Recent reviews by Kezzer

It is the morning of July Ninth, 1993 in Knox county, Kentucky. You are in a building that you presumably spent the previous night in. Who you are and how you got there, is completely up to your imagination. For whatever reason, every other human you see is a shambling, rotting corpse that is moaning, groaning and trying to eat you if they see you. All wearing the clothes and carrying the items of regular people who you assume, were once alive. Other than that, you are completely alone.

You go outside and see one for the very first time. A few more dotted around on the road. Whether you played the tutorial or not and have a feel for the mechanics, you see your character panicking at the sight of them by a little Moodle in the top corner of your screen. As do you when you fumble at the controls and then they fall upon you, pulling you down and your character dies screaming. Like the game said in the beginning, "This is how you died".

After a while, you're having another go. You're a bit more cautious now so you hunker down and tune in to the TV or radio. Maybe it's a cooking show or a sitcom or maybe it's the news. It is reported that in the weeks prior, a foul smell permeated the air around Knox county. That the area you are in has been labelled an exclusion zone and was evacuated before you could escape. Those uninfected are being told to shelter in place and await rescue. As the food begins to dwindle, you take some from the buildings around. Carefully dispatching what were once, presumably, friends and neighbours.

As time goes on, General McGrew and the President inform America that the infection is contained and that it can only be contracted by fluid transfer. Bites, scratches, etc. You realise that you are one of the lucky ones that did not succumb to the airborne infection. Other than that, the news gets grimmer. Despite the reassurances from the president and the General, the military pulls back and the exclusion zone is expanded. No one is coming. You are alone.

In the final days of broadcasts before all news from outside of the county is silenced, you have managed to carefully gather enough supplies to keep you alive for a while. A prerecorded message by General McGrew is broadcast repeatedly. Telling those Americans unaffected by the second wave to take up arms and fight back. Help is coming and you haven't been forgotten. This is almost certainly a lie as the last news from the outside is that the Knox virus has been reported in locations all around the world. The apocalypse has reached its final act.

Not long after contact with the outside world is severed, you find that the power and water go out. With no one around to maintain the infrastructure of modern amenities, it is now up to you to acquire those things on your own if you want them. Knox county is now a dead, lawless, and lonely land, littered with the remnants of nineties Americana. The dead ones now shamble around as part of the world. What you do and how you survive in this new world, is up to you. Whether you take the General's advice and take up arms or you hold up and find a way to thrive, doesn't matter. Each day you survive is a fight back against death. No matter where you go or what you do, just keep telling yourself; "This isn't how I die".

I love this game. There is nothing else out there like it. It will consume your entire existence. Be warned, you will get invested in a war and when you're not actively online, contributing to the war effort for your chosen faction, you will be constantly online refreshing foxhole stats and getting into the memes, propaganda, and discussions on the subreddit and discords. Scrolling through wikis to get a better grasp of different roles and gameplay loops that are available or simply planning your own ideas.

This game immerses you into the wars and your chosen faction. Every single thing is influenced by what each player decides to do with their time in game. Cooperatively working together in common cause. Whether you are fighting on the front line, building fortifications, running supplies to the fronts, manufacturing equipment and supple, mining resources, sneaking into enemy territory to disrupt their operations, it's all there to make you feel like this world is alive and every town, city, and inch of ground is worth fighting for. Coupled with an inbuilt lean towards teamwork and communication, it is also the most social game that I ever played. I have made friends in this game that I am always happy to bump into whenever we happen across each other. Whether you want to clan up or not, you will not be fighting alone.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up today and join your comrades in common cause today. You will not regret it.