History VideoGame / StateOfDecay

''State of Decay'' is an [[WideOpenSandbox open world]] ZombieApocalypse survival simulator and the first game from developer Creator/UndeadLabs, founded by Jeff Strain (aka lead designer of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''). Released on [[UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade XBLA]] on June 5th, 2013 and released on the PC on September 20th the same year, State of Decay is set in the rural Trumbull Valley: 16 square kilometers of farmland, forests, and small towns. The player returns from a week-long camping trip to find the dead have risen and must establish a group of survivors to endure the zombie apocalypse. The game's official website is [[http://undeadlabs.com here]].

The game was released on September 20th 2013 for PC on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}'s Early Access program with enhanced graphics and keyboard support. Details can be found [[http://ie.ign.com/articles/2013/09/19/state-of-decay-enters-steam-early-access-tomorrow?abthid=523b659d46deec6f4e000009 here]]. Later updates and patches tuned the port's much maligned mouse control to something acceptable for modern shooters. In 2015, the game received a re-released version for the PC as well as the UsefulNotes/XboxOne titled, ''State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition'', which updated the graphics to run better on the PC, as well as some minor additions to the base game.

* SniperRifle: As the game was designed as ThirdPersonShooter with UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} in mind, all scoped weapons lack the actual scope when aiming. This makes sniper rifles one of the most useless weapons in the game, since there are no plus-sides of their extremely low fire rate and slow reload. [[SniperPistol Scoped pistols]] at least come with additional crosshair, making aiming easier, while retaining all the good properties of pistols.

* UpdatedRerelease: ''Year One Survival Edition'', released on April 28th 2015 is a remaster of the original base game. Updates include: better graphics support for PC and UsefulNotes/XBoxOne consoles; ''Breakdown'' and ''Lifeline'' DLC; new guns and underbarrel grenade launchers (DLC weapons included in base story); knives replacing unarmed combat for all survivors and a new set of "supply drop" missions in the main campaign.

* ActionSurvivor: Most characters don't have the Soldier/Police background.

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: The Juggernaut/Big Bastard and Feral can do this to a survivor at low health, as can the normal zombies. It's rather unsettling to watch two zombies fighting over your corpse end up pulling you apart at the waist.
* HaveANiceDeath: Every time the character that you control dies, you are treated to a lengthy scene of him/her getting clawed at, gnawed at, ripped in half and continued to be chewed on. If you have a grenade and nobody is nearby to save you from a brutal death, you can go out in a blaze of glory.

* HeroicSecondWind: When your health is depleted, the screen turn black and white and you get the prompt [[PressXToNotDie Press B to get up]]. Press it fast enough and your character will stand up in a dramatic fashion, knocking down all zombies around, with his/her health and stamina restored to maximum (though this maximum is lower than normal, which can only be recovered by resting in an infirmary), allowing you to fight back or escape. However, Feral Zombies and Juggernauts can straight up execute downed characters no matter how fast you press the B button, resulting in an instant death.

* SaveScumming: The game only has an auto-save feature, but it certainly doesn't stop someone from backing up and reloading the save file before searching. It is much more time consuming and tedious than with the usual quick-save/quick load, though.

* TakingYouWithMe: Companion characters that have lost all health (i.e before they get ripped in half like the player character) can pull a grenade or molotov from their HyperSpaceArsenal and blow themselves up. Player-controlled characters can do this too, if they have a grenade/molotov cocktail equipped. In fact, in ''Breakdown'' mode, dying like this is required to unlock a Hero character.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: A lone zombie is no major threat to an average player, with it only being risky to attack them if you're severely injured. The same can't be said for [[spoiler:the three randomly chosen survivors should Alan not be present to stop Pastor William

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: In spite of {{Permadeath}} usually happening from characters getting killed, you won't be able to die in the first few missions of the game until you cross the Mt. Tanner bridge as it's essentially a tutorial.
** The game will give you a break if your character falls to their death accidentally while away from zombies - the screen will fade to black but you'll then be back playing the same character with the game's state being alike to when they took their fall.

* GameplayAllyImmortality: Lily Ritter cannot die. No matter what. If the base had 50 Ferals running amok, she's still get up every single time she gets knocked down. Too bad you can never control her as your character: the game would be easy indeed.

* EliteZombie: The Screamer and Bloated zombies can tilt the odds against you, while the SWAT zombie's armour makes him a pain to kill with guns. Of all of them, though, Feral zombies and Big Bastards are easily the deadliest. Ferals are fast and can easily tear a survivor apart at low health, while Big Bastards are immensely tough to kill and deal massive damage to any vehicle that tries to run them down.

** ''The Walking Dead': There is a potential community site in Spencer's Mill (the first town) called the Kirkman Residence as well as shipping cointainer labled 'NAMKRIK', both references to ''Walking Dead'' creator Robert Kirkman. There also posters in Spencer's Mill that say "Richard Grimes for Sheriff", a reference to protagonist Rick Grimes.

