History VideoGame / ProjectZomboid

** All TVs in the game(with the exception of Antique TVs) have built in VHS players. This was likely done to reduce clutter as most households in the 90s with a TV would likely have a VHS player as well.

* CookingMechanics: It is possible to make a large variety of dishes from ingredients that you find/farm/trap/forage.

* GameGourmet:
** The game features a wide variety of food and drinks. In addition, the game features the ability to use various ingredients to cook a large variety of meals such as soups, stews, stir-fries, cakes, pies, sandwiches, burgers, tacos, sushi, fruit/vegetable salads, pancakes, muffins, onion rings, fried shrimp, pickled vegetables, omelettes, pasta, rice and more.
** Update 41.72 has added the ability to make onigiri, baguettes, biscuits, cookies, toast (including avocado toast), grilled cheese, pizza and sweet pies. It is now also possible to mix various drinks to make cocktails.
** Some mods take this even further by adding additional recipes such as baked potatoes, fries, corndogs, sundaes, waffles, sauerkraut, kimchi, lemonade, kvas, wine, moonshine, pickles, dried meats, fish and fruit. In fact, one of the most popular mods, ''Gourmet Revolution'', is dedicated entirely to expanding food variety, both in terms of ingredients and what sort of recipes you can get, adding ''massive'' variety to both and also offering new means to preserve food.

* BladeOnAStick: One of the most primal examples of the polearm, since Chipped Stone + Tree Branch = Wooden Spear. It's as frail as a handmade spear would be, but it boasts a high critical chance and excellent range. For a little extra damage, virtually any pointy tool can be [[MacGyvering affixed to the spear shaft as it's blade]].

* VaribleMix: Project Zomboid's music in Build 41.69 became dynamic with combat music swelling the more undead are on the screen, and there are future plans to make the music more dynamic in the future.

* HollywoodHealing: It is possible for the Survivor to make a full recovery from any injury or sickness that doesn't result in instant death or zombification.

* BlessedWithSuck: Starting with the obese character trait nets you a whopping 10 trait points, and in exchange makes your character slower, less fit and quicker to tire. However it crucially also sets your starting weight to 105 pounds, which means you'll take ''much'' longer to starve to death, giving you a wider window to ignore gathering food. Compared to the sister trait emasciated which starts the game with a ticking clock, obese is a favorite of hardcore players and challenge runners.

* NotQuiteDead: Update 41.73 has added the possibility of some zombies being "fake dead" meaning that zombies that have been killed by the Survivor can rise up from the dead once again as they progress through decay stages. This addition makes proper corpse disposal much more important than it was before.

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%%* IsometricProjection
* ItemCrafting: Used to make several items in the game, as well as upgrading existing ones.

* IsometricProjection

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Implied. Reading porno mags significantly reduces boredom and unhappiness. In addition, it is possible to find secret stashes of porno mags alongside tissues.

* NeverGetsFat: Zig-zagged. Just [[TruthInTelevision like in real life]] weight gain is determined not just by ''how much'' you eat but also by ''what'' you eat and then compounded by what are you ''doing'', too. Survivors who live off high calorie foodstuffs like junk food/sweets and regularly eat foods rich in fats and protein (e.g. peanut butter, etc.) will rapidly gain weight. However, Survivors on a low-calorie and/or vegan diet will have a hard time avoiding weight loss even if they eat untill they are completely full. Weight loss is also affected by various activities. Running and fighting hordes of zombies burns through calories faster than sedentary activities like reading skill books and sleeping.

* AbsurdlyIneffectiveBarricade: PlayedWith and might be either a case of your low skills.

** A single board in a window will draw more zombies than it can stop. Either board up properly or suffer the consequences.

