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State of Decay was developed by Undead Labs and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released June 5, 2013 for 1600 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

When a collection of zombie-obsessed game industry veterans formed Undead Labs, their sole passion was to play in the ashes of fallen society. They would craft an open sandbox world and fill it with extinction-level contagion. They’d insist upon hard decisions and scraping by one day at a time, and in return, you’d be afforded the opportunity to live out your fantasies in a simulated zombie apocalypse. Now, so many years after that kernel of an idea was born, State of Decay narrowly misses the mark, drooped under its own weighty ambition.

Yet, despite its flaws, State of Decay aims so high that it achieves something many games never aspire to reach. Like the apocalypse it portrays: once the shock and awe begins to wane, once we accept the imperfections of the world, there’s joy to be found and a story to write. As you ponder the layout of your temporary shelter, tally up your resources and balance the fragility of your flock, it becomes clear there’s something special about State of Decay residing around its rough edges. It’s an experience unlike many other, and uncovering it is well worth the investment.

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While the E3 spotlight may be on the Xbox One, plenty is still happening on XBLA with today’s announcement of 2013’s Summer of Arcade lineup. The titles include Charlie …
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Microsoft will announce the game lineup for this year’s Summer of Arcade promotion, Phil Spencer has confirmed via Twitter. “SoA announce is a highlight for me at E3,” the …
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Generations after the release of Sergio Leone’s classic western movies, two game developers from different companies sat back to listen to the iconic music. As the trumpets sang of the modern gladiators pining for infamy, these gamers looked at each other and instinctively thought, “We have to make a fighting game out of this.”

This is more or less what Yousuf Mapara told us back at PAX East where his studio, Switchblade Monkeys, showed off Secret Ponchos, a game has grown from a clubhouse hobby project to a unique take on competitive multiplayer.

After a brief look, we instinctively described it as a third-person isometric-action twin-stick shooter. “Yeah, that’s a cool way of describing it,” Mapara, the game’s creative director, agreed. “You know, it’s a hard game to describe, because you can’t say it’s a team shooter, you can’t say it’s a fighting game, you can’t say it’s a MOBA, but it has a little bit of everything. That’s what we like — we made up something that’s its own thing, but once you play it it feels really natural. It’s reminiscent of something… but I don’t know what it is.” Read More

Undead Labs have announced that their recently released open-world zombie survival game, State of Decay, is now the second-fastest-selling XBLA title of all time. The game sold more than a …
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Today, Microsoft confirmed that Twisted Pixel’s latest game LocoCycle will be available on the Xbox marketplace on the day the Xbox One is released. It will also launch on the Xbox …
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Today is National Doughnut Day in America and to celebrate The Behemoth are giving away free Donuts to BattleBlock Theater players for a week!  The special prisoner, Donuts, was …
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Action-RPG brawler Charlie Murder got it’s official Xbox Marketplace listing this week and to celebrate, Ska Studios have released a brand new trailer. The game from the developers behind …
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The remake of Ducktales is one of the most anticipated games remaining for Xbox Live Arcade, so any new media or details regarding it are exciting. Capcom released a couple of new trailers today, showcasing the remade Amazon and Transylvania levels, which should bring back a ton of nostalgia for any fan of the original. You can expect Ducktales Remastered sometime this summer. The second trailer can be found after the break.

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Tragnarion Studio’s futuristic third-person shooter, Scourge: Outbreak, will be releasing on Xbox Live Arcade on July 3rd for 800MSP. Scourge: Outbreak was originally released as The Scourge Project: Episode …
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