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Ed-0: Zombie Uprising

Ed-0: Zombie Uprising is a very odd title which is relatively hard to recommend to many people, however it most definitely has an audience. If you’re willing to put up with the game’s many quirks, you may find something to love here.
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising Game Cover
68%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, graphics
Most mentioned negative aspects:story, grinding
70% User Score Based on 134 reviews
Critic Score 65%Based on 7 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5XboxWindowsPlayStation
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising Game Cover

About

Ed-0: Zombie Uprising is a single player survival hack and slash game with horror, fantasy, historical and violence themes. It was developed by LANCARSE and was released on April 3, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Slaughter the Dead, Face the Unpredictable.A rogue-like action where traditional Japanese characters (Samurai, Sumo Wrestler, and Ninja) destroy hordes of zombies. Since everything is randomly generated each time you play, no run will be the same. Need to make harsh decisions to survive.

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70%Audience ScoreBased on 134 reviews
gameplay9 positive mentions
grinding8 negative mentions

  • Unique mash-up of Mystery Dungeon roguelike mechanics with action hack-and-slash combat, appealing to fans of niche genres.
  • Three distinct characters with unique playstyles encourage replayability and experimentation.
  • Funny ragdoll physics and quirky jankiness contribute to charm and enjoyment for those who appreciate older generation game vibes.
  • Combat is clunky, repetitive, and unpolished with awkward controls and poor enemy hit detection, leading to frustration.
  • Levels and progression can feel grindy and stale with long, tedious runs and little layout variety.
  • Boss fights are unbalanced and can be cheesed with exploit items; many technical bugs and issues remain unresolved, reducing overall playability.
  • gameplay

    46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay combines roguelike dungeon crawling with soulslike combat, offering unique character playstyles, strategic resource management, and tactical decision-making. While the core mechanics show depth and charm, many players find the execution marred by jank, awkward controls, confusing systems, and uneven pacing, which can lead to repetitive or frustrating moments. Fans of high-intensity, unconventional action who tolerate rough mechanics may find it engaging, but others may struggle with its mechanical issues and lack of polish.

    • “The core gameplay loop revolves around repeated dungeon runs, each structured as a sequence of stages filled with enemies, loot, and branching paths.”
    • “Deciding what to equip and which paths to take becomes a strategic consideration, as resources are limited and hunger mechanics add pressure to keep moving.”
    • “The playable characters each have a unique playstyle that makes them easily distinguished from each other: the ninja can go back to stealth and has long range abilities and crowd control, the sumo wrestler has a lot of life, area-of-effect abilities and the neck grab mechanic, and the samurai's gimmick is that he does poor damage early on, works mostly in close range and has the unique mechanic of getting you killed too frequently.”
    • “The gameplay itself and the roguelike loop is what killed it for me; every single upgrade felt inconsequential, every room felt the same, and you can’t vary much in your combos.”
    • “The levels are way too long, the mechanics are way too buggy, and the gameplay gets stale fast.”
    • “Combat and mobility suffer from awkward mechanics, making it hard to engage effectively with enemies.”
  • story

    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story is widely criticized for being poorly presented, dull, and slow, often interrupting gameplay with lengthy, uninspired narrative segments that players tend to skip. It serves mostly as a minimal backdrop to justify the roguelike action, lacking depth, emotional engagement, or meaningful progression, which may leave players wanting more context or variety. Overall, the narrative is seen as a weak aspect of the game, with repetitive content and limited character development.

    • “The story is told between dungeon runs, where dungeons consist of forests, villages, mountains etc. with 10–15 floors each and random layouts (though the layout variety isn't that high).”
    • “As one of the three mysterious 'zom-beings,' players embark on a relentless quest to restore Japan to its former glory and rid it of the undead menace.”
    • “There are three very different characters that play almost nothing alike and, while the story implies that they join your team at different points in the story, for me they were available from the start.”
    • “How is it possible that you can't fast-forward or skip the story? The game forces you to wait while it reads text for you, which makes it feel like a waiting simulator rather than a well-made game. I really won't give it a chance if the developer is this careless.”
    • “The presentation of the plot is just cheaply made and dull. You want to skip it as fast as it starts, and it irritates your ears from the beginning.”
    • “The tacked-on story is awful; I couldn't care less about anything that was said.”
  • graphics

    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics blend feudal Japanese aesthetics with zombie horror, notably enhanced by an optional ukiyo-e inspired Edo shader that improves atmosphere and readability. While some players appreciate the stylistic charm and gore effects, others find the visuals dated, lacking modern polish and customization options. Overall, the graphics are considered decent and atmospheric but not cutting-edge.

