The zombie survival game comes from the pen of a single developer and has been thrilling thousands of players for years. We reveal what lies behind the fascination of Unturned.
When I walk around outside without my glasses, my fellow human beings mutate into coloured blobs. I can make out their contours and recognise the colours of their clothes, but faces degenerate into an indefinable grimace. I feel similar when I stomp through the world of Unturned.
I recognise the contours of apartment buildings and washing machines, can distinguish the tomato block from the cheese block by the colours and can tell from the hats of zombies what their profession was before the apocalypse. But this time it’s not because of my lack of glasses. The zombie survival game simply has poorly detailed and – pardon me, Nelson – terribly ugly graphics.
But why have thousands of Steam players been enthusiastic about it for years? How does the one-man project manage to maintain such a loyal fanbase? I took a closer look at the fascination surrounding Unturned.
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What is Unturned anyway?
If the graphic style of Unturned reminds you of the sandbox hit Roblox, then you’re not so wrong. That’s because before his project became one of the most played Steam games, developer Nelson Sexton tried his hand at the platform. Unturned’s predecessor Deadzone was among the most popular games on Roblox, attracting more than five million players.
Later, Nelson switched to the Unity engine and continued to toil away from Roblox on his zombie survival game. When the solo developer released the first version of Unturned on Steam, he was just 16 years old. After three years in Early Access, Unturned celebrated its release with its third version in 2017.
Survival in the zombie apocalypse
For Unturned, developer Nelson was inspired by popular survival games like DayZ or Rust. I fight for my survival on different maps. In the process, I not only have to take care of my hunger and my health. At the same time, I have to watch out for the groaning zombies. Besides, other players could be lurking behind the next camping spot!
To make my survival easier, I go in search of weapons, tools, materials and food and stuff my pockets full of glue, tops, shovels and square tomatoes on my foray. Then, like in Minecraft, I craft myself useful bandages and fishing rods, or build a base out of my collected wood like in Rust.
The further I progress, the better equipment I find or craft. I then distribute my experience points to skills, so that I can, for example, reload my paintball gun more quickly or hit the zombies with much more punch.
Obviously, the more I progress, the better my equipment becomes.
Although there is much more game depth in Unturned than you would expect from the unfamiliar visuals, the survival game does nothing extraordinary and plays like a conventional survival game. So where does the fascination come from?
Fascination Unturned
Developer Nelson has managed to maintain an active player base for years. Even in 2022, Unturned records (tens of thousands of concurrent players on Steam) every day and consistently finds itself in the (Top 25 most played Steam games currently).
That a game can be successful even with utilitarian graphics is shown all too well by Unturned. Instead of a feast for the eyes, the zombie-survival convinces with other qualities.
Low hurdle through Free2Play
Naturally, Unturned’s funding model also plays into its cards – there isn’t one. The zombie game is available completely free of charge. Only the DLC (“Permanent Gold Update” for 3.99 euros) can be found on Steam. This mainly consists of gimmicks that are not absolutely necessary. Many players therefore purchase this additional content to support the developer a little bit.
The Free2Play model removes a big hurdle for many players. They can easily try out the survival game and also recommend it to friends to play together. For many, apparently, a reason to return to Unturned even during the pandemic: Since 2020, the average of concurrent players has been on an upward trend.
Free2Play can probably be positively received by the community after all, if the developers consciously do without in-game shops, Pay2Win and Lootboxes. However, Free2Play also means that you have to reckon with a relatively young player base, similar to Roblox. If you are allergic to children yelling at you, you should therefore stay away from the Unturned community.
Fun gameplay
Unturned does nothing worth mentioning better than its survival colleagues. But many things are not worse either. Free2Play makes it easy to get started and the simple mechanics allow plenty of freedom for those who want to let off steam with crafting and base building.
The different difficulty levels offer both beginners and hardcore survival experts a place in the world of Unturned and the different game modes provide a welcome change.
And that goes down well with people! 91 percent of the over 480,000 Steam reviews give Unturned a positive rating. Particular praise is given to the fun PvP mode, the variety and the accessibility of the game.
Regular Updates
Some big developer studios could take a leaf out of the book of solo developer Nelson Sexton. For years, the Unturned creator has been providing his players with new content and updates on a regular basis – with an interval of no more than two weeks.
His community also appreciates this. This way, Unturned fans not only get new content on a regular basis, but are also always up to date with the latest developments and future plans for the zombie survival game.
The community also appreciates this.
Collaborating closely with the playerbase also helps Nelson respond to issues and deliver the gameplay experience the community is hoping for.
Creative Community
In addition to the official maps and developer updates, there is also more than enough content to discover from the community. The Unturned modding scene has everything a survivalist’s heart desires to offer:
- With the (Katana Pack) the fight against zombies becomes a samurai showdown.
Or you can bring a little Fallout feeling into the survival game with the (Power Armor) pack.
Other mods such as (Elver) bring a completely new map into the game and even change the gameplay principle of Unturned.
Those who plunge into the zombie survival game will therefore not encounter a shortage of content any time soon. By the way, some community content will also be built directly into the game by developer Nelson.
Have you already played the Free2Play survival hit? Or are you too put off by Unturned’s graphics? Feel free to share your experiences with us in the comments!
