The Zombies Are Coming
Here’s another zombie game that may give you what you’re looking for. Cloudy Cat’s Zombeast: Survival Zombie Shooter is a thrilling action game that has various atmospheres and environments, like a city, factory, forest and more. Zombeast’s campaign follows a story arc of a man with no name having to survive in the zombie apocalypse just three days after its arrival. He tries to survive but ultimately gets bitten by a zombie. The man comes across plenty of survivors and tries to work with them while staving off his infection, oddly enough, with coffee and dark chocolate. Armed with nothing but a double barrel shotgun and a revolver, you have to quickly and efficiently dispatch menacing zombies.
Earn Your Stars
Under the campaign tab, there are 170 missions, with each mission allowing you to earn up to three stars on each map.The stars you earn are what give you the skill points you need to upgrade your skills. Make sure to complete goals in each mission and kill as many zombies as you can in order to get that three-star rating. At the top of the campaign tab there’s a bar with a number inside a star. This is your level. Tap on it to see all the rewards you have earned and can claim. These are what give you coins, gems (in-game currency), power ups and skill points.
Game Mechanics
Zombeast has an auto target system that makes free aim almost nonexistent. The only way to free aim is to tap and hold on the aim button and use the extra fire button on the left side of the screen to use your weapon. Unfortunately, the placement of the controls forces you to stand still while free aiming. The zombies are unnerving though and will test your ability to prioritize threats and strategize taking them out. For example, skinny zombies are best dealt with using shotguns, whereas fat zombies drop easily using pistols or assault rifles. Keep in mind that the zombies deal a lot of damage. You’d be wise to stay as far away from them as possible. If you can’t, dispatch them quickly.
The game also places powerful weapons such as assault rifles, large machine guns and gas canisters on some maps, which makes dispatching hordes much more interesting. Zombeast employs an energy system measured in coffee cups. You have 30 of them. After the first few introductory levels, each level costs five coffee cups. You can, however, watch ads or play daily quests to get some more energy, so the energy system isn’t that limiting.
The Weapon Menu
Zombeast has a nice selection of weapons. After you complete each level, you can use your coins to either buy new weapons or upgrade your existing ones. I recommend upgrading your base guns as they become quite good the more you invest in them. If you need a better weapon, you can buy one. Under the weapon selection menu is also the skills screen. You use both coins and skill points earned to upgrade one of four skills: health, armor, speed, or aiming. I recommend saving coins for these skills as they will help you greatly the further into the game you go.
Bestiary is Best
The game also has a bestiary, which tells you a little bit about each zombie you may come across in the game. There are 13 types of zombies, with each one having its own characteristics and abilities. The bestiary gives you useful information, like which weapons are most effective against the zombies and tips for dealing with them when you come across them in campaign mode. Give this guide a look if you feel stuck against a particular zombie.
Free Bonuses & Shopping
The bonuses tab allows you to buy game packs, coins, or gems using real money. You can also watch ads here to earn various rewards like coins, gems, power ups or skill points. There is also the option to buy VIP, which gives you a greater bonus after every completed mission and removes ads. Oddly enough, this tab is only located on the skills screen under the campaign tab.
Zombeast has a rather simple way of shooting zombies, but the variety of them and their brute strength makes up for this. If you aren’t careful in later levels, you will find yourself overwhelmed by their attacks. Each level gets more difficult with new combinations of zombies and numbers coming your way. Also, the quests are a nice bonus, offering some interesting challenges if you get tired of campaign mode.
Is it Hardcore?
Somewhat.
The game’s automatic aiming is a real hardcore buster. However, the difficulty of later levels and the zombies’ abilities help make up for it. The free aim button also helps alleviate the issue with this mechanic. The quests and challenges offer some difficult gameplay if campaign mode doesn’t do it for you.