If you know the British Isles as well as I do, you’ll know that the fine city of Birmingham doesn’t exactly scream ‘potential videogame location.’ But what about if you take things back to the 14th century? And fill it with zombies. Now it’s got a chance. That’s exactly what God Save Birmingham is looking to do, and after watching around eight minutes of new gameplay footage, it’s just shot to the top of my ‘most anticipated zombie games’ list.
Now, I’ll admit that I usually prefer my zombie games to be co-op affairs that are full of massive, dynamic hordes and ludicrous weapons. Call of Duty Zombies. Dead Island 2. You know the vibe. For that reason, the likes of Killing Floor 3 and the concerningly silent John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando have been way up on my list of upcoming PC games that I’m looking forward to. However, I think God Save Birmingham just surpassed them.
This isn’t some co-op horde blaster where you can smack shamblers with an electrified baseball bat or suck zombies up into a portable jet turbine. I’ve seen snippets of gameplay before, but looking at the new extended trailer posted by IGN, it actually comes across as very The Last of Us-y with its third-person sneaking and meaty takedown animations. I doubt the narrative juice will be quite as potent in God Saves Birmingham, but when it comes to taking down zombs, it’s definitely got that TLOU flavor.
There’s also a big focus on using and reacting to the environment around you. Furniture can be moved to block doorways. Ladders can be repurposed as bridges for crossing gaps. Standing on chairs can help you jump up to ledges that would typically be too high. Everything (including you and the zombies) has realistic and reactive physics, and looks like a really fun sandbox.
The new trailer also shows just how deep its survival game mechanics go. Meters for hunger, thirst, fatigue, and panic can be seen. Trying to replenish these with items in your inventory will require real-time actions and menu scanning – there’s no pausing the action and instantly eating a loaf of bread here. Falling from a height inflicts a leg injury, which then hampers your movement speed. Objects can be disassembled for raw materials. There’s a proper cooking system too.
I think it all looks marvelous, and the medieval setting feels like a novel one for a zombie survival experience. God Save Birmingham is currently without a release date, but an early access launch is on the cards for it.
Be sure to check out our list of the best medieval games if, like me, you’re loving ye olde vibes of God Save Birmingham. Our upcoming PC games list is also on hand to show you what else is on the way in the near and distant future.
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