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Reviews

Zombie Cure Lab Early Access Impressions

When I first loaded up Zombie Cure Lab, I was hit with a wave of excitement mixed with a smidge of confusion. As someone who’s spent way too many hours hooked on city builder games, the fresh spin of curing rather than killing zombies seemed like a fun challenge. And trust me when I say, this game packs a unique punch. It doesn’t just recycle the old “shoot ’em up” approach—that’s too easy.

Instead, it serves up a brain-teasing platter of resource management, base fortification, and the twist we never knew we needed: turning zombies back into helpful humans. It’s like flipping the apocalyptic script on its rotting head!

Build, Plan, Repeat

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The hard part of any city builder is getting off the ground, and Zombie Cure Lab isn’t shy in testing your thinking cap right from the get-go. Here I was, laying out a base, trying to think fifteen steps ahead (without tripping over my own two feet). Good thing the first base comes pre-fenced—I got to sidestep a zombie’s hug on that crucial first night.

You run the show with a bunch of scientists. There’s no everyday Joe or Jane around here—just brainy folks who happen to be from Canada (but more on that later). Each scientist has needs, just like us. They gotta eat, sleep and, you guessed it, do science. So, it’s your job to create a kitchen to feed them, bedrooms for sleepy time, and a lab for brainy stuff. In fact, your whole base revolves around these guys doing their thing effectively.

Resource Gathering and Base Defense

Now, your lab needs a lot of stuff—wood, metal, food, you name it. The Resource Post is where your white-coat squad collects all this goodness. Then, you’ve got these creatures called Humbies. They’re like zombies who are halfway back to being friendlies. You go through stages of curing, each needing more resources, and eventually, you might just win this undead battle.

Of course, you’ve got to keep those brain-eaters off your lawn, so defense is crucial. We don’t do the whole “shoot to kill” here; we freeze them instead. That’s right, like zombie popsicles. This way, we can thaw them later for the curing magic.

The Waiting Game

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But hang on—I hit a bit of a snag. The game can be, well, slow. Even on triple speed, I felt like I was watching paint dry, waiting for wood to stack up so I could unlock the second phase of my super lab. The game needs a bit of a tune-up in the resource department. You need a mountain of stuff for upgrades, and early on, you might find yourself with not much to do but wait and watch.

Another wrinkle I found was trying to organize my scientists and Humbies effectively. Sometimes, I just wanted a faster, clearer way to tell them what to do. I mean, a game like RimWorld lets you flick a switch, and boom—jobs are sorted. Hopefully, the developers can polish this up during the early access stage of the game.

All right, no game’s perfect, especially not ones in early access. I ran into a few hiccups – workers taking an unauthorized break, bright colors in the menu messing with my sight. These things need a fix. Plus, I’d kill for a tint control to make it feel more my style, or help folks who struggle with bright colors.

Looking to the Horizon

Despite the rocky bits, I had a good time with Zombie Cure Lab. There’s potential here that I can’t overlook. If the developers stay on the ball, listen to feedback, and keep squashing those bugs, this game could shape up to be something special. I mean, the idea alone is gold—instead of ditching zombies, we get to bring them back. How cool is that?

It doesn’t hurt that the cartoon style is easy on the eyes, with enough goofiness to keep things light. The music and sounds hit the right notes too—they give off that fun, eerie vibe you want when you’re dealing with the undead.

Verdict

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So, should you try Zombie Cure Lab? If you get a kick out of city-building games and are curious to try something that twists the genre in a new direction, go for it. The game’s like getting a new puzzle with a picture you’ve never seen before—it’s challenging, intriguing, and sometimes downright maddening.

Zombie Cure Lab isn’t polished to a shine just yet; it’s got some bugs to squash and mechanics to smooth out. But beneath the issues is a game that’s eager to play by its own rules, in a genre that’s often too happy to stick to the script. Give it a whirl, keep an open mind, and who knows? You might just find your next apocalypse obsession.

The Breakdown

Pros:

  • Fresh take on the city builder genre
  • Dual focus on defense and resource management keeps gameplay lively
  • Turning zombies into helpers is just plain neat

Cons:

  • Can be grindy with current resource demands
  • Some bugs and interface issues need ironing out
  • Night scenes could use some visibility improvements

There you have it—it’s not every day you get to cure the undead. So, put on your lab coat and get to it. The zombies aren’t going to cure themselves (at least not until you build a lab that can do it)!

About the author

Tom Henry

I worked as a PM in video games, now I'm trying some new things.