It’s a big day for one of the PC’s best zombie games. Project Zomboid’s Update 41 has arrived, and with it comes new visuals, remastered audio, improved netcode, and remastered audio. The developers say this update “feels more like a sequel than a patch update,” and they’re not wrong.
Since the test branch for Update 41 was released last week, developer The Indie Stone says “the truth is next to no one” is playing Build 40, with almost the entire player base having moved to the experimental branch. It was time to move on, the developers say, adding that “we feel strongly that Build 4,1 even with the remaining bugs and issues that need weeding out, casts a far superior first impression for new players.”
There’s far more in this update than we can feasibly list here, but some of the big ones include a huge overhaul on animation and character visuals, which now show torn clothing and the gear you’re carrying, as well as any backpacks and bags you’ve brought along. There are new animations now for sneaking, sprinting, jogging, climbing over fences, falling over, reloading, and more.
Here’s the new trailer, which shows off Project Zomboid’s revamped looks:
There’s almost nothing Update 41 doesn’t touch on: the combat system is new, and the devs have reworked difficulty scaling. Something Project Zomboid has always done well is to convey a sense of the scale of a disaster, and now there’s the huge new Louisville area to explore. There’s a new tailoring system, 3D mannequins you can dress up, and a new Kentucky-themed soundtrack.
There are also new gameplay styles to pick from. Survivor is most similar to what Project Zomboid fans have been playing for years, while the new Apocalypse mode is a frantic scramble out from the midst of a horde-infested city to see how long you can survive (I made it about nine minutes on my first run – it’s tough).
The full patch notes can be found on Steam. If you want to go back and experience ‘classic’ Zomboid, you can find that build in the betas tab in Project Zomboid’s Steam options. Just select legacy40 – Classic Zomboid from the drop-down menu.
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