State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition

Undead Labs bring their zombie-survival-sim to a new generation with heaps of content and loads of fresh polish.

State of Decay deservedly shattered Xbox Live Arcade sales records in 2013: it is a potent mix of RPG gameplay systems that all fuse together to create an unpredictable and tense survival experience. Time hasn’t taken anything away from that for Year One Survival Edition, and though it hasn’t fixed its technical problems either, this zombie-bashing, resource-managing post-apocalyptic gem still stands out from the horde of brainless zombie games.

Despite some technical problems and a couple of inexplicable design choices, State of Decay is a pretty solid open-world survival, with a great balance between RPG, action and management elements.

A good buy if you never played the original game on Xbox 360, but it adds too little for the ones who already played it; yet it remains one of the best open world survival games around.

Undead Labs understood that in order to create the truest-feeling zombie survival game, they had to make a world that was completely believable. They managed it, and the result remains a triumph.

We are faced with a extremely rich proposal, many changes to the structure and a flood of content offered by the base game and the two expansions, without excluding its undeniable charm.

State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition doesn’t do much to standout from the original version of the game. Bugs, glitches, and other issues consistently drag down the experience but the sheer amount content, exhilarating survival elements, and solid gameplay saves the day leaving us with hours of fun inside this zombie playground.

State of Decay was one of the best Xbox Live Arcade titles to grace the 360 during its ten year life span and arguably one of the console’s best games full stop. This new updated edition is a step in the right direction.

Graphical issues aside, this is a phenomenal and ambitious game with a world that will challenge and entertain players for hours.

State Of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition is the definitive way of experiencing this fiercely unique zombie sim and a true highlight of the survival genre. Though still rough and ready, it's undeniably a complete package.

I for one enjoyed what I played, and the added content of past DLC, plus all the bonus goodies that have been tacked on above that make the whole package a pretty good value. There is a lot of gameplay to be had here too and those who haven’t played the game before are in for hours upon hours of zombie mayhem.

State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition is a generously proportioned package (that's not a euphemism), containing a stack of content, a huge open-world packed with ravenous zombies and precious few supplies to see you through.

State of Decay is still, without a doubt, one of the better zombie games available today. Despite not having all the polish and AAA bells and whistles of a big budget title, it has an original concept, a lot of depth, and a genuine tension evoked by its “no one is ever safe,” atmosphere.

It is technically improved but still far from being up-to-date. But behind the façade hides a very tense and multifaceted fight for survival. Once you’re infected it is damn hard to get away from State of Decay.

State of Decay has everything you could ever imagine in a zombie game, and than some. But, it still plays and feels like an Xbox Live Arcade game. Thankfully, at around $30, it’s priced like one too.

Quotation forthcoming.

State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition is a package full of goodies. The game itself is still one of the best steps towards the dream of a persistent apocalyptic world, but poor graphics and the lack of multiplayer are even worse today than two years ago.

Xbox One's version of State of Decay is still a unique open world zombie survival horror experience that puts a special focus in original ideas like the fortification of your settlement or the arrange of a balanced party of survivors, ideas that no other game explores. But, despite this, the game still has serious technical flaws and, in content terms, doesn't add to much not seen in Xbox 360. If you didn't play that version, Year One Edition is for you, but for the rest maybe not.

In spite of those very real problems, I’m still quite fond of State of Decay and the Year-One Survival Edition. Although the parts that are great don’t counter its many flaws, when taken as a whole, it’s still worth playing.

If you’ve already played through State of Decay, Lifeline and Breakdown, then you’re not going to find anything really new in the Year One Survival Edition. Luckily, its already solid gameplay and story eclipse State of Decay’s lack of new content and its ongoing presentation issues.

State of Decay is a fun romp and so is this new-gen re-release. The lack of meaningful changes make it hard to recommend to those that own the older version, but everyone else should dive head-first into its zombie catastrophe scenarios.

At this moment, this might be the best version of State of Decay, but it is definitely not the best version we can think of. The game still is very buggy and there is still no co-op mode. We still love this deep zombie survival game, but it simply could have been so much more.

While it never truly feels like it reaches its full potential or the promise Undead Lab’s ideas hold for the genre, State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition is still a fun, fascinating take on the tradition of zombie-apocalypse games that’s worth playing for hardcore fans.

