Yet Another Zombie Survivors [Review]
Yet another review forc Yet Another Zombie Survivors, the newest bullet heaven from Awesome Game Studio.
Yet Another Zombie Survivors is a game in the bullet heaven genre. It was created and published by Awesome Game Studio and released in 1.0 from Early Access on August 20, 2026. It is available for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. While not out yet, there is a Nintendo Switch port on the way. The main gameplay loops consist of assembling a squad of up to three characters, and leveling them up while surviving against an ever advancing wave of zombies. Despite the tongue and cheek title, this is an entry that strives to go beyond the typical bullet heaven offering by combining elements from roguelikes and squad based games. For me, it was an unique combination that worked. Despite not having much bullet heaven experience, I fell in love almost instantly.
The gameplay is divided into two sections. The first is these is the camp, which serves as the players base. Here players can engage in various activates which include quipy conversations between playable characters, various stats and achievements, story missions, and things of that nature. However, the real meat of this section, and where most of my time here was spent was in the Training Grounds.
The Training Grounds features the meat of the game's progression. Here there are large skill trees for each of the characters as well as one for the team overall. Points are acquired by playing through the bullet heaven section. This is what causes the gameplay loop to be so darn compelling. Even if I lost, I'd still earn points. I'd instantly be back in the Training Grounds and tweaking my build to try to see if I could do better.
The skill tree affecting the whole team contained a lot of variety, from affecting the amount of damage characters could do, adding hit points or enhancing the range at which they could pick up items. There's much more beyond that but if I were to list them all, this review would run far too long. Pretty much if it's a stat in the game of any sort, it could be adjusted via the skill tree. There was also options for individual units such as unlocking new abilities and weapons, and then building upon them ever farther. For example, the Tank's floating buzzsaws could be augmented with fire and ice to do elemental damage. The skill trees can always be reset with no penalty, and points reassigned, which allowed me the flexibility to experiment and try new things.
The final thing that can be done from the camp screen is selecting options for the next run. From here I could choose my starting character as well as the map I could play on. Maps are unlocked by beating previous locations, and this game boasts five different places total. There are also multiple different modes to unlock, boasting many different ways to experience the game if things start to feel a little repetitive.
Each run starts with a single character, with two more joining the team if the starting character survives long enough. These are two options picked randomly from the total pool of characters. Since I wasn't able to guarantee any of my characters except the starting one, it encouraged me to try new things and level up all my characters. The game starts with the chosen character just having one basic weapon which autoshoots at zombies. When a monster is killed, it drops an exp gem. As there is a time limit, and enemies progressively get stronger as time ticks by, creating a build with good synergy that's powerful enough to take out the scaling foes is key. Prioritizing the best abilities in the correct order is essential, especially in the beginning of the game where I was weaker and there were less zombies, so exp was far more limited. Leveling up is not the only way to strengthen characters though. There are additional stats, items, and power-ups that can be obtained that can also help the team along.
Killing zombies and farming for exp is a very addictive gameplay loop, assisted by the sound design and graphics. Yet Another Zombie Survivors boast a surprisingly addictive soundtrack. Even better it has the perfect balance of squishy noises and gunfire to make the experience feel very immersive. The graphics, while not overly aesthetically pleasing at first, actually worked well to clearly communicate what was happening on screen, even at the end of the run when there is a lot going on. It's also satisfying bloody, with zombies exploding into a clouds of red and boss monsters having surprisingly detailed death animations.
The biggest problem with this game is not the lack of things of do, but rather the gameplay being able to support the amount of content available. I found that around the eight hour point, the runs did start to feel similar and repetitive. It becomes woefully apparent that not all characters and abilities are created equal, and some options just tend to be far more successful then others. I don't know if I'll ever unlock everything (especially as a game reviewer who is always moving on to the next game). However I think that there is definitely $14.99 worth of fun here, even if it can't sustain itself for the entire package available.
The best way to experience this game is to marathon it over a weekend and unlock a large number of things, and then revisit it after whenever the urge strike and playing a hour here and there. Which, I think is how I'm going to play this from her on out. The next game calls, and I'm a little burned out from marathoning it, but I definitely see myself continuing to revisit it.
It's not a deep narrative experience, and it has some flaws and balance issues. Still, Yet Another Zombie Survivors knows exactly what it wants to be. What that is is the game to be picked up when I just want to sit down for 20-30 minutes, unwind and see zombies explode. It may not be the best game I've played this year, but it scratches a very particular itch, and I think this might just end up in a special place in my heart.
Yet Another Zombie Survivors
Despite the silly title, this entry stands out against a sea of Bullet Heaven games.
