7 Days to Die

Nograts

Platinum Member
Dec 1, 2014
2,534
3
0
I didn't see a thread for this (I didn't look very hard), but I wanted to leave a review here if anyone was interested or looking to get into a new game.

7 Days to Die (7DTD) is an alpha game on steam that is a mix between Minecraft and a zombie survival game (left for dead, maybe dead island). It's surprisingly good for an alpha game! I'm currently on hiatus because I put 400 hours into it over the past few months, and waiting on updates. They update frequently and keep in touch with the community which is great for an alpha game.

Gameplay rundown: I haven't done much single player, but you start in a random generated world with only a few things: a can of chili, a mason jar of water, a torch, and a land claim block (protection from other players). You start out scavenging what you can to protect yourself: a stone axe out of grass roots, sticks, and stones found on the ground. You can pick cotton to make cloth to make basic clothes.

You have to balance food/hydration/stamina and of course, health.

Then there are the zombies. Right now there are 11(?) types of zombies, zombie dogs, mutated bees, and bears that will try to kill you. They are adding a few more zombie types in the 13 patch. The zombies walk during the day (0400-2159) and run at night time. You can sneak and such to try to avoid them, but if you are carrying animal meat, for example, they will search for you. If you make noise they will try to find you, and if you are somewhere with heat (from your candles, or torches, or campfire) they will try to break down doors to get to you. Every 7 days there is a horde of zombies that gets progressively harder every 7 days, but presumably your defenses will be better.

You can scavenge cities to find tool stores, gun stores, pharmacies, food stores, and book stores. The book stores contain books to teach you how to build advanced things such as the mini bike. The cities are obviously more dangerous than the wilderness, but you can take over a prefab house and improve it with reinforced concrete or wooden spikes or something, if you dare.

There is mining for resources in caves (Iron, coal, tungsten), chopping wood, farming, and building (a la Minecraft), but it's a bit more realistic. There are physics in the game, you won't find floating buildings.

Overall I give this game a 8.5/10, and that is just its alpha stage. I don't think it'll be a major blockbuster, but it's a very good game and you'll definitely get your moneys worth if you like the survival type of games, minecraft type of games, and especially if you find a good server that you like (PvP or PvE).



Graphics:

Pretty good. Not cutting-edge or anything, but more than acceptable by today's standards. They are continuing to update the physics and add more high res textures with each release as well.

Sound:

Great! It's been awhile I've been creeped out by a game. I got caught in the attic of a house at dusk and had to take refuge there. I sat with my club in the corner staring at the door of the attic, and I could hear the moans of the zombies outside....then I could hear foot steps inside the house once they broke down the door :eek:

Price: I think it was 30$ last I checked. Not bad, but wait for a steam sale if possible.


Definitely give it a chance if you have the spare time and change.
 

thestrangebrew1

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2011
3,430
382
126
I played this game pretty frequently about 6 mos or so with my brother and nephew on one of his servers he started. It was a blast. I played single player a bunch too but it creeped me out and stopped. I haven't played the game anytime recently. I may have to fire it up again to see what kind of changes they made.
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,806
46
91
could have sworn i made a post about it or posted in another post about it awhile back.


was ok back then. haven't played in a long time. 1 thing that pissed me off was that zombies would know exactly where you were at night and just come straight to you, even if you were in a fortified building. being able to damage the building and get in turned me off to it. also they added flying mutants bees which was retarded.
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
I've just been waiting for it to get out of alpha. Too many games in alpha and a backlog a mile long = no point in paying for alpha.
 

PrincessFrosty

Platinum Member
Feb 13, 2008
2,301
68
91
www.frostyhacks.blogspot.com
I like 7D2D, I backed the kickstarter and played it a whole bunch, but I would not describe the graphics as "pretty good" by standards 10 years ago, much less todays. It's an indy game with objectively terrible graphics. It's quite fun though although somewhat grindy.
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,494
15,729
136
Good summaries. I joined at alpha 7(?) the games visuals have improved but its not Crysis however it works for the game.
Its never going to be a triple A release but its fun and frequently on sale for $15. Its more fun with friends and you can build a zombie proof base after some time & effort. Once you have a ton of gear there isn't much to do but you can always start again.
You will die frequently at the beginning if that frustrates you avoid this game.
 

Nograts

Platinum Member
Dec 1, 2014
2,534
3
0
Agree with supporting alpha games, I've been burned on a bunch of them. This is one of the rare ones where even if it never leaves alpha stage I got about 400 hours out of it. Figured it was worth a post.
 

Elfear

Diamond Member
May 30, 2004
7,096
640
126
I wholeheartedly agree with the OP that this is a really fun game. I've been playing this exclusively for the past month and it's a nice blend of FPS, world-building, and strategy. I died a lot as I was first learning the game but I'm on day 30 now and so far so good. The graphics are dated and some of the animations are just plain terrible (e.g. running deer). Normally I'm a bit of a graphics snob so it speaks highly of the gameplay that I have so many hours into it.
 

PrincessFrosty

Platinum Member
Feb 13, 2008
2,301
68
91
www.frostyhacks.blogspot.com
A quick note, I kickstarted this game and we played it to death soon after availability and it was fun, but more noticably it's the longest running and supported kickstarter I've ever seen. It's had continued support for years and while I've not played recent versions I think that means a lot, I'd seriously consider checking out this game if you want a minecraft meets zombie game, coop play was fun as hell.
 

tarmc

Senior member
Mar 12, 2013
322
5
81
def is a lot of fun, itching to see a15 server is up the herp derp
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,494
15,729
136
I've recently found this mod

https://steamcommunity.com/app/251570/discussions/5/358415738179238526/

Simple to install just two folders need to be merged and it doesn't affect previously saved game, provided you remove the two folders and verify game cache in steam

The mod greatly restricts building
Spawns more zombies that are slightly faster during the day but run slower at night.
Zombies continually spawn, you need cover when looting
Found loot is much better
Almost no farming
Zombies do less damage to blocks so boarding up a house is a good strategy but the will surround it over time
Almost any headshot kills zombies but body hits won't kill them unless its an absurd amount, this makes spikes less useful

Not a long term type mod but plenty of going house to house looking for food & water.
Overall plenty of fun
 

wanderer27

Platinum Member
Aug 6, 2005
2,173
15
81
Newest video of A15 is out (video's ~23min):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i71ZkfzWG24&feature=youtu.be


MadMole shows off some of what the new Distant Terrain is looking like . . . real nice shot around 9:30 +.

Also some new Textures and POI's are shown, roads are looking really good.

MM address some issues they are working to eliminate . . . a lot of Devs would just leave as is.
Some serious polish going into this.


.
 

tarmc

Senior member
Mar 12, 2013
322
5
81
24.77.150.48 for current server, haven't seen much traffic on it so far. going pve for this one, just keep in mind, replant if you pick it :p
if I try out that mod ill post the ports and so on.
the new video does look pretty awesome the pois are great although the stadium does seem a little off
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,494
15,729
136
24.77.150.48 for current server, haven't seen much traffic on it so far. going pve for this one, just keep in mind, replant if you pick it :p
if I try out that mod ill post the ports and so on.
the new video does look pretty awesome the pois are great although the stadium does seem a little off

I'm talking the mod, my buddies & I are purely PvE

Thing I'm liking about a15 is longer view is nice but everyone getting a horde is huge. Hopefully they'll have a mac/OSX fix.