World War Z: Aftermath

With its deep progression system, vast array of locations and classes, World War Z Aftermath is an excellent play for anyone looking to shoot up some zombies with their friends.

Overall, World War Z: Aftermath is a great team-based shooter, and if players have been waiting for the game to be significantly updated before checking it out, the time is now. Likewise, anyone who played at launch will find that this revamp is well worth a second tour of duty against the undead.

Aftermath evolves World War Z in some major ways that brought a smile to my face. Kamchatka is a stellar new episode and the improved melee options and first-person mode are great quality-of-life improvements, but there are still issues with online play, barely any attempt at storytelling, and bizarre design choices (such as a lack of aiming down sights in first-person mode) that are huge disappointments. Even so, blasting my way through countless zombies still has lasting charm, and Aftermath makes World War Z better than it has ever been.

World War Z’s story was, and remains, a background element whose task is to move the player from episode to episode. Aftermath’s two new episodes are set in interesting environments, and the game’s additions and fixes will be welcome to those returning to World War Z as well as to those just starting out. The first person mechanic has potential but remains incomplete, and the new Vanguard likewise might appeal to those wanting to level a new class. Like the base game, Aftermath sans human players might not be a hard pass, but it isn’t the experience the developers intended. With some friends, or at least competent random homo sapiens, World War Z Aftermath provides a unique take on a familiar enemy and does a great job of translating the terror-inducing swarm of zombies mechanic from film to videogame.

There is a good amount of content here and the gameplay is fun. My only real complaints are that the game can be a pain to play solo, the class perks don’t always make a lot of sense, and the points grind won’t be a fun time for people who don’t want to move the difficulty mode up as their characters level up.