Operation: Outbreak

FPS zombie game is something that has already been done many times in many ways. No wonder that this time it was done as a student project. And this is okay. Sadly, during the 20 minutes needed to finish this game, you will have a chance to encounter many bugs that are not supposed to appear even in a student project. Main menu glitching, model from intro cutscene not loading, fps counter multiplying whenever you open escape menu, HUD (or parts of it) randomly disappearing from the screen. Add to it the mess in the keybindings menu (static one where some keys are assigned as N/A for whatever reason; also, the keybind for healing is not shown) and the only achievement not working properly, and you will get why this review is posted as negative.

Ta wena la demo

no pude obtener el logro :C pero es buen comienzo para el juego

☀️

Operation: Outbreak is a really short zombie game, but I think it does a good job of making the most of what it has. I wake up after my squad vehicle gets destroyed during a patrol, and I am left on my own in a city that has been overrun by zombies. The goal is simple, I need to reach the extraction point and stay alive. There is not much story to get through, but I liked having a clear objective from the start instead of spending ages waiting for the game to get going. The shooting is probably the strongest part for me. I start with a pistol and ammunition is limited, so I cannot just run around firing at everything I see. The zombies are fast enough to make getting surrounded a real problem, and there are moments where I would rather keep moving than waste bullets. Healing items and night vision are also limited, which gives the darker areas a bit more tension. I liked that the game makes me think about resources even though the whole thing is over pretty quickly. The city itself looks good for a small free game. The abandoned streets, damaged buildings and underground tunnels give it a decent survival horror atmosphere. I especially liked the darker tunnel sections because they make it harder to see what is coming and force me to pay more attention. The final section across the zombie filled bridge is also a good way to finish things because it gives the short game a proper final push rather than simply ending after another room. The Unreal Engine 5 visuals help quite a lot too. The environments have some nice lighting and the game generally looks more serious than I expected from something made on such a small scale. The developer has also improved the game since release with better weapon models, recoil, zombie visuals, sound design, night vision and enemy behaviour. Controller support was added as well, so the game feels more complete now than it did at launch. The biggest problem is still the length. The main experience is only around 10 to 20 minutes, so I barely have time to get settled before I am already heading towards the ending. I actually think the short length stops the game from becoming repetitive, but it also leaves me wanting more. I would have liked another area, more enemy variety and a few more situations where I had to make difficult decisions with my supplies. There are also some rough edges with the movement and presentation that remind me this started as a solo student project made in only a few weeks. Even with that, I think Operation: Outbreak is worth checking out. It is free, it gets into the action quickly and the atmosphere is good enough that I would have happily played a much longer version of it. The combat is simple but works, the limited resources give the shooting some tension and the environments look surprisingly decent. I just wish there was more of it because the basic idea has enough potential for a proper short campaign. As it stands, I see it as a quick horror experience that does what it sets out to do without wasting my time. Rating: 7.9/10

Meh

Yes it's short. Yes the same story has been told 1000 times before. But it's also damn fine and deserves to have a long story version.