By Raul A
Try to remember back when you were a little kid, back when you were running around outside gripping a stick in the shape of a firearm, acting like you were in a zombie apocalypse ‘surviving’, in a way. Years later, you stumble upon a video game one night called DayZ. After reading about the game, you remember all of those childhood memories in seconds that feel like hours; so you decide to try out the game.
DayZ is a post-apocalyptic game which wakes you up in The Czech Republic. Everybody that was once around you has all turned due to an unknown virus, and fortunately your character is immune to the virus. This game aims for a more realistic approach however; as your character needs to eat, drink, stay warm or not be too warm, having to check on the amount of blood you have or your health. Your clothes can get damaged, but you can fix it with a sewing kit; You can get cuts from attacks from zombies but you can heal yourself with a bandage.
There is also wildlife around in the game. You can come across chickens or foxes randomly, pigs or cows, being able to hunt them if you are not able to find canned food around you. But you would have to then be able to skin and quarter the animal you’ve hunted, taking the raw meat and having to either find a house with a furnace nearby or make a fire out of sticks and bark. But be careful, as there are also predators such as wolves or bears.
The multiplayer aspect of the game is what makes it unique, separating DayZ from other solo-player zombie apocalypse games. If you come across a person, you just better hope that they’re friendly. In DayZ, you have the ability to take away other player’s progress and take their loot as well by disposing of them with a firearm your character found lying around. However it’s not always fighting. As you can team up with a person, being able to make new friends as you venture with them for hours. But beware, not everybody has pure intentions; You may run across somebody that may pose as a friendly but they can always turn against you while you’re not looking.
There are also many other aspects of the game that are unique and different from many games, One of these being the very different controls. These new controls may seem difficult for those who are new to the game, if there are a lot of aspects to a game there are going to be more controls. Some may find trouble attempting to do combat, or new players not being able to go through a tutorial before they play. Fortunately there are many quick videos and sources online you could stumble upon to help you with exactly what you need.
Many new players have all shared similar experiences. Having trouble with the controls while looking for food, getting attacked by zombies in the process. Once you learn the controls on the game, learning and going through self taught lessons your character experiences in the vast countryside of The Czech Republic; you should have no trouble surviving the dangerous apocalypse.