I’ve been keeping tabs on Project Zomboid since it first hit Early Access back in the day. That means I’ve been covering this zombie-riddled sandbox survival RPG for some 13-years, on and off. Doesn’t time fly, eh?
In that time, while the premise of the game has remained largely the same, Project Zomboid has undergone a huge transformation, and a big step on that journey landed today, in the form of Build 42.
It was Douglas Adams who said that 42 is the meaning of life, but The Indie Stone, the developers behind Project Zomboid, very much think the opposite. After all, their game is full of zombies who want to kill you, and their catchphrase is: “This is how you died”.
Anyway, I’m distracting myself… let’s talk about the game’s big glow-up, which represents a huge visual upgrade for Project Zomboid. I’ve been looking through the new screenshots, and it looks like a big improvement thanks to the new map details, buildings, and so on.
There’s a showcase video below that was released today, and it also shows the new build in more detail. It’s less than five minutes long, but it quickly establishes just how much detail has been added in the update. It’s night and day, in fact (and I’m not just referencing the improved lighting system there).
The new build includes much more than extra pixels. The whole place will now feel more “lived in, more natural, and more believable” via improved environmental storytelling and deeper lore drops.
The visual improvements will be supported by enhanced building and crafting systems, new animal husbandry mechanics, two new Challenge modes, a host of quality-of-life tweaks, and optimisations to existing systems.
There’s a second trailer (from a couple of days ago) available below. You can also head over to the game’s official site for a full overview of everything that has been added in Build 42, including the improved lighting, a bit about ragdoll physics, and more on the map expansion.
Hit the link and you’ll also find instructions on how to stay on Build 41 if you have unfinished business to attend to before updating.
Finally, I actually wrote about Project Zomboid recently, when I included it in my guide to the best indie games. Hit the link for even more high-quality indie recommendations!
