7 Days to Die – PC 2Pack

The basic premise of the game is that it is set in the future, in an unnamed year, following a nuclear devastation that has, it is hinted, turned much of the population to vicious zombies, leaving only a few survivors trying to eke out a living in the Nevazgane Desert, in the American south west.

Nevazgane means ‘killer of monsters’ in Apache, and it is into the Nevazgane Desert that the player spawns, naked, alone and (presumably) afraid. The survival theme continues with the laws of physics applying to buildings which will fall down if not properly constructed and to tools and weapons which wear out or degrade over time, thus needing constant replenishment.

This all means that the character is constantly on the lookout for plants, tools and resources which can be found in nature – plants, minerals, building rocks – and in the ruined remnants of cities – tools, clothing and other resources, with which they can restore their inventory and keep on advancing through the game.

Multiplayer games are an option and you can choose whether to team up with buddies – or strangers – as a team for co-operative play, making your way through the hostile landscape and fending off the zombie hordes as a team, or you can play against other players in hostile games when you will have to husband your resources by yourself and try and fend off both zombies and other players at once or in tandem, depending on the difficulty level at which you are playing.