Undead, not fun-dead: A brief history of the playable zombie in video games

The zombie has long been a staple of monster lore, yet its portrayal in video games has been largely unsatisfying. Often relegated to simple cannon fodder or comedic fodder, the zombie rarely gets to be the star of its own story. However, the new action game Stupid Never Dies attempts to change that by placing the player in the role of a zombie protagonist named Davy.

As Davy, players explore a multiverse to revive a girl he had a fleeting romantic encounter with and can transform into other monstrous forms like a Werewolf or Harpy. While the game's script is energetic, its gameplay suffers from an overwhelming number of ideas and upgrades, making the zombie experience feel less than authentic.

Comparatively, games like Valve's Left 4 Dead and From Software's Dark Souls have taken more steps towards putting players in the zombie mindset, but they still fall short of fully capturing the essence of being undead. One notable exception is Stubbs The Zombie In Rebel Without A Pulse from 2005, which puts the player in control of a zombie named Stubbs who shambles through a 1950s town, devouring inhabitants and turning them into zombies.

Stubbs' abilities rely on his undead nature, and his lack of constant quips and humor allows for a more authentic zombie experience.