Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Reviews

State of Survival: An app I’ll gladly get devoured by

Smartphone apps are just as addictive as the Nintendo Switch because, unlike consoles like XBox and PlayStation, you’re able to take video games with you on the go. However, I haven’t been actively playing a title like State of Survival as frequently per day since the early installations of Pokemon Go. This game has dozens of activities and adventures for you to embark on every day and frequent events to add something new to the experience.

Since its initial launch at the end of December 2019, KingsGroup Holdings’ State of Survival has amassed over 10,000,000 downloads – and I can see why.

“It’s been six months since the zombie apocalypse began. The virus has infected the city. Six months of terror, horror, survival, and fighting against zombies. You are a survivor and your friends are in a brave fight against monsters. Build a city that survives the constant waves of zombies. Welcome to the State of Survival. Ready for a strategy survival game!”

The primary focus of the game is to build your city and fortify it from zombies and neighboring towns through a series of upgrades. This isn’t a difficult task by any means because all it requires is certain buildings to be an exact level and a predetermined amount of supplies, which the game readily supplies you with every few minutes. You also fortify your city by leveling up your army; another ability that is more or less the same as upgrading your buildings. And, if that isn’t already easy enough, you can join an alliance, and other online players can help you out in case you find yourself in a pickle.

As of this writing, there is only twelve characters for you to unlock – Rusty, Ghost, Eva, Lucky, Jane, Mike, Chef, Nikola, Maddie & Frank (her dog) and Travis. I have yet to unlock Ray & Rolex (his hawk) and Tony. Each character is unique in appearance and comes with their own special attacks and battle attributes. Lucky is my favorite girl because she has a flame-throwing teddy-bear and Chef is my favorite guy because he reminds me of my husband. This is also, perhaps, one of my two worries. How often will new characters be added into the game to keep it interesting? If the answer is rarely, I may not play for too much longer. And, since I’m a sucker for hot video game characters, it’s worth mentioning that members of your army – like the Archers, Rovers and Survivalists – are good looking and it makes training them slightly worth it.

My second worry, as with any smartphone app, is the use of in-app purchases to achieve results much faster. For instance, I unlocked Lucky by paying $4.99, but to level her up requires more purchases to get more character shards. If I wanted to make her part of my core fighters, it would probably take an additional $20 to get her where I need her to be in terms of healthy and ability. I understand that, because State of Survival is free to download and play, these purchases are necessary for KingsGroup Holdings to make their money back. My only suggestion would be to make them less costly or give gaymers more bang for their buck. It is worth noting, however, that you can play State of Survival without paying a dime. It’s just going to take forever to progress.

A mix of The Sims, The Walking Dead and Battleship, State of Survival is a game that’s flying under the radar. I’m incredibly addicted to it right now, but only time will tell if the repetition becomes too monotonous. It’s an expert time-waster that’s easy on your phone battery, and a bloody good treat for zombie fans looking for a new title. Check it out!

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