ZombiU Disappoints Reviewers (Which Disappoints Devs)

There are plenty of good zombie games out there.  Choosing a zombie game to show off the WiiU’s technical capabilities seems like it was a strange choice given Nintendo’s usual target demographic, but the trailers and demos given out prior to the game’s release made it clear that it was actually very well suited as a tech demo.

The Bad News

Unfortunately, the early reactions to the game seem to be that a tech demo is the main thing the game is good for.  The game, in a strange twist for the modern audience, seems to place significantly more emphasis on the survival horror aspects of the gameplay than was expected, with ammunition being scarce and the vaunted real-time inventory management system not giving a chance to pause to juggle your items while zombies close in.

Both Game Informer and Gamespot harshly critique the game on its negative aspects, including a bland levels, poor quest tracking system, and the overly-gimicky approach that people honestly should expect by now with Nintendo’s tech-demo game for a new system.

The Sad News

What makes the story continue past that point is the response to these harsh criticisms from ZombiU producer Guillaume Brunier.

“We were really disappointed with the early US reviews,” he told Nintendo Life. “We are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the experience we created but we did not expect so harsh a feedback.

Many of the negative reviews have definite points to them, and it’s easy to see where they are coming from with their disappointment, but it is also worth noting that reviews have been largely average, with some being extremely positive.  The game seems to be tailored to specific tastes, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.  This is just a good example of where early impressions can leave an impact.

Brunier continued on to say

… as more and more journalists and gamers played the game, these opinions proved to be a minority. So right now we’re rather pleased with the overall reception of the game.”

I, for one, am still interested to try the game for myself.

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