the proverbial shelf with the intention to return to it sometime down the road.

Fast forward a year and some change, a bevy of Ambiguous Amphibian and Nurse videos, and one Azeron controller later, and I felt it was time to dust off my copy and fire it back up. With my new controller setup and a renewed interest, I dove in feet first.

At first, I thought I was starting to make heads and tails of things, but no matter how many articles I read regarding first-day or first-week survival tips, and no matter how many YouTube tutorial and tips videos I watched, whenever I sat down to play Project Zomboid, the game’s design and demands just turned me off by the time I was about thirty or so minutes deep into a session.

Now, I do not type this lightly, nor do I want to admit what I am about to divulge. But no matter how much I want to love Project Zomboid, no matter how many boxes this game ticks for me, no matter how many times I try to find that “Aha!” moment when everything just clicks, no matter how much I want it, I just don’t think Project Zomboid is going to deliver my personal bag of goods.

And so, it is with a heavy heart that I reluctantly, begrudgingly admit that I just can’t do it. I want to love Project Zomboid, I really do. But no matter how many times I try to play it, or how hard I force myself to love it, this game just doesn’t click with me personally.

Although I do find comfort in the fact that, at the very least, it makes for great entertainment if you’re watching others play it instead of slogging through it on your own. If nothing else, I take solace in the hours of enjoyment I have gotten from the many, many great YouTubers out there who are making this world a little more approachable, even at arm’s length. And for that, I am thankful.