Zombie Army 4 review: Killing undead Nazis is as smooth as butter

Whether you are a fan of zombies games or a fan of Sniper Elite, you have had your eye on Zombie Army 4 and for a good reason. It holds up to the hype.

Developers: Rebellion Developments
Publishers: Rebellion Developments
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One (reviewed), Windows
Release Date: February 4, 2020

I think we can all agree that Nazis are bad. We can also agree that zombie games are awesome. When you combine the two, you get Zombie Army 4.

I have had my eye on Zombie Army 4 for a while now. While it isn’t necessary to play the Zombie Army Trilogy to understand this game, it certainly helps but it does provide a little synopsis at the beginning to remedy any plot holes. Zombie games have been really hit or miss in the last couple of years, so I had hesitant hopes for it but I loved the premise and I can never say no to a zombie game.

In this alternate WWII timeline, Zombie Army 4 continues after Hitler has risen his soldiers from the dead, rose from the dead himself and was tossed into Hell. A year later, humans still fight the good fight in the Dead War. There is occult magic, zombies that shoot guns, zombie sharks, blood magic and some of the smoothest sniping I have ever done. This silly branch off of the Sniper Elite series seems to have kept its silky smooth controls while appeasing the horror hounds in us all.

I haven’t played Sniper Elite or the Zombie Army Trilogy, so I jumped into this game as a new born babe, screaming and covered in blood. The first thing I noticed were the controls. The horizontal axis felt fine but the vertical axis moved wildly, so I had to knock that back a bit. After I adjusted the sensitivity, the controls were so good.

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No matter which operator you choose, you start with the same weapons and that includes a sniper rifle. The sniping is so satisfying and smooth that I never wanted to any other weapon. That isn’t to say that the other gun play isn’t as good because it was just a smooth, but the sniping was perfect. The cross hairs were so steady on their own, empty lung was rarely needed in my gameplay.

The graphics are pretty good and give it an almost comic book-like feel. I didn’t encounter any frame rate drops or glitches in my playthrough. I love the dingy and dirty color schemes which made the blood and viscera really stand out.

You are given the option of four free operations and (hello, microtransactions) two operators that are able to be purchased. Those aren’t the only things you can buy. Cosmetic and functional items are also up for sale, which was irritating to see first thing. The more you play, the more special abilities, guns and cosmetic items you can unlock, making the experience a little more custom.

One of the best parts of the game are the x-ray kill cams. Borrowing this from the Sniper Elite series, when you get a well-aimed kill, slow motion is initiated and you get to follow the bullet from the chamber to the zombie and see all of the bones, organs, and sinew get torn to bits. It’s gory and pretty satisfying to see them get taken down up close and so cinematic.

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