Dead Effect

 PC
Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
  1. Riot Pixels
    Jan 25, 2015
    45
    A corny, simplistic zombie shooter, which also doubles as a collection of all the genre clichés.

User Reviews

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User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 44 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 44
  3. Negative: 11 out of 44
  1. ave
    Feb 23, 2015
    3
    So, what makes a game a great game?

    Unless you're the first to create something never-seen-before with an earth-chattering-gameplay, you're    So, what makes a game a great game?

    Unless you're the first to create something never-seen-before with an earth-chattering-gameplay, you're living with a legacy. Your best option then is to live up with player's expectations of the genre, plus surprise them with one truly good and well executed idea to deliver a great experience.

    In Dead Effect, you are shooting zombies in a spacecraft. That's it. Many titles comes to mind like Doom, Dead Space and such. And for a reason. It seems that most of these games tropes has been collaged in this game, but with no to little inspiration. The level design is repetitive, the zombies aren't that exciting, and the storyline has a smell of deja-vu.

    But let's say Dead Effect uses these fairly known genre elements to lay a great core mechanic on top of it? If only.

    First, your character moves a little too slowly (it glides actually since there is no footstep sounds), and can run just a few meters since he's apparently an heavy smoker. He also cannot jump so I suspect he or she's overweight too.

    Your character can carry two weapons, that are predefined for most of the story campaign : pistol + rifle or revolver + shotgun. But since all the weapons are suboptimal at first, and have a atrociously long reload time, you die often - or walk back all the corridors just to be safe.

    To make things worse, Dead Effect does not feature a save game or checkpoint system, forcing you to restart the whole mission even if you die a couple of seconds before the end. You're in to grind your way to the next level, and it really feels like a chore.

    If you want a better weapon, don't try to pick one, you'll have to upgrade yours or buy one during the intermission - explaining why you are collecting money while trying to escape.

    And here is the fatal flaw of the game. In my opinion, either :
    - you design and balance each weapon to provide player with variety, uniqueness and consistency (like Doom, Half Life, Fear, etc);
    - you can buy upgrades or upgraded version of your weapons in a marketplace (like Borderlands, Bioshock) to add the thrill of finding a badass one - at least for a couple of hours;
    - you can upgrade your weapons & gear using "spare parts" found in the world (like Dead Space, Shadowgrounds Survivor) to add the thrill of making tough choices.
    But I personnaly find using a "pay as you go to upgrade your gear" too artificial and really non-immersive, especially when you're supposed to be alone, cut from civilization.

    I know that Dead Effect is a port from a iOS game, and uses micro-payements. But that's not an excuse for bad or inadequate game design. For the PC version you pay upfront, so, in way, you're supposed to see none of the monetization elements.

    So, if you really like to shoot zombies, endless corridors and flat storyline, you can give this game a shot. A piece of advice : upgrade only your best weapon and be cautious of the grenadier zombies.    … Full Review »
  2. Squeze
    Mar 30, 2015
    7
    Let's start by saying i Paid less than 2 $ for this game so my expectations weren't big.
    This is a decent game, worth the price and probably    Let's start by saying i Paid less than 2 $ for this game so my expectations weren't big.
    This is a decent game, worth the price and probably more.
    Kind of a killing floor, it is actually kind of easy and even on hard difficulty I didnt have many problems, i suggest to play at the hardest difficulty. There's a new game plus mode that gets it harder, but it's not one of the games you will probably want to replay.
    Wont be a masterpiece, wont be a famous game but still I enjoyed my hours in it, especially for what I paid.
    Zombies are always fun, especially when many and you have lot of different weapons to kill them with. You can also upgrade them.
    For the 100% addicts there are several achievements no one particularly hard but probably fun to get if you like the game.
    There are 3 game mode that can keep the fun going for another 4 to 5 hours surviving hordes of zombies (main story last around 5 if you are not speeding).

    Pros:
    Cheap
    Nice zombies
    Several Weapons and upgrading thing.
    Short but many things that can keep you going for some random zombie killing.

    Cons:
    Kind of easy especially if you use your powers.
    Silly voice acting
    Probably not the best story ever, but really does a game like this need one?

    75/100 for an underground and low budget game they really did a good job.    … Full Review »
  3. Ondik
    Dec 18, 2014
    9
    Very good game. Its sci-fi with zombies in space, you cant do wrong with that. Awesome setting. And there are also very funny voice-overs.Very good game. Its sci-fi with zombies in space, you cant do wrong with that. Awesome setting. And there are also very funny voice-overs. Very high quality for a small indie team.… Full Review »
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