Overview – developed by Aeonsparx Interactive and published by Astrolabe Games, Zombie Soup is a twin stick shooter with a top-down/isometric perspective. As the unlikely hero Ricky, battle your way through the zombie hordes that infest a mysterious town, helping the people trapped there. This title is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and PC platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Astrolabe Games for providing the copy of Zombie Soup used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has no influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts an opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please note that I will only be discussing the core features of this title, this is to prevent spoiling the gameplay experience.
Story – while on a graduation trip, Ricky winds up in a mysterious town and encounters a girl named Ashley. After following her to try and learn more about her, he finds himself in an unexpected situation, the town is infested with monsters and zombies. Now he must find a way to rescue the girl, the rest of the survivors and find out the secrets that the talking head MC Skully is hiding during this bizarre adventure.
Gameplay – this title is a twin stick shooter, where the player takes the role of the hero Ricky. As Ricky navigate the various locations of the town, fighting monsters and completing quests. During the opening stretch, the game will teach players all of the basics, with a fairly in-depth tutorial that eases players into the experience. After this, the game will start proper and throw players into the chaos of the zombie outbreak.
The core of the gameplay loop is broken down into several distinct mechanics. The first is exploration, where the player moves around the different settings of the town, with the first big area being Henry’s bar. This location is the perfect introduction for players to get into the experience, as new elements will be added gradually over time. The town is a dangerous place, with hazards and monsters throughout.
While navigating the bar (and other locations), the player will move between the different zones that are separated into floors. Each floor will often have multiple rooms to explore, with the risk of zombies spawning when they are first entered. However, the zombies aren’t the only thing that poses a risk to the player during their quest. There will also be monsters that can cause negative effects on the player, like slowing and poison.
To battle the hordes of the undead, the player has access to four types of weapon. The first is the primary, this type of weapon has unlimited ammo and is broken into different classes. The player starts with a pistol, with the ability to unlock different classes and upgraded weapons over time. Then there are the special weapons, which are dropped by killing zombies. These range from a nail gun and baseball launcher, to a lightning blaster and flame thrower.
Alongside the ballistic arsenal, there are also complimentary weapons that the player has access to. There are melee weapons that players can use to knock enemies back, with the potential to stun them when charged up. Then we have the grenades, which have a maximum number of 10, but more can be collected. The player can also use a dodge roll to avoid attacks from enemies, but be careful as this and the melee weapon uses stamina.
There will also be hazards that the player will need to navigate, including spikes and pitfalls. These elements introduce puzzle solving mechanics that players will need to overcome. To bypass pitfalls, players will need to move boxes and push them into the holes to cross them. Then there are the spikes, which can be avoided by the player using their dodge roll. All of these hazards pose a deadly risk to the player, so caution must be exercised when exploring.
At set points in the game, the player will encounter boss enemies that will pose a severe risk to the player. These bosses will block the progress of the player, keeping them from moving on until they are defeated. There will be many bosses for the player to fight, with some of them having extremely powerful attacks, which have the potential to wipe out the player. The bosses won’t be the only thing that the player needs to get past to progress though.
Throughout the game, there will be missions that the player will need to complete to make it through the adventure. These missions will range from finding a person, to wiping out waves of enemies that attack. These missions, along with the bosses will unlock doors for the player to get further in their quest to save the girl. There will be a marker on screen, for players to keep track of their objectives in each of the missions.
Scattered throughout the town are collectibles to find, with several in each of the chapters. There will also be challenges for players to take on, with a variety of objectives, like using a specific weapon or kill a set amount of enemies. These missions will provide new weapons for the player to purchase, using credits that have been earned from battling the zombies. Speaking of weapons, there is a system in place to improve firepower.
At set points in the town and buildings, there will be refrigerators that the player can access and have several features to use. These are Save to record progress, travel to warp between fridges, rest to recover lost health and the most important feature, Loadout. By using the loadout feature of the fridges, the player can change their weapons up. The weapons are separated by class, with options for each type, along with special skills that can power up the player.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as this is a top down shooter, there is a twin stick system for moving the player and aiming weapons. This works quite well, but can be a little awkward with the Joy-Cons, due to the reduced travel of the sticks. The weapons and attacks are laid out well, using the triggers/shoulders for attacks effectively. The extra functions tied to the face and D-pad are easy to use, with the overall layout being fairly comfortable to play the game.
Difficulty – this can be quite a tough game, with no options in terms of difficulty adjustment, which can be a frustration at times. This is most prevalent during the big boss battles, as these enemies can wipe the player out in just a few seconds, with some having instant kill attacks. In an attempt to compensate for this, there is a system for auto fire and auto aim, but this sadly doesn’t reduce the brutal difficulty of boss encounters in this release.
Presentation – the visual style of this title has an exaggerated look to it, with the characters having big heads in proportion to a smaller body. This is contrasted by the intentionally ugly monsters and vibrant colors. The cutscenes are well animated and tell the story of the game well, with voiced dialogue that has a bit of a B-Movie feel to it that enhances the game. The music used for the game compliments the visuals and setting well, making for a cohesive overall presentation.
Final Thoughts – I very much enjoy the twin stick shooter genre, which made me excited to get to grips with this title. I can say that I was pleasantly surprised with the overall package, as I very much enjoyed the way that the story plays out and the pacing of the gameplay. There are moments of chaos with enemies swarming the player, which is frantic and a lot of fun to take part in, with the cutscenes giving the game a B-Movie feel to it.
I can recommend this title to players who enjoy tough top down shooters, but I don’t think it will be for everyone due to the punishing difficulty. This game is extremely challenging, with brutally difficult boss battles that can annihilate the player if they are not prepared. There is a level of frustration that can be caused with this level of challenge, as players may want to give up if they constantly get killed.
In the end, I give Zombie Soup a final score of 4/5. This is an entertaining and challenging top down shooter, featuring ludicrous monsters to fight, a variety of crazy weapons to use and a wild story with all the hallmarks of 80s/90s low budget zombie flicks. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Steam version (HERE)
Link to Epic version (HERE)
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