The 6 best zombie games of all time

The zombie genre started all the way back in the 1980s with Entombed (1982) and Zombie Zombie (1984). Nowadays, the genre has a few prominent titles, but not every game has hit the mark. However, these six zombie games checked all the boxes and are always worth adding to your library.

6 Project Zomboid

An isometric survival sim

Project Zomboid takes an isometric Sims-based approach to the zombie survival genre. The rustic graphics make the game look inviting, but it's far from easy to survive. Project Zomboid is an incredibly difficult survival sandbox game where you’ll have to constantly manage your players' hunger, fatigue, temperature, and stress levels, all while scavenging for supplies across a Midwestern-style map.

A permadeath system accompanies the game’s harsh survival mechanics. This means that every time you die, all your character progression is lost, but you can retrieve your items if you return to where you died. Players can improve their character skills by reading books and practicing, which will let you build bases, farm food, fix cars, and fight zombies. The game has been in early access for over a decade, but it's a great game for anyone who loves zombie games.

5 State of Decay 2

Rebuild settlements across America

State of Decay is a zombie survival sandbox game that focuses more on keeping a community of survivors alive, rather than just a single protagonist. When you start the game, you will start with two or three survivors. Your job is simple: scavenge loot, secure the area around your settlement, and scout out locations for a safe zone. The game doesn't have a traditional base-building system, which is a shame, but you do get slots where you can build certain amenities by bringing the required resources and waiting the required time.

The bigger the location you choose for your base, the more amenities and outposts you can create. As you play, you will switch between your survivors, improving their skills as you use them. You will find more survivors as you explore, and if you lose one of them to zombies, it's permanent. Making humans one of the hardest resources to keep.

4 Resident Evil 2 Remake

A remake of a classic horror game

The original Resident Evil 2 is considered to be one of the most iconic horror games of the late 1990s. The 2019 remake does not disappoint, reimagining the original game with a much-needed graphics overhaul. The remake stays true to the original while improving the gameplay and camera controls.

In Resident Evil 2, you play a young Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield when she was still a student. Both are heading into Raccoon City just as the zombie outbreak occurs. Fighting through waves of zombies and uncovering clues along the way, the two try to uncover what has happened to the town and work together to save its people.

3 The Last of Us Part II

One of the most impactful games of the 21st century

Both The Last of Us Part I and The Last of Us Part II deserve a mention here, as you need to play both to understand the full story. The Last of Us follows Joel and Ellie as they attempt to survive a post-apocalyptic America after the Cordyceps Virus outbreak. The two will travel together as they survive zombie attacks and raiders, and traverse a destroyed United States.

The first game is a more linear story-based game, whereas the sequel has more open-world elements and a more intricate resource management system. Both titles have some of the best storylines in all of gaming and are a must for anyone who hasn't experienced them yet. Both The Last of Us Part I and The Last of Us Part II have remastered versions of their games, so it is always recommended to pick those up if you are looking.

2 Dead Island 2

Wacky combat and stunning visuals

The Dead Island franchise originally came out in the early 2010s. It combined the gameplay of the Left 4 Dead series with the combat from the Dead Rising series, meaning that it was an instant success with gamers and had fans begging for more. After Dead Island's success, the studio quickly followed it up with Dead Island: Riptide, which improved on the combat system. Only one year later, Dead Island 2 dropped a reveal trailer. And then… nothing.

Dead Island 2 would be passed down through two separate studios and endure another 10 years of development hell before finally releasing in 2024. And while many thought it would be a failure, it actually turned out to be a great game. The sun-drenched Californian setting looks gorgeous. The gameplay and story are both fun and hilarious, and the combat is wacky but not over the top. If you want a zombie game with less horror and more humor, then Dead Island 2 is the game for you.

1 Dying Light: The Beast

Parkour meets zombie survival

You can't have a zombie list without paying tribute to the greatest zombie franchise ever created, Dying Light. Dying Light is a first-person zombie survival game with parkour mechanics and DIY weapons. Techland released the first Dying Light in 2015 to critical acclaim, then followed it up with Dying Light: The Following, which added drivable vehicles, and then Dying Light 2, which focused on a new protagonist in a new city with different factions and settlements.

Dying Light: The Beast picks up after the first game's protagonist, fan-favorite, Kyle Crane. In this upcoming game, you will have all the combat and traversal mechanics of the previous games, with the inclusion of zombie-based powers after Kyle was experimented on with the zombie virus.

There's an outbreak of great zombie games on Steam

These six games are all different flavors of the zombie survival genre. So, naturally, fans are divided on which game is truly the best. But if you're a true zombie fan, there is a little bit of everything here.