Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Zombi offers a tense, methodical approach to survival horror through its point-and-click interface. You switch between Alexandre, Sylvie, Yannick, and Patrick as you explore the sprawling shopping centre. Each character has the same health and stamina metrics, but juggling their positions and equipment becomes a vital strategic element, especially when you’re low on supplies or facing a pack of undead in a narrow corridor.

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Inventory management lies at the heart of the game’s challenge. You’ll scavenge cupboards, open locked display cases, and raid storage rooms for essential items like canned food, bandages, and fuel canisters. Deciding which tools or weapons to carry—and which to leave behind—requires foresight, since overburdened characters move more slowly and tire quickly during hand-to-hand encounters.

Combat is deliberately unforgiving. Initial punches might stagger a lone zombie, but repeated melee attacks quickly drain your character’s stamina. Firearms and makeshift weapons such as crowbars or sharpened pipes offer a safer way to dispatch undead foes, but ammunition is scarce. Smart players will also use the freezer in the basement as a strategic storage point, locking down fallen zombies to prevent them from reanimating.

The freedom to roam the mall’s interconnected wings is a highlight. You can duck into bed shops to rest and recover stamina or raid food outlets to stave off hunger. However, the basement’s pitch-black corridors, infested with lurking undead, force you to weigh every exploration decision carefully. The alternating periods of risk and relief create a steadily mounting sense of dread that underpins the entire experience.

Graphics

Although Zombi’s visuals may feel dated compared to modern horror titles, they possess a stark, minimalist charm that enhances the game’s sense of isolation. The pre-rendered backgrounds are rich in detail—from flickering neon signs in the mall atrium to the smeared handprints on service doors—yet they leave enough shadowy gaps for your imagination to fill with lurking threats.

Character sprites are functional rather than flashy, with simple animations for walking, opening doors, and fighting zombies. This simplicity actually strengthens the atmosphere: when a zombie staggers into view with jerky, unnatural motions, the effect is truly unsettling rather than comical. Sparse use of lighting effects, such as a flickering flashlight or a dying overhead bulb, heightens the tension in crucial moments.

The color palette leans heavily on washed-out grays and muted browns, punctuated by the occasional red blood splatter or blue glow of a digital display. This restrained approach keeps your focus on survival rather than spectacle. Environmental details—like rotting mannequins in a clothing store or overturned shopping carts—paint a vivid picture of a once-bustling mall now reclaimed by the undead.

Overall, Zombi proves that atmosphere doesn’t require cutting-edge graphics. The game’s art design, while minimalist, excels at conveying both the banality of its setting and the ever-present threat lurking behind every turned corner.

Story

Zombi drops you into a dire premise: Hell is at capacity, and the dead walk the earth. Four travellers—Alexandre, Sylvie, Yannick, and Patrick—have escaped in a helicopter that’s now landed on the roof of a deserted shopping centre. Their goal: find fuel and a way to escape. It’s a classic “horde of zombies vs. small band of survivors” setup, but the confined mall environment gives it a new spin.

The narrative unfolds mostly through exploration and environmental clues. Notes scrawled in abandoned offices, half-eaten grocery items strewn across floors, and fuel canisters left with hastily scrawled warnings all contribute to a sense of urgency. There’s no voiced dialogue or cutscenes—everything must be inferred, which amplifies the feeling of being dropped into a genuine crisis.

Each of the four characters has a brief backstory hinted at through personal items found in the mall: a photograph in the bookshop, a lucky charm in the boutique, or a handwritten letter in the food court. These small touches foster a bond between player and survivor, raising the stakes when one character falls in battle or succumbs to exhaustion.

While Zombi’s story doesn’t deviate into elaborate subplots, its tight focus on survival in a single, well-detailed location is precisely what sets it apart. The sparse narrative delivery keeps you on edge, wondering what fresh horror lurks around each corner of the fluorescent-lit arcade or in the cavernous basement.

Overall Experience

Zombi delivers a uniquely claustrophobic brand of survival horror. The shopping centre setting transforms a familiar environment into a lethal gauntlet, and the point-and-click controls give you just enough agency to keep you engaged—and just enough vulnerability to keep you terrified. Resource scarcity and permadeath mechanics add real consequences to every decision.

The game’s learning curve can be steep. Early deaths—often from running out of stamina mid-fight or mismanaging scarce ammunition—teach valuable lessons about planning and caution. Overcoming these challenges is deeply satisfying, as each successful expedition into the mall’s depths feels earned rather than guaranteed.

Replayability stems from the nonlinear exploration paths and the randomness of item placements on subsequent runs. You may find that the basement freezer hides vital fuel canisters one playthrough but only stores spoiled food the next. This unpredictability keeps the tension high and encourages multiple attempts to master the environment.

For fans of methodical, atmospheric horror and puzzle-driven exploration, Zombi remains an engrossing journey into a world overrun by the undead. Its blend of resource management, environmental storytelling, and punishing combat offers a compelling challenge that many modern titles strive to replicate but few match with such lean, focused design.

Retro Replay Score

7.4/10