So, what can I say about Yet Another Zombie Survivors? I'm honestly really divided on this one.
On one hand, I genuinely enjoyed the game, and I can see it having a lot of potential if the developers keep supporting and improving it (so far, they seem to care). On the other hand, this might genuinely be the first game where I've fallen asleep in the middle of a run... multiple times.
If that doesn't tell me I was getting bored, I don't know what does. XD
## The Pros
Let's start with the positives.
I think the game has a really nice soundtrack, the atmosphere is great, and I personally enjoyed the variety between the different maps. I especially liked how each map introduces its own environmental hazards.
The last two maps in particular felt considerably harder than the first two, which was a nice change of pace.
The bosses are also a great addition, especially the SUPER/MEGA bosses. Depending on your classes, stats and upgrades, some of them can be an absolute pain to kill, and I actually enjoyed having those bigger threats show up during runs.
I also really liked the different game modes such as Hardcore, Extermination and 1HIT. These were probably some of my favourite parts of the game because they feel closer to the challenge-based structure you see in other games from the genre, like Brotato.
The upgrade system is fairly linear, but I don't necessarily see that as a negative. Personally, I enjoy this kind of mastery skill-tree system, so constantly unlocking small permanent improvements gave me something to work towards.
The classes also feel different enough from each other, and I really like the synergy system between them. Combining certain characters can make specific abilities considerably stronger and gives you at least some incentive to experiment with different team compositions.
That being said... some classes definitely need balancing (Engineer, I'm looking at you). Engineer is basically the GOD CLASS of this game.
Graphically, the game also looks good. Despite the amount of chaos happening on screen, the overall visual readability is surprisingly solid most of the time.
## The Cons
As I mentioned before, class balance could definitely use some work. If you're struggling with a particular level, just pick Engineer and suddenly life becomes much easier. The class feels ridiculously strong compared to some of the others.
On the opposite side, I feel like Hunter and Mechanic could use some buffs. They were probably the weakest classes for me overall, although Hunter can still deal some really good damage with the right setup.
Pairing Hunter with Engineer for the electric synergy works really well, and Explosive Arrows can also deal some amazing damage.
I mentioned visual readability as a positive earlier, but there's still room for improvement. This becomes especially noticeable on the last two maps.
When explosions, enemies, projectiles and effects are covering the screen, some environmental hazards (toxic pools) become very difficult to see. I've taken a lot of damage simply because I couldn't distinguish them from everything else happening on screen.
My biggest problem, however, is the time-based game modes.
I personally prefer modes built around levels, waves or specific challenges rather than simply surviving for a fixed amount of time. Honestly, I think the time-based modes are the main reason I literally fell asleep during some runs.
Like... come on. You have around three modes (not even counting Hardcore) where you're basically expected to sit through 20–30 minute runs (that takes you 30/45mins actually).
Once your build is already established and you know you're probably going to win, those remaining minutes can become painfully repetitive.
The level 400 achievement was probably the worst example of this for me. It became incredibly grindy because I was only gaining around 3–4 levels per run. I eventually started playing Infinite Mode in all difficulties but the hardest part wasn't even the difficulty...
It was staying awake!!!
And yes, I only discovered that you could speed up the game AFTER completing all the challenges and reading a couple of reviews.
Pain.
Had I known about that option earlier, the grind probably would've been considerably less frustrating. It might even have allowed me to focus more on pushing the difficulty rather than simply waiting for runs to end.
## Difficulty & Replayability
This connects to another issue I had: after a certain point, the game becomes very repetitive and predictable.
Eventually, I started using a randomizer to choose my classes and would deliberately pick the first ability offered to me regardless of whether it made sense, simply because I wanted to introduce some randomness into my runs.
Even on the hardest difficulty, once you understand the game and have enough progression unlocked, it doesn't feel particularly difficult anymore.
And when you already know you're probably going to win, sitting through another 30-minute run becomes more of a test of patience than a test of skill.
I'd really like to see more game modes added in future updates, especially modes focused on different challenges rather than simply surviving for X amount of time.
I'd also love to see something done with the tag system. You can only equip four tags despite having so many different ones available.
Maybe there could even be a game mode that randomly chooses your classes and/or tags, forcing players to adapt and experiment with builds they normally wouldn't use. I think something like that could add a lot of replayability.
Despite all my criticism, I don't think Yet Another Zombie Survivors is a bad game.
Quite the opposite — I enjoyed my time with it overall, and I think there's a genuinely good game here with a lot of potential.
My biggest issue is that the game eventually stops challenging you enough to justify how long some of the runs are.
I'm definitely interested in seeing what the developers do with future updates. Hopefully they continue listening to the community, experimenting with new modes and improving the balance rather than abandoning the game.
Personally, I'd love to see the game move a little more towards level/wave-based progression similar to Brotato, with shorter but increasingly difficult encounters, rather than relying so heavily on time-based survival.
There's a really solid foundation here. It just needs more variety, better balancing and more ways to challenge players once they've progressed far enough.
I'll definitely come back for future updates and see where the game goes.
Good luck on your runs, fellow survivors!
