Zombie fans and gamers alike are finally, finally getting the long-awaited DayZ video game release on Xbox One, but is it too late? All signs point to yes, as early reactions indicate nobody is all that excited for this game anymore.
DayZ got a lot of gamers super excited. The game promised wide-open spaces and free reign in choice of gameplay. Will you team up with other players or undermine every living soul you come across? Will you camp out in one location or travel the map? The zombie survival game was supposed to go back to basics while revolutionizing video games as we know it … and it kind of did. DayZ has been the inspiration for several survival franchises including 7 Days to Die, Just Survive, and PlayerUnkown’s Battlegrounds. The game began as one of the first Early Access offerings but bugs, glitches, faulty servers, and years of delays have soured players on the franchise.
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The DayZ development team has revealed their intention to finally release the game later this year. The game does not yet have an official release date, but the dev team has promised an Xbox One release and plans to bring the game to PS4… eventually. Check out the dev team’s full tweet below:
Reddit reactions have been largely negative too. Many posters have mocked the game, pretending to have forgotten all about it. Others have claimed a steep drop off in gamer participation for the beta, mostly due to the broken mechanics and glitches. The game’s creator, Dean “Rocket” Hall, was brought up as an omen of doom, pointing out that he had left the game before development had completed. Though it was also mentioned that creators selling their franchises to bigger studios is not uncommon. A handful of posters seemed to be confused, having thought the game had morphed into PUBG long ago. (A fair assumption given PUBG‘s addition of zombies and its own glitchy Xbox One debut.) Some have warned players away completely. The biggest complaints have accused the developers of stealing beta players’ money while refusing to fix glitches and various issues with the game. Redditors accused the developers of doing exactly that when an Early Access version of the game was released for PC in 2013.
Curiously, many posts have applauded DayZ for its originality and for being “the best” in terms of its premise. Posters seem to believe the open world design and capacity to meet 60-100 various players on any given server is something gamers seem to believe has been unmatched in any of the following similar franchises. Despite this praise, posters aren’t holding out hope that DayZ will be worth a buy. Many posters are predicting the release will be “Dead on Arrival.”
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