** The ending cinematic is almost nonsensical and feels awfully rushed.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The [[https://stateofdecay.fandom.com/wiki/Military_Pickup military pickup]] might be the developers just not wanting to create a whole new model of a Humvee, but real life US military actually do have [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Utility_Cargo_Vehicle civilian-model trucks]] in service. Not only that, having militarized civilian trucks rather than Humvees running about is actually more realistic, as the CUCV is more widely available in mainland America than the HMMWV because of their roles as support and maintenance, something that the more combat oriented Humvees are unsuited for.

State of Decay combines elements of multiple game genres including third-person combat, base building and community management, loot collection, skills improving, and {{permadeath}}, among others. The game is single-player only (Currently Undead consistently stated they had no intention of making a Co-Op DLC), but will pave the way for Undead Labs's future zombie apocalypse MMO, tentatively titled "[=Class4=]" and State of Decay 2 to be released on next-gen consoles and PC. The game's campaign mode ostensibly follows four core survivors, Marcus "the Hero," Ed "the Friend," Maya "the Veteran" and Lilly, the team's (immortal in gameplay terms) mission control. These survivors band together to face a zombie apocalypse in the rural Trumbull Valley. Notably, any character other than Lilly can be killed at any time. The player is encouraged to scavenge, build a secure homebase, acquire new resources and firepower, contact other survivors, and eventually escape the valley. Simply put, if you've ever wanted to scream at characters in zombie fiction "[[IdiotBall you're doing it wrong]]!" here's your chance to set the record straight.

The next sequel, ''VideoGame/StateOfDecay3'' Was announced in 2020.

* CosmicDeadline: There is every indication that Undead Labs was forced to ship the game before finishing the third Act, such as the presence of a third town with no story sidequests or anything of particular interest, and the rushed feeling of the endgame quests.
** The ending cinematic is almost nonsensical and feels awfully rushed.

* FinishingMove: You can do this to a knocked down zombie with a button combination. The animation is different depending on your weapon.

-->'''Lily:''' Maybe it's some kind of [[Franchise/ResidentEvil messed up]] [[Film/TwentyEightDaysLater super-virus]]. Maybe it's [[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968 radiation from outer space]], or [[VoodooZombie black magic]] or... or [[Film/DawnOfTheDead1978 the Wrath of almighty God]].

* [[spoiler:NukeEm: The conclusion if Sgt Eldridge's sidequests are completed.]]

** The developers also seem to have gone out of their way to include neat guns that would [[RareGuns never be found outside of a select few military armories in the real world.]]

* [[ActionizedSequel Actionized DLC]]: With the protagonists as military, it takes the concept of MoreDakka UpToEleven. Compared to the main game where ammo is scare and guns were uncommon at best. In ''Lifeline'', your home locker at the beginning has access to small armory and [[NoKillLikeOverkill enough ammo and explosives to kill everything within the city limits thrice over]]. Weapons are much more commonly found in loot and with the introduction of supply drops, you'll soon find yourself absolutely '''swimming''' in dakka. Aside from firearms, the radio now gives the players access to various forms of artillery strikes and drone support.

* KnifeNut: In ''YOSE'', practically ''everyone'' gets a survival knife by default when completely unarmed, replacing the pathetic kicks from the original game. It is useful in a way, especially since there are new animations for when they grapple the zombie and continuously stab it to death!

''State of Decay'' is an [[WideOpenSandbox open world]] ZombieApocalypse survival simulator and the first game from developer Creator/UndeadLabs, founded by Jeff Strain (aka lead designer of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''.) Released on [[UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade XBLA]] on June 5th, 2013 and released on the PC on September 20th the same year, State of Decay is set in the rural Trumbull Valley: 16 square kilometers of farmland, forests, and small towns. The player returns from a week-long camping trip to find the dead have risen and must establish a group of survivors to endure the zombie apocalypse. The game's official website is [[http://undeadlabs.com here]].

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The [[http://stateofdecay.wikia.com/wiki/Military_Pickup military pickup]] might be the developers just not wanting to create a whole new model of a Humvee, but real life US military actually do have [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Utility_Cargo_Vehicle civilian-model trucks]] in service. Not only that, having militarized civilian trucks rather than Humvees running about is actually more realistic, as the CUCV is more widely available in mainland America than the HMMWV because of their roles as support and maintenance, something that the more combat oriented Humvees are unsuited for.

** The .50 cal anti-materiel rifles ([[http://stateofdecay.wikia.com/wiki/Mk._15 Mk. 15]] and [[http://stateofdecay.wikia.com/wiki/M107_CQ M107 CQ]]). They can [[OneHitPolykill shred multiple zombies with one shot]], and can down TheJuggernaut with merely 4 headshots. They are also TooAwesomeToUse, due to the scarcity of .50 cal rounds, and in the case of the M107, also extremely loud and cannot be suppressed. It gets even worse in the ''Breakdown'' DLC, where their weight are increased to 20 lbs, which means they instantly encumbered normal survivors, draining their Stamina even faster when they sprint.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The remaining survivors are able to escape Trumbell County thanks to Tan's HeroicSacrifice, but Lily has only months to live due to her lupus medicine becoming literally impossible to find, and the final scene heavily implies that Trumbull wasn't the only area to be infected with the Black Fever, as a city can be seen on the horizon]].

