State of Decay 2

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Gather survivors, build a base and keep them alive among the dead.

Platforms: PC, Xbox
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (83% of 70,223 reviews)
Length: open-ended sandbox; the story campaign is about 10 hours
Players: 1 to 4 online
Made by: Undead Labs
Released: 2018

What frightens Hordes, hulking Juggernauts and fast Ferals roam a valley where every survivor you lose is gone for good, and plague hearts spread infected dead whose bite can sicken your people.
Content: gore, violence, strong language, drug references.

A zombie survival game by Undead Labs in which you lead a small community after the dead have risen. You pick a base, send survivors out for food, fuel and ammunition, and fight off what follows them home. Each survivor can die for good, and you can bring up to three friends along.

About State of Decay 2

State of Decay 2 is made by Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios. It came out on Xbox One and Windows on 22 May 2018, and the Juggernaut Edition of March 2020 rebuilt it with a remastered Trumbull Valley map, better graphics and all three add-on packs. It is sold on Steam and on Xbox and Windows through the Microsoft Store, and it is in Xbox Game Pass.

You do not play one hero but a group. You recruit survivors, each with traits, skills and a mood of their own, choose a place to settle, and build it up with beds, gardens, a workshop, watchtowers and a medical bay. You play one survivor at a time, driving and walking out to loot towns, then switching to someone else when they are tired or hurt.

The horror is in losing people. The dead are everywhere, from slow crowds to fast Ferals and huge Juggernauts, and plague hearts spread an infection that can turn your own survivors if it is not treated. A single bad trip can kill a favourite character for good, and a base low on food and medicine starts to fall apart.

It is more a management and action sandbox than a frightening game, and you are rarely without a weapon. It suits players who like building a base and caring for a group, alone or with friends, with the dead always at the door.

How to play State of Decay 2

Choose a starting group of survivors and a map, then set up your first base.
Drive to nearby buildings and search them for food, medicine, fuel, ammunition and materials.
Recruit other survivors and keep your community fed, rested and in good spirits.
Build and upgrade base facilities, and move to a bigger base when you outgrow the first.
Find and destroy the plague hearts on the map to stop the infection spreading.

Screenshots

State of Decay 2 screenshot: a zombie clings to an orange car as more of the dead walk through a field of wind turbines

State of Decay 2 screenshot: a survivor with a backpack aims a rifle at a red-eyed plague zombie in the woods

State of Decay 2 screenshot: a survivor with a clipboard tends raised garden beds of corn at the base

Tips

Rotate the survivor you play; a tired or injured one is easy prey.
Do not take a favourite character into danger without spare medicine.
Keep extra fuel and a backup car; being stranded on foot among the dead is how runs go wrong.
Clear plague hearts with friends or plenty of explosives.