H1Z1: In a zombie infested world, humans are the real enemy

From your first furtive fumbling as you attempt to piece together a bow or rip some berries off a bush to fill your rapidly emptying belly, H1Z1 is a game about survival against the elements, wild animals, zombies, and most notably other players. Any encounter on these open-world roads raises tension as you struggle to determine if those other humans are useful allies, roving gangs that would gladly kill you for the shirt off your back, or more nuanced friends that may abandon you in your time of need or wait for the opportune moment to lodge a hatchet in your back.

Much of the early game revolves around crafting the basic tools of survival, but if you live long enough or join up with a crew, you can engage in more advanced, long-term survival hinging on scoping out permanent shelter and sustainable supplies. You often find groups of like-minded individuals with their own bases on various servers attempting to defend their holdings from zombies and humans alike.

H1Z1 has fairly strict elements of permadeath you lose everything on your person when you die, but retain your discovered recipes as a form of long-lasting progression. Your pack is fully lootable, so when you’re wandering around a deserted gas station or pharmacy smashing crates for salvage, you can make yourself a target for unseen denizens if you brandish a gun or other noteworthy weapon.

To encourage players to embrace the worst in humanity’s need to survive, the concept of airdrops is currently in the game. Airdrop tickets are a paid feature (currently $5), and summon a giant supply of goodies that fall somewhere on the server maybe not even close to the person that issues the summon. Inevitably, these drop zones turn into set pieces not unlike the Cornucopia in The Hunger Games as undergeared players swarm for a shot at an assault rifle and seasoned veterans watch in the shadows and wait to attempt to pick off the winner of the grim melee to snatch the valuables.

As players explore, they can find resources like stray boxes of ammunition, valuable weapons, and one of the cooler finds cars and vehicles. You need all the proper parts in place to get them running, and they might make you a target on the open road, but there’s no better way to travel around the landscape running over the undead and zipping by those roving gangs of Mad Max villains looking to waylay you for a pouch of berries and a handful of sticks.

H1Z1 is constantly evolving during its early access phase and we’ll see how the zombie apocalypse plays out as we move toward release and beyond. We’re told some things to expect in the future include wandering zombie hordes, female characters, wearable weapons, and makeshift weapons, armor, and clothing.