Features We Want To See In State Of Decay 3
Originally launched for Xbox Live Arcade back in 2013 (and later for PC and Xbox One), the first "State of Decay" game was somewhat of a sleeper hit. Despite being a smaller scale indie title released in the thick of what can only be described as a zombie apocalypse craze, "State of Decay" did extremely well both in terms of sales and critical reception, with particular praise going towards the game's focus on survival elements as opposed to just mindless zombie-killing action. This success allowed developer Undead Labs to create a sequel, "State of Decay 2," which was also a financial success despite not being as popular with critics.
Thanks to the announcement of "State of Decay 3" in 2020, fans are surely champing at the bit to see what's next for the cult favorite franchise. However, since the reveal, very little information has surfaced regarding how it will build upon the impressive foundation established by Undead Labs. This has left players to speculate about what they would like to see in the next entry. Here are some of the gameplay features that could help "State of Decay 3" be a worthy successor to the previous entries and improve the existing formula.
Dynamic weather
Despite the quality of "State of Decay 2," it suffers from a sense of sameness. While surviving an open-world sandbox riddled with zombies is a fun experience on its own, endlessly killing enemies and exploring gets old quickly without elements to vary each encounter from the other. Adding dynamic weather could help mitigate some of this issue.
Outside of the day-night cycle in "State of Decay 2," no variance exists when it comes to weather. As suggested by Redditor Crumb333, dynamic weather elements could greatly add to the "State of Decay" experience. Crumb also suggested having zombies behave differently during these weather changes, adding more to the presentation and gameplay. In response, user DUUDEwith2us expanded upon these ideas, saying elements like fog, heat, and rain could all play a vital role in determining which zombies spawn and how effective players are at escaping them.
Improved co-op mode
A post-apocalyptic world overrun with hostile undead sentries is a lonely existence. Even if players have the ability to recruit AI-generated allies to their settlements, games like this may be best experienced in the company of your closest buddies. "State of Decay 2" allows you to play with up to three friends through its co-op campaign, but the option lacks in many core areas.
First, players can't be part of one cohesive settlement. Instead, "State of Decay 2" co-op only allows them to join their friends' games with their own settlements. On top of that, players are unable to share loot with one another or really engage outside of teaming up to kill enemies. On Reddit, u/dwengs pointed out this issue. "Co-op in this game is like you are playing an MMO and someone comes to you and [is] just helping you to shoot and loot [the] next few hours. That's it," they said. Other criticisms towards co-op involved tethering, which prevents companion players from venturing too far from the host.
To make co-op stronger in "State of Decay 3," the developers should focus on making it more, well, co-operative. Instead of feeling like you're simply being aided by another player, the option should exist to make a full-blown co-op save in which two or more player-controlled characters have equal influence over the world and can truly survive together.
Better base building
One of the more immersive gameplay elements in "State of Decay 2" is the ability to cultivate a base that you and the other survivors can call home. This is pretty much the core feature of the series. Even though base building is essentially the be-all end-all of the games, it doesn't offer players as much freedom as some would hope.
In "State of Decay 2," bases are limited to pre-existing structures — players can't build their bases where they would prefer to do so. Noting this, Redditor u/FederickNielsen suggested a system similar to the one seen in "Fallout 4" where players can construct their bases from scratch in whatever area they please. This mechanic could benefit "State of Decay 3" by making it an even more immersive experience and giving the player an unlimited amount of freedom when it comes to how they survive in a post-apocalyptic world.