Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top once said that ”every girl’s crazy ’bout a sharp dressed man”. And while Hank, one of the characters of 7 Days to Die could easily be a member of ZZ Top, surely no girl is getting crazy ’bout him, as he does not possess a single sharp feature. As graphically, Hank, as well as all the other in-game characters, looks simply rough, as rough as a local alky. With his tired facial features, and pincer like hands, which are constantly clipping through any form of clothing which isn’t a shirt, he simply looks like a character imported from a PlayStation 2 title. And considering that he is one of the best looking things in the eternity of 7 Days to Die, it surely gives you an idea how poor the rest of the title truly is.
Every single model within the digital constraints of 7 Days to Die looks archaic. And while most would expect the models to gain an increase in quality, with an increase in size, this is not the case in 7 Days to Die. In this particular instance, objects which are larger in size, for example cars, look much, much worse than a single rock, or a broken window. And visual appeal of the title decreases even more, as soon as other movable models come into play.
Within the world of 7 Days to Die, players will have a chance to battle against hordes of undead consisting of generic men, nurses, generic men, more nurses, crawling generic men, and some more nurses. And on top of that, in order to stay alive, players will also have to hunt the expansive fauna of 7 Days to Die, which can be commonly spotted gliding around, out of animation, right beside zombies, which are just like the animals, simply gliding, or in some instances spinning in place. However, the spinning zombies, and gliding animals are a rarity, as they usually are more than 25 meters away from the player, and the draw distance in 7 Days to Die, gives the player about 20 meters of unobstructed view. And while most would expect limited animations, poor models, and extremely limited draw distance to give 7 Days to Die a stable, 60fps performance, this is yet again, not the case, as 7 Days to Die features rocky framerate, and freezing which seems to occur every minute or two.
Visual execution of the title, is to say the least, ”below the average”, and when combined with the mundane art direction, it renders all the creative modes absolutely useless, as buildings and contraptions which can be created in that mode, look simply horrendous nine out of ten times. However, creative mode is only an addition, to what most would consider the meat of 7 Days to Die. As survival mode is where this particular game really ”excels”.
Survival mode, is a like an empty piece of paper, you can write whatever you want on it, you can fold it in any way imaginable, and on top of all this, you can set your own rules of what can be done to it. Do you want the zombies to run at night, just like the creatures from 28 Days Later? No? Then that is not an issue, as you can make all the zombies resemble creations of George Romero. And if you just want to enjoy the survival part of the game, without unnecessary hassle of fighting the undead, you can disable them completely. However, disabling zombies, does not disable the threat to your life completely.
Throughout your playthrough, you’ll have to ensure that your character is hydrated, and well fed, as dehydration, and hunger can lead to some troublesome circumstances. And while looking for food, you’ll need to make sure to have eyes on the back of your head, as servers are full of hostile players, and bears. And while bears can be a deadly nuisance, they are not nearly half as dangerous as other players.
Online competitors, just like in any game, will always be on a lookout for new gear, and if they spot you carrying a sledgehammer, or a fire axe, you can be sure that they’ll try to take it away from you. And at this point, 7 Days to Die, turns into very elaborate version of rock, paper, scissors. As players can spend up to an hour, eyeing up their opponent, pulling out ever deadlier weapons out of their equipment, hoping, that it will be enough to scare the assailant. However, this doesn’t always work, and even if you’re brandishing a gun, other players will try to kill you, even if wooden club is the only thing they have. And once push comes to shove, and the enemy is too close to be killed with a gun, melee combat is the only option. And at that point, 7 Days to Die, disappoints yet again.
Melee combat is vital for any survival, and/or horror based game, as usually bats, and knives are the only weapons available. However, in 7 Days to Die, hand to hand combat, is one of the weakest mechanics. Fights are chaotic, and require little strategy to none, as there is always 50/50 chance, that your hit might not be detected, so at times, players can spend minutes fighting a single zombie, or another player, simply because they either were too far, or too close. And in the end, all fights boil down to walking in a circle while continuously pulling the trigger, and hoping for the best. And for a current gen game, it is simply not good enough.
Overall execution of 7 Days to Die, provides the player with more questions, than answers. No matter where you turn, the title simply feels unfinished, and if one was to take a look at the PC counterpart of 7 Days to Die, he/she would notice that it is still at the Alpha stage. Meaning it is still in active development, not ready for release, so it really makes one question the release of the console version, which while providing players with certain moments of brilliance, simply disappoints with the raw state which it has been released in. A state which doesn’t resemble a finished product, however, some still seem to think that it might be the best title ever made.
