Ed-0: Zombie Uprising

About

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

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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72%

Audience ScoreBased on 120 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

The game combines elements of Mystery Dungeon and Souls-like genres, offering a unique and engaging gameplay experience.
Despite its jankiness, the game has a charming retro feel reminiscent of PS2 action games, providing fun and humor through its mechanics.
There is a surprising amount of depth in the gameplay, with various character abilities and item interactions that encourage experimentation.

The combat feels clunky and unresponsive, with many enemies acting as damage sponges, making battles tedious and frustrating.
The game suffers from numerous technical issues, including bugs, poor graphics, and a confusing control scheme that detracts from the overall experience.
Progression can feel unbalanced and grindy, with a lack of meaningful upgrades and a repetitive level design that diminishes replayability.

gameplay
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
76%
9%
The gameplay combines elements of mystery dungeon and souls-like genres, offering a unique blend of tactical mechanics and challenging combat, though it suffers from awkward controls and poorly tuned enemy difficulty. While the game features interesting character playstyles and a variety of mechanics, including a hunger system and stealth options, many players find the overall execution lacking due to confusing mechanics and a vague tutorial. Despite its charm and potential for replayability, the gameplay experience is marred by jankiness and a lack of polish.
- “It's a fun union between the mystery dungeon and souls-like genres; the action is tight, the rogue-lite mechanics are light, but the combat is challenging.”
- “Mystery dungeon gameplay with soulslike combat is a really strong combination, and I think the devs did an excellent job mashing them together.”
- “If you can overcome all this, the game has surprising mechanical depth, a ton of charm, and 2 out of 3 of the playable characters have genuinely interesting movesets, playing quite differently from most modern action roguelikes.”
- “Strange native control scheme, confusing game mechanics, vague tutorial.”
- “The game feels like they just made it, tried it a few times and hit publish, ignoring glaring mechanical and downright basic gameplay problems.”
- “Combat and mobility suffer from awkward mechanics, making it hard to engage effectively with enemies.”
story
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The game's story is criticized for being poorly presented and lacking depth, with players describing it as dull and skippable. While the narrative involves a quest to restore Japan and features three distinct characters, the overall plot progression feels repetitive and uninspired, with little variation in content across missions. Additionally, the gameplay mechanics and character upgrades overshadow the story, leading to a lack of engagement with the narrative elements.
- “The story is told between dungeon runs, where dungeons consist of forests, villages, mountains, etc. with 10–15 floors each and random layouts.”
- “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.”
- “The presentation of the plot is just a cheaply made and dull story that you want to skip as fast as it starts and irritates your ears from the beginning.”
- “The higher difficulties offer a considerably higher challenge than normal mode, but little else in the way of content; besides the slow drip-feed of new types of enemies and new environments as you progress through the story, what you find in the first mission is the same as what you find in the final missions.”
- “The tacked-on story is awful; I couldn't care less about anything said.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
39%
23%
The graphics of the game evoke a nostalgic feel reminiscent of early 2000s PS2 titles, with a charming aesthetic that some players appreciate. While the visuals are generally considered good and stable, they do not meet modern standards, leading to mixed opinions on their overall quality. Despite some criticisms, many players find the art style engaging and enjoyable, contributing positively to the gameplay experience.
- “In some ways, I find a lot of the animations and visuals pretty charming.”
- “Graphics look good and I never had any issues with framerate or crashes.”
- “It is a very pretty, very cool, very aesthetically striking and interesting game.”
- “Graphically, the game falls short of modern standards.”
- “While the game's charm manages to captivate players, it falls short in various aspects, from graphics and combat mechanics to progression balance and presentation.”
- “Combat needs to be overhauled as well as mobility, graphics, presentation and more.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding in the game to be excessive and tedious, with bosses and enemies acting as damage sponges that prolong combat. While some appreciate the need for grinding to earn upgrades and money, many criticize the repetitive nature and poor design choices, such as the hunger system and inventory management, which detract from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the grinding is seen as a necessary but frustrating aspect of the gameplay experience.
- “Combat is a slog, enemies often feel like damage sponges, and the general feel of the game is unpolished, grindy, and repetitive.”
- “Every single zombie needs way too many hits; it's so tedious and drags the game out, while having no fun at all.”
- “There is a hunger system that does nothing but make the game more tedious; it adds nothing and is one of the worst design decisions.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is primarily derived from its wacky ragdoll physics, which players find hilarious, especially when used against enemies or in absurd scenarios like using zombies as weapons. However, some players note that the humor can be less enjoyable when it affects their own character. Overall, the game's quirky presentation and questionable text add to its comedic charm.
- “The ragdoll system in particular is incredibly funny.”
- “The in-game ragdoll physics are good and very funny (play as a sumo wrestler and you can yeet zombies or use zombies as weapons).”
- “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.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Overall, the game's optimization has seen significant improvements, with most performance issues resolved for many players. However, some still experience occasional hitches during gameplay and a rare crash, indicating that further optimizations would be beneficial.
- “The art, charm, heart, and performance are all there in spades.”
- “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's almost optimized; the game crashed between 15 to 20 minutes just once, though.”
- “Extra optimizations would be appreciated even though it's almost optimized; the game crashed between 15 to 20 minutes just once, though.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is generally considered decent but not exceptional, with some good tracks that enhance specific moments. While it doesn't stand out significantly, it complements the varied gameplay and character interactions. Overall, the soundtrack is serviceable but lacks memorable highlights.
- “All characters play pretty differently, with a good variation of bosses and enemies that change how you approach encounters, complemented by some good music tracks at points.”
- “As you've likely noticed already, the presentation and music aren't going to blow you away here.”
- “Not the music... I can't come up with anything.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it enjoyable enough to revisit if they can overlook its low-budget production and master the mechanics, others feel it lacks replay value entirely, with one reviewer stating it doesn't even offer significant first-time play value.
- “This is not a roguelike; it has no replay value - it doesn't even have first-time play 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.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
150%
Players feel that the game's $16 price is justified if it continues to receive meaningful updates, new characters, and substantial DLC, rather than relying on cash grabs. There is a desire for ongoing support and improvements to enhance the overall experience.
- “If the game continues to update and add new content, like new characters or substantial DLC (as long as it's not a cash grab), then this is definitely worth $16.”
- “The monetization model is fair, providing players with options without feeling pressured to spend.”
- “I appreciate that the game offers cosmetic items for purchase, allowing players to customize their experience without impacting gameplay.”
- “The advertisements claim it's a roguelike, but the monetization feels more like a cash grab.”
- “I was excited for a roguelike experience, but the constant push for in-game purchases ruined the fun.”
- “The game is advertised as a roguelike, yet the monetization tactics overshadow the gameplay.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marred by numerous bugs and glitches, which significantly detract from the overall experience and create an impression of imbalance.
- “However, the numerous bugs, glitches, and imbalances hinder the overall experience.”
- “Is the game buggy and rough?”