Zombie Army 4: Dead War continues proud tradition of decimating hordes of undead Nazis

Joining up with friends to take on unending hordes of Nazi zombies is as much fun as ever in the latest addition to the genre.

What do you get when you combine zombies, Nazis and a horde shooting game with a dash of ’80s horror film? A good time in the form of Zombie Army 4: Dead War, it turns out.

Developed and published by Rebellion for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the game is a spin-off of the developer’s Sniper Elite games and even has its protagonist, Karl Fairburne, as one of the four playable characters.

The plot is right out of a 1980s straight-to-VHS horror film: With the Allies closing in on Berlin in 1945, Hitler turns to occult magic to raise armies of dead soldiers and unleashes the zombie apocalypse in the process.

There are four playable characters in the game, meaning you and up to three friends can team up to fight undead Nazis.

Despite having narrowly won the war against the undead, leaving the last pockets of humanity fortified in bases around the world, the zombies have risen again and the resistance’s Alpha Squad – of which you and up to three friends are members – find themselves facing off against hordes of the undead once more.

From a gameplay perspective Zombie Army 4: Dead War is a co-op horde shooter, sharing a lot of mechanics with both Sniper Elite and Strange Brigade.

Each section of the game begins in a safe house where you equip your weapons and items, with a range of WWII guns in the armoury. You can decide whether you want to go for distance engagement or get up close and personal; I found the combination of Mosin-Nagant M91/30 PU sniper rifle, Winchester Model 1897 trench gun and Webley Mark VI revolver worked very satisfyingly across a lot of scenarios.

Playing with friends makes for some interesting experiences, and also means you've got someone watching your back too.

The zombies themselves are modelled much the same as in the Sniper Elite games; hitting them in particular areas can trigger a slow-motion X-ray killcam which never gets old and is a neat way to show off to your friends, too.

Putting a zombie down isn’t just a matter of mag-dumping an MP-40 into them either; if you take a zombie’s legs off it will keep crawling along the ground trying to get you, until you finish it off.

Fighting zombie Nazis is something straight out of an 80s VHS horror film, and the developers have embraced that aesthetic with great results.

There are several chapters in the game made up of various stages, all with their own design, optional challenges, and ways to make the undead become re-dead.

The controls will be instantly familiar to anyone who has played similar games and I didn’t have any issues getting the hang of them – they’re all pretty standard by now anyway.

The levels themselves are very well designed too, with plenty of places to set traps, open areas for longer-range work, and lots of glowing red barrels and crates which are the universal symbol for “shoot me and I will explode” scattered everywhere, along with some neat environmental traps to activate too.

In true zombie fiction style, a 12ga shotgun blast to the head is a sure-fire way to send the undead packing.

There’s quite a lot of attention to detail in the levels too – the developers know most people are simply going to be blasting their way through the levels leaving a trail of spent brass casings and dead zombies in their wake – but for people willing to indulge in a spot of post-apocalyptic sightseeing, there is some clever environmental storytelling here, along with some neat collectibles.

I particularly liked the Nazi Zombie War-themed War Picture Library comics.

Continuing the ’80s VHS horror movie theme, the sound in the game is well complemented with synthesiser effects and other touches designed to evoke a direct-to-video feel, and they really add a great atmospheric touch to the proceedings.

The developers have done a superb job of walking the line between making a game that knows when to play to the genre and when not to take itself too seriously – for example, in a level set in Venice, one of the traps you can activate will cause a zombie shark to leap out of a canal and munch upon any nearby zombies.

Things get pretty chaotic in the game – and you'll almost always be outnumbered by the undead.

It’s not just about the campaign, either – there’s a very enjoyable and brutal Horde Mode, pitting you (and your friends) against waves of increasingly dangerous and deadly enemies. Things get pretty frantic, messy and chaotic there, but it’s a lot of fun and provides for some great “Did you see that?!” moments when playing with friends, too.

I encountered a few issues in the PlayStation 4 version I reviewed, including some areas occasionally not unlocking after defeating nearby enemies, and some of the dialogue referencing an entire squad even when you were on your own.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed Zombie Army 4: Dead War. It knows what it is, and it wants you to have a good time, pausing between administering a swift crack to an undead jaw to wink knowingly at the player too.

It’s a dead man’s party – and who could ask for more? If you like zombie games, this is a must-play.