This Year One edition for State of Decay is better than the original in almost every way, but its still full of technical problems and issues.

As a visual overhaul, State of Decay: Year One Edition leaves a lot to be desired, but the abundance of contents featured in this package and the unique nature of the experience as a whole, make up for the lackluster visuals and the notorious frame rate drops.

State of Decay, in this Year One Edition, has confirmed to be a good title for all fans of the survival genre, with a constant struggle against the zombies that will never let a moment of respite, constantly forcing us to seek new resources to survive.

State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition is a nice opportunity for gamers who haven't yet played the original. Unfortunately the game still suffers from small glitches and the graphics aren't great. Only recommended to the die-hard zombie fans out there.

Two years after its release State of Decay is still a strong and unique game. Surviving together and help everybody out is a great thing to do, which is why we love the Breakdown and Lifeline modes. Unfortunately the technical issues are still part of the game, which should not be the case on a powerful console like Xbox One.

State Of Decay's incredible value almost makes up for its technical shortcomings.

Technical things aside, this is one rather impressive game when you get to the bottom of it. Zombie fans both in action and in strategy will find a decent time here. Just remember, the camera will fight you, and some glitches will pop up, but if you can make it through that, it is one unique zombie game.

Do to its popularity, Microsoft decided to bring one of their famous zombi games called State of Decay to the Xbox One. Besides the new improvements in terms of resolution and frame rate, this version of the game is more like an eye candy because still continues with the same flaws we saw a couple of year ago.

Technical issues apart (inherited from the original version), State Of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition is a solid product and one of the best survival-open world games available now.

This is hardly a remaster, but newcomers who want a fresh take on zombie fighting should consider it.

State of Decay is one of the best survival games we've played lately, and if you haven't played it yet, you definitely should. Still, even though the tweaks and the new content is appreciated, we think this version should have pushed further the Xbox One possibilities.

Although it's chock full of zombie-based content, State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition hasn't come to Xbox One and PC without many of its original flaws in tow. If you can overlook technical issues, such as frame rate lag and glitchy animations, then there's a solid game to be found here. It's tough to wholeheartedly recommend, though, because there was ample time to iron out at least some of these glaring kinks.

With a little more elbow grease and a lot more consideration for the hardware at hand, State of Decay: Survival Edition could've found a strong second life on the Xbox One. Instead, it feels like it was rushed in several corners, and despite its stacked content, it doesn't quite live up to its potential.

This remastered edition doesn't solve the main issues with the main game. It's still an engaging, different and fun survival experience, but you won't find anything worthy of the title "remastered" here.

State of Decay could be the ultimate zombie experience and in some ways it actually is. Unfortunately a ton of of technical issues and game-breaking bugs hampers the experience a great deal. It is a shame that the developer did not even try to fix the shortcomings that the Xbox 360 version suffered from.

It's rough around the edges, but it's an intense and even emotional experience, and still one of the better examples of a zombie survival game.

Like a zombie with all its fingers cut off, State of Decay’s reach often exceeds its grasp. Despite this, it feels like a game people should play, if only for the creeping moments of brilliance.

State of Decay’s visual presentation is the most dated that we’ve seen on the Xbox One. Calling this a remaster seems a little disingenuous, as there are so many glaring issues that constantly take away from the experience and overshadow the interesting gameplay ideas.

State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition is the ultimate mixed bag of mixed bags. A fantastic value proposition for fans of the admittedly somewhat buggy original, the package will provide stacks of playing time if you become hooked. The problem is that you may not get the chance, since this apparently "remastered" edition of the game doesn't seem to have had any real work done to it outside of the visuals, which remain incredibly sub-standard in terms of performance.

State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition is still an interesting title. It's a shame that the new edition didn't eliminate some cumbersome issues.

Far from being the ultimate edition of the game, we end up with another case of nominative determinism. State of Decay, sadly, is a mess. It’s a mess with good intentions, perhaps, but the result is the equivalent of a wooden barricade infested with dry rot – it seems like it should hold up just fine, but ends up crumbling under the slightest pressure.

On paper it sounds like the ultimate zombie game, but a year later and the technical issues are still as decayed and broken as the undead enemies.