Zombies Overloaded reminds me of the old Flash games that I used to play out of boredom, in the era when I didn't have an internet connection, there was no Steam, and my game library depended on what my older brother managed to get from his friends. Kill as many zombies as you can, survive as long as you can and get a high score. And so again, until you get bored. The only problem is, I got bored quickly. As then, so now.
Gameplay: short, clear and dry
Zombies Overloaded is an endless top-down arcade shooter: the game puts you in a small room, waves of zombies invade, and your task is to survive as long as you can. The tutorial takes literally half a minute and you are immediately thrown into chaos. And that's not necessarily a bad thing - the premise is stupidly clear and somewhat entertaining at the start.
A small twist that breaks up the monotony of the map is the portals on the left and right sides of the room - by passing through them you teleport to the opposite side, which often saves your head when the horde presses you against the wall. As for weapons, there is a classic pistol with infinite ammo, while other weapons appear randomly around the room: a shotgun, a machine gun, a flamethrower, a laser gun, and even the occasional "nuke" that clears the entire map.
Power ups also spawn regularly - steroids that make you indestructible, speed boosters and ammunition - because weapons wear out lightning fast. After a few waves, a boss spawns that is not a simple mindless zombie, but offers a slight tactical twist, occasionally throwing a mace or running towards you. After you defeat him, new waves of basic zombies arrive, and later the same boss again.
In addition to the basic "Overloaded" mode, there is also a Pacifist Mode, in which you don't shoot, but just run, dash, survive and collect power-ups. I tried it once and gave up, I don't see the point of this mod. Zombies and pacifism don't fit in the same sentence, at least not for me.
My trusty laser gun eradicated the entire room
Game economy: endless and unnecessary grind
Zombies drop bones and gold coins, which are the core of progression. With them, you buy permanent upgrades for the character, the other two "rooms", i.e. the map, in which there are the same mobs but a different boss, and skins for the character, which are plentiful, but visually negligible in practice.
Skins look cool, but you need more gold coins for new maps and stats
Problem? Gold coins drip incredibly slowly. The first new map costs 250 gold coins, stat upgrade 50 - and you will collect them after playing for a long time. Grind quickly grows from challenge to fatigue.
It's a shame that the game doesn't use some kind of XP system, even if it allows for a sense of progress independent of gold coins. I understand that there is only one developer behind the game and that everything is made in GameMaker, but it still feels like an unfinished product - more of a "proof of concept" than a finished game.
Power-ups cost too much and grind too long
Visuals and sound: Missed style, but solid sound support
The graphics are very simple, aiming for a cartoon aesthetic, but the end result is forgettable and impersonal. Zombies are grey-green clones, with no identity or variety. The only thing that visually pops out are the zombie rats that run at you in swarms. The UI is grayish and unintuitive - it took me a while to even figure out where my health bar is.
Admittedly, I have to praise the sounds of weapons that sound powerful, and special praise goes to the "announcer" who announces each pickup and power-up with a cool tone. The rock soundtrack quickly fades into the background as a sea of zombies screams in my direction.
After playing a new map, I quickly gave up on playing
Pick-up and play, which I quickly dropped
Zombies Overloaded aims to be a quick, simple shooter for short sessions. Unfortunately, it doesn't offer enough content or variety to warrant lingering. After unlocking the second room, I realized there was nothing new except for a different boss and a couple of obstacles. The game wears out quickly.
In a world full of brilliant indie titles like Brotato, Vampire Survivors or 20 Minutes Till Dawn, there's simply no reason why you should waste your time here. If this was a free browser game from 2008, it might have kept me a bit longer, but as a paid game in 2025? Better spend your money on something else.
A copy of the game was provided by the development studio Vinterm Games for review purposes
