Romero's Aftermath

Aftermath for PC is an MMO game in which our task is to survive in the world full of merciless zombies. As the developers themselves admit, the core of the gameplay is nearly identical to that known from Infestation: New Beginnings, although the game was slightly enhanced in some aspects. The decision to create a new franchise was caused by a conflict with the current publisher as well as technical issues. The PC version was developed by Free Reign East LLC, a studio of former Hammerpoint Interactive employees.

Gameplay

We start the game with creating our own character. The editor allows us to set the look of the face, hair, and even clothes such as head wear, masks, or shirts. Some options are available right from the start, while others have to be unlocked or bought for real money via the micropayments system.

The game world was struck with an epidemic of a dangerous virus that changes humans into mindless zombies. Those spared by the plague are a tiny minority and, what is worse, are completely on their own. Despite the fact that we may form lesser or bigger groups, the game world is constructed in a way that makes us feel ever alone. This feeling is intensified by unceasing lack of basic supplies such as food or water that can be occasionally found during exploration. Thanks to these, as well as a number of other items like bandages, or vaccines, we can regain health points lost in combat.

What is interesting, the vast world can be traversed not only on foot but also with the use of various vehicles such as cars, among others. While exploring, our character has absolute freedom of action. We may build our own base, gather resources, or perform simple quests that involve, for instance, finding an item or killing a number of zombies. In comparison with the previous productions of the developer, combat mechanics were slightly simplified and made more arcade. The crafting system is also simpler, although it does offer additional tens of recipes. Building remains largely the unchanged – after selecting adequate elements or items, we decide where to locate them. In order to make them fully functional, we also have to, in some cases, “complement” them with necessary parts such as planks, metal pieces, or nails.

Game modes

The game offers two kinds of servers: PvP, where we are threatened not only by the undead but other players as well, and PvE, in which zombies are the only danger. In both cases, we may play either on public or private version of the server. However, the latter requires paying a fee in real money.

Technicalities

Aftermath for PC bears a strong resemblance to its predecessor in terms of the audiovisual layer – the action is observed from the first-person perspective or from behind the player character’s back. The game world is full of grim and depressing colors. Character models are not particularly detailed, be it the protagonist or the zombies, but it does not ruin the playing experience.

Last updated on February 2, 2016