Run Away | Z-Run Review

The zombie craze has infected our media just like a zombie apocalypse. It seems like there’s a new game, movie, or TV show every week. While a lot of these mediums are quite enjoyable, there also comes a fair share of lackluster entries that start to drag down the zombie apocalypse fantasy, and Z-Run unfortunately finds itself in the latter’s company.

Z-Run places you in the role of a human running through the city trying to survive while kicking, dodging, and cracking as many zombie skulls as possible. You’ll constantly be running forward, so think of this game being somewhat like Bit Trip Runner, but with a 3rd person angle. When I first started the game, I actually was enjoying myself and had some optimism, even with the instantly noticeable murky graphics. Unfortunately, this optimism faded away as I began to play more of the game.

When navigating your player through the streets, it almost feels like you’re driving a boat. Whenever I wanted to turn, it took the game significant time to react to my button press, so I had to turn right or left well ahead of time to achieve where I wanted to go, but sometimes it’s hard to plan that when Z-Run throws obstacles in your face you can’t see.

The 3rd person camera makes it hard to react to incoming obstacles. Games like Bit Trip Runner utilize a sidescrolling view to give the player ample time to react to incoming enemies and obstacles, but by placing the camera behind the player, navigation is a mess, and often I felt like the game unfairly placed object in my way that seemed near impossible to miss without already memorizing the layout of the level.

Not only do you have to worry about navigating through zombies, cars, and random debris, but when you get physical with zombies and spill their blood, it’ll start to cover the Vita’s screen, and you’ll need to wipe the screen in order to see the screen. This doesn’t add any sort of fun nuance, and it’s one of the most frustrating aspects of the game. When you need to preemptively press buttons and have quick reactions, having to be a pair of human windshield wipers makes the game unfair, and it seems its only existence is to make use of the Vita’s touchscreen, but it’s entirely unnecessary.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Z-Run is the zombie’s inconsistent attack ranges. Zombies sometimes can’t touch you when you’re almost rubbing against them, while the same zombie will sometimes jump across half the screen and attack you. This inconsistency is unnervingly frustrating, and it quickly becomes a game of chance rather than a game of skill.

Z-Run is an okay idea executed poorly. Whatever redeemable value that is found with the concept is quickly stricken away by woeful controls, murky graphics, and inconsistent enemy attacks. The excitement of dodging zombies and surviving the apocalypse may seem like a fun fantasy, but Z-Run captures only the more likely despair.

This review is based on a review copy of the PlayStation Vita game Z-Run by Beatshapers.