Played On: PS Vita*
Available On: PS Vita
Released On: November 4th, 2014
Developer: Nosebleed Interactive
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Genres: Puzzle, Beat the Clock
ESRB: T – Teen
Modes: Singleplayer, Leaderboards
Distribution: Download

*Review copy was free with November PS Plus free games*

As part of the free PS Plus games for the month of November, Playstation gave us  a couple of interesting Indie games. Frankly, this choice really kept me busy because usually I don’t play 4-5 games at the same time.I know, the general opinion of a lot of people is “zombies are only a fad and will go out of style!”, but this game is something you might want to consider checking out. Take your zombie horde and let’s check out The Hungry Horde.

GAMEPLAY MECHANICS/MISSIONS

You take control of 2 zombies and recruit new ones to make your horde as big as possible. You must do this before time runs out, which ends the game with a big nuking of the city. Doing so, you will need help and the game provides a couple of ways to do so. First, you can split your horde in two by pushing you joysticks in opposite directions and then controlling them with each joystick. Second, you can collect brains to give you powers. These powers include: Stun, Shield, Grab and Dash. The shield power will create a force field around you horde making it impossible for projectiles to hit you. Hitting the grab button will make any humans, in close proximity, stop in their track and leave you time to go grab them, but be quick because it doesn’t last long. To use all these brain powers you must fill up the containers on the right of your screen. You can fill them as much as you want meaning, when you get one to the top, it puts a “x1” and so on.

The main mission of the game, making humans into zombies, is fun in itself. At first, the game is a bit weird when it comes to getting the feel of the controls. At the beginning, getting humans was hard, i only got around 20. Then, when I started understanding the controls a bit more, I got to about 150. I was able to do so by utilizing Dash and Grab a lot. The joystick controls them self are pretty easy-going. The thing you have to remember is that splitting your horde is an asset you must learn or  you won’t be able to do some of the puzzles. furthermore, the game gives you mini-games which give you time bonuses, sticker packs and more.

VISUALS

Visually speaking, the art is pleasant and resembles a lot like Minecraft. There is a good variety of characters, each have a human and zombie design which is pretty cool that they took the time to do that, nice little touch. Another interesting feature is the general city design. They look great and can also be seen in the main menu when you unlock it. The City itself changes everyday which they mention on the loading screens. I’ve personally seen 3 different but I played a lot of the game for 2 or 3 days. The only big problem that i encountered was major frame drops for whole play throughs which forced me to close the game completely and restart.

COLLECTABLES/CHALLENGES

The collectibles are a neat little feature. You collect stickers and put them in your sticker book. When seeing this for the first time, I felt like a kid again. These are collected by your performance in the mini-games and can also be obtained when you get a cetain amount of zombies. For the most part, I got them when reaching 100 zombies. These collectables also unlock the mini-games in the main menu and can be access at anytime. To do so, you must collect sets of stickers.

Hungry Horde also has a ton of challenges which are completed in-game. Some can be completed over all runs and some must be done in a single run. These include challenges like collect 15 street cones in a single run or destroy 250 destructive assets. They are quite challenging but when you get tire of only looking for humans, doing challenges is a good alternative.

MINI-GAMES

Mini-games are integrated to the main game or can be accessed through the main menu when unlocked. These games add time to you zombie run, can unlock sticker packs and more. They include games like Cryo Crisis and Pacifist Island. In Cryo Crisis, you must save your zombie friends from eternal sleep by helping them escape from there cryogenic chambers. You tap the zombies on the screen to release them, adding more time to the clock. Don’t tap on the skulls, this will end the game. In Pacifist Island on the other hand, you are on an island and must evade the attack of the army. You must evade the army men and collect coconuts to survive as long as you can. These game are pretty much all a blast to play and they do get challenging, but the rewards is quite appetizing.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Hungry Horde got me hooked from the start. Those little green zombies are entertaining to hear and to see them catch the fleeing humans. The in-game puzzles, collectibles and mini-games are really great features all on their own and just playing those is quite amusing. If you are looking for a quick pick-me-up, something to entertain yourself during a commute or just an all around fun game, this would be a great addition to anyone’s collection.

 

 

 

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