    • “One of the game’s standout features is its optional Edo shader, which transforms the visuals into a stylized ukiyo-e inspired look.”
    • “This mode significantly enhances atmosphere and readability, and many players consider it essential, as it gives the game a more cohesive and memorable aesthetic than the standard rendering.”
    • “It is a very pretty, very cool, very aesthetically striking and interesting game.”
    • “The graphics are decent but limited, with only one option to adjust settings from low to cinematic, lacking more granular control.”
    • “Graphically, the game falls short of modern standards.”
    • “The graphics make me feel like I'm playing a 2010 game, which can be a downside.”
  • humor

    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is largely driven by its quirky ragdoll physics, which many find hilariously entertaining, especially during enemy interactions and unusual character abilities. The funny presentation, awkward item/room text, and wacky physics contribute to a comedic experience, though some players find the ragdoll effects less amusing when they affect their own character.

    • “First time I saw this, I was practically rolling on the floor laughing watching a friend play due to the ugly presentation, questionable wording on item/room text, and wacky physics.”
    • “The ragdoll system in particular is incredibly funny.”
    • “In-game ragdoll physics are good and very funny (play as sumo wrestler and you can yeet zombies or use zombies as weapons).”
  • grinding

    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game is notably tedious due to enemies having excessive HP, resulting in slogging, repetitive combat and prolonged boss fights. While early chapters allow easier farming to prepare for later, the overall grind can feel unpolished and frustrating, compounded by micro-management and a pointless hunger system. Despite this, some players acknowledge the grind as worthwhile for unlocking permanent upgrades.

    • “Combat is a slog, enemies often feel like damage sponges, and the general feel of the game is unpolished, grindy, and repetitive.”
    • “The amount of HP the bosses have here is insane. Players usually rely on farming a preorder quest where you can easily farm money (not accessible to everyone), and then use a charm that gives you incredible damage when you have max money to deal enough damage to the bosses; otherwise, you'll be barely scratching them when you attack.”
    • “Every single zombie needs way too many hits; it's so tedious and drags the game out, while providing no fun at all.”
  • optimization

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is largely well-optimized, delivering smooth performance and focusing more on immediate gameplay than long-term build complexity. Minor hiccups such as occasional item-induced hitches and rare crashes were reported, suggesting room for further optimization improvements. Overall, the game's charm and performance are strong but could benefit from additional stability enhancements.

    • “The art, charm, heart, and performance are all there in spades.”
    • “Extra optimizations would be appreciated even though it's almost optimized; the game crashed between 15 to 20 mins just once though.”
    • “Most of its performance issues have been fixed (at least for my PC), but it still hitches a bit when you throw items sometimes.”
    • “Extra optimizations would be appreciated even though it is almost optimized; however, the game crashed once between 15 to 20 minutes.”
    • “The focus is clearly on moment-to-moment survival rather than deep build optimization across dozens of hours.”
  • music

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally considered decent but unremarkable, providing a few good tracks without standing out significantly. It complements the gameplay but doesn't leave a strong impression on players.

    • “All characters play pretty differently, good variation of bosses and enemies that change how you go about encounters and some good music tracks at points.”
    • “OK background music, not bad.”
    • “As you've likely noticed already, presentation and music aren't going to blow you away here.”
    • “Not the music....I can't come up with anything.”
  • stability

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from numerous bugs, glitches, and imbalances that negatively impact stability, leading to a rough and often frustrating gameplay experience.

    • “The levels are way too long, the mechanics are way too buggy, and the gameplay gets stale fast.”
    • “However, the numerous bugs, glitches, and imbalance hinder the overall experience.”
    • “Is the game buggy and rough?”
  • replayability

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Replayability is mixed, with some players finding depth and ongoing engagement once mechanics are learned, while others feel the game lacks variety and lasting appeal, citing limited content and minimal replay value.

    • “If you're willing to look past the low-budget production value and learn the mechanics, there's a lot of replayability to be had.”
    • “This is not a roguelike, it has no replay value - it doesn't even have first time play value.”
  • monetization

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users find the game's $16 price reasonable if it continues to receive meaningful updates, new characters, and substantial DLC without feeling like a cash grab, while noting that advertisements claiming it as a roguelike may be misleading.

  • atmosphere

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users praise the atmosphere for its significant enhancement of immersion and readability, with many considering it essential for creating a more cohesive and memorable aesthetic compared to the standard rendering.

    • “This mode significantly enhances atmosphere and readability, and many players consider it essential, as it gives the game a more cohesive and memorable aesthetic than the standard rendering.”
  • emotional

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's minimalist storytelling fits well with its roguelike design but may result in a lack of emotional depth and context, leaving some players wanting a stronger connection to the world.

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2h Median play time
2h Average play time
2-2h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Ed-0: Zombie Uprising is a survival hack and slash game with horror, fantasy, historical and violence themes.

Ed-0: Zombie Uprising is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 2 hours playing Ed-0: Zombie Uprising.

Ed-0: Zombie Uprising was released on April 3, 2022.

Ed-0: Zombie Uprising was developed by LANCARSE.

Ed-0: Zombie Uprising has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Ed-0: Zombie Uprising for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

Ed-0: Zombie Uprising is a single player game.

Similar games include Neon Abyss, UnderMine, Slasher's Keep, Dungeons of Edera, KIBORG and others.