* AbsurdlyIneffectiveBarricade: PlayedWith and might be either a case of SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome or simply your low skills.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: One of the main appeals of the game, especially in early development, was the amount of things that go with "real" consequences, rather than how it plays out in fiction:
** While most ZombieApocalypse games have the player character conveniently immune to the virus, this game has infection as a major mechanic. There's never an absolute cure for it, meaning it's present for the entirety of the game. You have a ''chance'' to avoid contracting the infection if you're just scratched or badly lacerated, but if you're ''bitten'' then it's a guarantee, and just a matter of time before you join the horde; there's even at least one mod that lets you deal with this, not by adding a cure (though there is one for that, too), but by adding an option to go out early [[AteHisGun while making sure you don't get back up]].
** If you try to break a window with your bare hands, instead of facing SoftGlass, it's possible that you'll badly gash your hands or arms, possibly to the point of needing tweezers to extract shards, on top of requiring bandages and rest. Likewise if you forget to ''remove'' the broken glass from the frame (which ''requires'' having something in your hands, unlike breaking) before jumping through, it's very likely you'll get injured in the process. It's ''unlikely'' you'll bleed to death or succumb to a normal infection unless you're very careless or have very few supplies, but the injury might let the shamblers catch up with you...
** Don't expect the amenities of modern society to be accessible to you forever, now that the society has, in many cases, literally died off. [[spoiler:In less than a month after starting, the electricity grid and (particularly devastatingly) water works will fail. You can still scavenge the last drops from sinks, toilets and bath tubs, but you'd better hope you stockpiled on plenty of receptacles, found a well, or built many rain collectors.]]
** No character can be a ZeroToHero, InstantExpert, OneManArmy. You are merely a regular person, trapped in a zombie apocalypse, with no way out, and trying to survive by any means necessary. And since there are so many things to be done to simply get by, there isn't much time, resources and even simple stamina to train or learn new things unless they're directly related to how you're keeping yourself alive. Furthermore, player experience itself can only partially solve your issues, rather than power through the in-game limitations with ease - your own experience in prior runs can only do so much if your character doesn't have the necessary skill to build what you need built or accurately hit zombies from further than a couple tiles. This is where multiplayer shines, as every player/character can specialize and work together; some people focus on combat skills for raiding, someone is the chef, someone else is the carpenter, and so on. These investments of time into skills and interdependence give you reasons to be careful, stick together, and keep each other alive.
** If you have no choice but to sleep on a chair, in a car, or especially on the ground, your character will rest very poorly and may wake up with neck or back pain.
** Speaking of sleeping, don't take too many sleeping pills. ''Especially'' don't drink whilst taking them, either!
** Surrounding yourself with rotting corpses will make you sick until you leave or clear them out. Ditto, if you smoke repeatedly.
** Running too quickly in areas littered with bodies or objects on the ground will make you trip and fall. Jumping over a fence and botching the landing will leave minor cuts that will add up. The same applies if you run through hedges too quickly. And if you are over-encumbered, jumping over fences is a guaranteed way of falling over, hurting yourself and even twisting your leg.
** Zombies can not just see and hear you, they can also ''smell'' you. Wearing dirty or bloody clothing is therefore a horrible idea and gives good hygiene a real use.
** Following on from above, being dirty or bloody greatly increases the chance of a wound getting infected. Doubly so for bandages; make sure you swap out those dirty bandages and keep them clean!
** Water from natural sources like lakes, rivers and rain is tainted and carries a high risk of making you sick, but can be purified by boiling it. Boiling water can also sterilize bandages to reduce the chances of wounds becoming infected.
** Eating large amounts of food allows for faster recovery from injuries, temporarily makes the player character stronger and can alleviate depression. The negative side-effect is that overeating can make the player character overweight or even obese which imposes hefty penalties on fitness.
** Being sleepy and exhausted makes the Survivor's attacks significantly less effective.
** The game keeps a very detailed track of the chance to hit when using firearms. It takes into account the weapon itself, your panic level, your potential tiredness and encumbrance, your individual Aiming skills and the matrix of distance-skill-weapon type. Then there's the fact that, unless your character starts with some rank in aim, the only way for them [[TaughtByExperience to improve is through experience]], without any tutor or guide to help them with proper techniques, resulting in loads of ATeamFiring.
* SurvivalistStash: The game can randomly apply "scenarios" to houses for some variety while you loot. You may find a corpse surrounded by [[DrowningMySorrows empty liquor bottles]], for example. Probably the most interesting is the Survivalist Stash, a house that may have some or all of the first-floor openings barricaded, possibly a greatly increased number of zombies inside and out, and its kitchen and bathroom cabinets filled to the brim with canned food, guns, and ammo.
** Not to mention, of course, that creating and maintaining your own Survivalist Stash is one of the most straightforward ways to succeed in the game. There's always nomadism and hand-to-mouth scrounging, but they're arguably harder.

* DisasterScavenger: You, unless you go far out of your way to only subsist off of nature. While the key to sustainable living lies in weaning yourself off of modern convenience, you'll still want modern tools, instruction manuals and non-perishable resources if you want to give yourself the best chance at survival.

* FastForwardMechanic: Like ''Franchise/TheSims'', the in-game speed can be sped up to 2 or 3-times speed, allowing players to perform long-term actions like reading a book or exercising without having to sit through the entire process. There's even an in-game option to resume normal time once a timed action is completed, preventing you from accidentally overshooting the process. Time also automatically passes more quickly while you're sleeping.