| Platform | Nintendo Switch |
| Release Date | 2/16/23 |
| Cost | $4.99 |
| Publisher | Midnight Works |
| ESRB Rating | E10+ |
Z World Zombie Death War: Survival Platformer Game Left Killer Box 2023 is a game that stung, but not because it was completely awful. It stung because this was a game that was delightful in the first level. Then you get to level two and it all falls apart. The game is an interesting idea, a beat-em-up zombie survival game. The game plays like a beat-em-up, where you can beat up or just shoot the zombies, but it’s often better to just rush and dodge them. So for the first level of Z World, you’re basically running, dodging, and shooting pesky zombies in the head. It’s great. I thought, “I might give this a Recommend.”
Then you get to level 2 of Z World, which introduces platforming by jumping with the X button, but you’re stuck in a side 2D view and jumping in 3D. That’s right, you have to jump towards you or away from you, and you have to be lined up to make the jump! You can’t face the boxes because the game is a beat-em-up system. Up and Down just move you up and down the play field, sideways. Not to mention there are boards you have to cross which require you to align yourself. There are also jumps where you have to leap over gaps in a board which is hanging over a deadly abyss. All the while, zombies are after you. What’s more, the zombies can hit you, but you can’t hit them back because you’re not lined up correctly due to the boxes. Oh, and there are no shadows.
Did Midnight Works play-test level 2 of Z World Zombie Death War? Did anyone on the development team ask if 3D platforming in 2D planes was a good idea? If this is level 2, I can’t imagine the horrors of level 3, or 4. The game will get a Not Recommended from me, because level 2 is so horribly designed, it completely negates the fun of level one. Midnight Works tried with Z World, they really did. However, sometimes, trying hard just isn’t good enough if a broken product is the final outcome.
Overall: Midnight Works tried hard with Z World Zombie Death War, but an awful design decision in level 2 negates any fun to be had.
Verdict: Not Recommended