** Snacks. Nothing fancy, just your average "Get out of a tight spot free" card. Pop one to refill your [[SprintMeter stamina]] and keep fighting, or sprint as far as you can.

* ButThouMust: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]. The only mission that you ''have'' to complete are the main ones. For every other mission, you have the option to decline or just outright [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere ditch the mission completely once its active]]. Even in the main questline, if you're feeling particularly callous, you can let yourself die to cause the mission to end in failure (although the game will still consider the mission completed, you just don't get any rewards.)

** The Ranger Station is obviously not safe from the beginning - completely open from each side, with big windows covering every wall and not a single barricade built by {{NPC}}s. [[spoiler: It's no wonder it is overrun when Marcus and Ed are searching for Maya. After witnessing what happened, she instantly decides to pack everything and run the hell out of there]].

* OurZombiesAreDifferent: A combination of the [[PlagueZombie plague]] and [[FleshEatingZombie flesh eating]] types, although they aren't the [[ZombieGait slow and limping type]], they can run, tackle you, climb stairs, ladders and fences, bust through doors and windows, etc.

* RevolversAreJustBetter: [[AvertedTrope Nope]]. They cannot be suppressed, which makes them automatically inferior to pistols and rifles. Even the coolest revolvers in the game will eventually just get dumped into to the community locker or traded to other survivors for the influence points.

* ShoutOut: Many, often poking fun at other zombie-related franchises. The game wiki has its [[http://stateofdecay.wikia.com/wiki/Easter_Eggs own page]] for these.

** ''TheSimpsons'': "Everything's coming up Milhouse!"

* BlackGuyDiesFirst: [[spoiler:Dr. Thomas Horn offs himself first canonically, on the assumption that being bit, means death and reanimation.]]

** The Ranger Station is obviously not safe from the beginning - completely open from each side, with big windows covering every wall and not a single barricade build by {{NPC}}s. [[spoiler: It's no wonder it is overrun when Marcus and Ed are searching for Maya. After witnessing what happened, she instantly decides to pack everything and run the hell out of there]].
** Not counting the court in Marshall, all enclaves held by {{NPC}}s are completely unsafe, but only after taking sizable beating - sometimes few sieges in a row - you can recruit their inhabitants into your community.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: In spite of {{Permadeath}} usually happening from characters getting killed, the game will give you a break if your character falls to their death accidentally while away from zombies - the screen will fade to black but you'll then be back playing the same character with the game's state being alike to when they took their fall.
* AnyoneCanDie: Only applies to the playable characters. {{NPC}}s are usually unkillable, except in scripted events, such as [[spoiler: Pastor Mulroney, who was infected and shot by Alan, who gets infected himself and has to be killed]]. Before their scripted deaths happen, they are all but invincible.

* HaveANiceDeath: Every time the character that you control dies, you are treated to a lengthy scene of him/her getting clawed at, gnawed at, ripped in half and continued to be chewed on.

* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: In the tutorial segment on Mt. Tanner, neither Marcus nor Maya can be killed until they cross the bridge and they can only be downed at worst. That makes sense, but in the original game, the developers forgot to account for the zombies taking away your maximum health with each hit. If that gets depleted, you won't die, but you will not be able to get up again, softlocking the game. However, since the tutorial is relatively easy and you have Ed and Maya helping you, you'd have to go out of your way to get this to happen.

* UnwinnableByMistake: In ''Lifeline,'' the game gets in an unwinnable state if [[spoiler:Sasquatch]] dies while [[spoiler:doing his sample-hunting missions]]. Worse still, this is ''probable'' given the fact he's a weak [=NPC=] and [[LeeroyJenkins his approach to battle is anything but elegant]].

State of Decay combines elements of multiple game genres including third-person combat, base building and community management, loot collection, skills improving, and [[FinalDeath permadeath]], among others. The game is single-player only (Currently Undead consistently stated they had no intention of making a Co-Op DLC), but will pave the way for Undead Labs's future zombie apocalypse MMO, tentatively titled "[=Class4=]" and State of Decay 2 to be released on next-gen consoles and PC. The game's campaign mode ostensibly follows four core survivors, Marcus "the Hero," Ed "the Friend," Maya "the Veteran" and Lilly, the team's (immortal in gameplay terms) mission control. These survivors band together to face a zombie apocalypse in the rural Trumbull Valley. Notably, any character other than Lilly can be killed at any time. The player is encouraged to scavenge, build a secure homebase, acquire new resources and firepower, contact other survivors, and eventually escape the valley. Simply put, if you've ever wanted to scream at characters in zombie fiction "[[IdiotBall you're doing it wrong]]!" here's your chance to set the record straight.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: In spite of FinalDeath usually happening from characters getting killed, the game will give you a break if your character falls to their death accidentally while away from zombies - the screen will fade to black but you'll then be back playing the same character with the game's state being alike to when they took their fall.

* FinalDeath: Yep. No character is the 'main' one, and everyone who dies stays dead. For what it's worth, should ALL of your playable characters get killed, the game just creates a new one and puts you back in action.