Undawn Review: Survive in a zombie-infested post-apocalyptic open-world

Undawn, one of the most anticipated post-apocalypse survival RPG  game brought to you by Lightspeed Studios and Level Infinite offers a very unique post-apocalyptic gaming experience one can encounter in the mobile gaming market. The game uses many features from other post-apocalyptic games out there and combines them to deliver a different experience. In this Undawn Review, we will try and highlight the core offerings of the game and rate it fair and square.

Undawn offers elements from various post-apocalyptic titles of the past

To kick-start the Undawn Review we would like to start with the gameplay Undawn offers. Talking about the gameplay, Undawn does a great job of diversifying the key elements of the game. Not taking names but other post-apocalyptic games present in the market do not offer such a diversified experience.

Most games of this genre revolve around the players building a community from scratch having more settlers attracted to the community, and then protecting the base from incoming zombie attacks while also laying some importance on base-level progression. This is how most games are developed and follow the plot. Luckily for us, this is not the case with Undawn, as it allows players to experience the storyline more rather than just making the game a base-defending simulator.

Undawn offers gameplay that is very similar to Fallout and Days Gone, titles that are available for console and PC. As the game starts players are introduced to the Raven Squad which is a community in the wasteland comprising of fellow wastelanders and is trying its best to repair the damage done by the zombies marauding their world.

As the players go and explore the storyline they will explore how the community works and will be provided an opportunity to build a house for themselves. The housing feature will allow players to express their creativity and design their own houses from scratch. This adds a sandbox element to the game as it gives the players the freedom to build their own signature house in the community.

However building houses and having communities is not the only feature this game offers, the game follows the concept of post-apocalyptic survival just like other gaming titles namely Fallout as it involves enemies of all kinds such as zombies as well as humans which should be dealt with in the game. Additionally, resource management plays a big role in the game as well, where players might have to plunder resources from abandoned establishments or just simply loot them off the dead enemy’s body.

An average storyline with side-quests to keep players entertained

Next up in our Undawn Review, we would like to reflect our opinions on the storyline. The game, Undawn offers a very average storyline that revolves around surviving and making the communities stronger and better equipped to fend off the dangers posed to them by the undead.

Now as subjective as it may sound, the story could’ve been better with more focus on the narration and execution. Some missions and other story elements seem a bit off the plot and this makes the game deliver a bit of a bland gaming experience.

To make up for the main storyline’s shortcomings the developers have added multiple side quests in the game which can be explored and completed as per the player’s wish. However, these side quests are also as bland as some of the missions in the main storyline.

The concept of discovering these sidequests is pretty cool, as most of them are scattered along the map of the game, which is big, and players are needed to trigger them by interacting with the NPCs offering these quests. This draws inspiration from the console and PC game Days Gone which also had the same game setting.

Players are required to travel to different communities spread all across the world of Undawn and interact with NPCs to trigger these quests, this allows the players to discover the whole map of the game which they wouldn’t have done if there was no side quest in place. Overall it’s safe to say that the storyline fails to deliver the diversity of operations which the game reflects in its gameplay.

A bustling social experience but fails to deliver the same for the open world

The game, Undawn does a very good job of providing a very bustling social experience inside the guild where players can relax and can encounter many other different players hanging out while doing different activities such as having dinners and many such social experiences to make sure that players get a real-life gameplay experience. This enhances the gaming experience of the guild and makes sure that the players enjoy their time while in the guild.

The same however can’t be said for the open world of the game, while some of the other settlements in the game offer some side quests the other section of the map doesn’t offer much and feels a bit underdone. There are animals to hunt in the open but it all becomes really repetitive very soon.

One thing which the developers did manage to deliver with the open world is the availability of different scene styles, there are different terrains and scenes available within the map and this adds to the gaming experience.

Enjoy a detailed and complete character customization experience

The game, Undawn has a very robust character customization feature available for the fans to make use of. Due to this, it is really possible for players to have a character crafted inch perfectly to their needs and desire. The game offers a very detailed set of character models available in the game and it allows the players to have a wide choice available to customize how their avatar looks.

The game also makes a wide range of character-specific accessories available for the players to make use of. There are different armor, clothing, and headgear for the players to choose from. There are different tiers to the clothing as well, higher tiers of accessories can be unlocked only after a specific landmark is reached in the storyline.

Decent Soundtrack and music but lacks in the graphics section

Undawn actually has very good sound effects and provides good music for the gameplay in the background. The English voiceovers are also nicely done and fit the aura of the characters perfectly.

Music and Sound while being the most ignored section of a game can sometimes make or break the deal for the game in the way the players perceive it. By the looks of it, the developers seem to have got this issue under check as the game does a great job in this section.

While the game manages to deliver in the sound and music section, it really does not impress with the graphics. As hyped as the gaming title, undawn was before the launch we expected the game to deliver more buffed-up graphics in the game. However, that was not the case and the game has a bit outdated graphics, and frame drop issues here and there for such a big title being released in 2023. The gameplay however does cover up a bit of the shortcomings of the graphics as evident in this Undawn review.

Decent character controls but UI is oversaturated with buttons

The game, Undawn offers very decent character controls, where players can fully control and manage the actions of their character. There is rarely a choppy animation or movement of characters in the game and the movement overall looks very neatly done. The button layout, however, needed attention from the developer team as at the first go the players will be overwhelmed with the numbers. For someone with large fingers, they might find it hard to tap the right buttons. As usual, the layout can be customised and this adds much-needed flexibility for the players to enjoy the gameplay.

IAPs still rule over the wasteland with weapons and potions to offer

While the game is free to play for everyone in the market, still there are some in-app purchases that can actually help in easing off the difficulty level in the game and deliver that extra edge that can help really well in the PvP battles.

In PvE battles these upgrades may not be needed that much but in the PvP battles, every single addition of points in the Damage Per Second points can make a huge difference. There are different guns, boosts, potions, and other pieces of equipment that can provide extra firepower and better defense stats in the battles.

Final Verdict

The game, Undawn succeeds in delivering a well-developed and well-structured survival post-apocalyptic mobile gaming experience. There was a void in the genre for a game to provide a holistic post-apocalyptic experience, while Undawn has some of its shortcomings and points to be worked upon.

It is definitely one of the better games of this genre available in the market and is a step in the right direction to provide the perfect game for this genre. With that being said, we hope that with this Undawn Review, we were able to rate this game perfectly and do it justice.

What are your thoughts on our Undawn Review? Let us know in the comments below!

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