Operation: Outbreak

About

Operation: Outbreak is a single player survival shooter game with horror, post-apocalyptic and violence themes. It was developed by DREADMITH Games and was released on December 20, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Your squad's vehicle exploded during a patrol, and you're the only survivor. The enemy is unusual this time. A virus has turned the city into a warzone of the undead. Get to the exfil in time or die trying. A free-to-play short and intense FPS zombie survival horror game.

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77%

Audience ScoreBased on 234 reviews

graphics15 positive mentions

monetization8 negative mentions

Impressive achievement for a solo student project developed in a few weeks, with good atmosphere, lighting, and graphics.
Fun and immersive short zombie FPS experience with decent gunplay and scares that keep players engaged.
Shows strong potential with effective world building and a promising foundation for future expansions or full versions.

Extremely short gameplay duration, more like a demo or tech test than a full game.
Clunky and limited controls with no key remapping, toggle-only ADS, and some unresponsive mechanics (e.g., bash/shove).
Issues with AI voices, poor zombie AI detection, unskippable cutscenes, lack of HUD elements like ammo/health indicators, and occasional bugs or optimization problems.

graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
35%
11%
The graphics are generally praised for their good quality, realistic textures, and effective lighting that enhances the zombie atmosphere, though some note they are not groundbreaking or slightly clunky compared to trailers. While not the most advanced, the visuals successfully capture the intended mood and contribute positively to the overall experience.
- “The graphics are really nice, textures look realistic, lighting and zombies look great too; looking forward to a new chapter.”
- “The gameplay was smooth, graphics excellent, and the weapons, albeit only two of them in the prologue, felt really good to use.”
- “The graphics and overall aesthetics are very well done.”
- “Trailer graphics are better than the game ones, so keep that in mind. However, the creepy feeling it gives adds to the fun.”
- “This is what zombie games were like back in the day, but with worse graphics.”
- “Had to put my graphics lower than usual.”
gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
50%
12%
The gameplay is generally smooth and atmospheric with simple FPS mechanics involving stealth, resource management, and realistic aiming, though it is notably short and somewhat clunky in places. Some users praise the satisfying gunplay and tension, while others find key mechanics like bashing and shoving unclear or unresponsive, and the lack of melee or distraction options limits depth. Overall, it shows promise but could benefit from refinement and expanded features to enhance engagement.
- “The gameplay was smooth, graphics excellent, and the weapons, albeit only two of them in the prologue, felt really good to use.”
- “The mechanics are simple: FPS, stealth, managing your available resources, and making it out alive.”
- “Although I finished it in 15 minutes, it gave me a few jump scares and the mechanics are excellent.”
- “All in all, the main gameplay mechanic absolutely blows.”
- “The gameplay is a bit clunky and limited but the graphics are quite decent and being so is a no brainer whether you like zombie shooters or not give it a go and a big thumbs up to this developing team.”
- “The gameplay is crap.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The story is brief and somewhat muddled, lasting only about 15 minutes with limited missions, but it provides decent environmental storytelling and motivation to progress. While voice acting and narrative depth are weak, users see potential for a fuller, more engaging story in future expansions or sequels. Overall, the story serves as a solid foundation but could benefit from more content and improved delivery.
- “Level designs are good, there is a decent story/narration to motivate the player to push through the campaign.”
- “It was a short game but I had fun, kind of felt like a beta and I think this is a great foundation for a future game that has more of a story to it.”
- “Can't wait for sequel or more mission/levels/story.”
- “Unfortunately limited with 15 minutes worth of story line.”
- “The zombie script could use some tweaking and the story is a bit muddled but I can see the vision.”
- “While the story and voice acting are weak, that's not a dealbreaker considering why I and others play games like this.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
30%
The game features strong world-building and a genuinely creepy, dread-filled atmosphere that effectively enhances its horror and survival elements. Despite modest graphics, the intense, spooky ambiance, aided by well-chosen effects and smooth transitions, keeps players engaged and on edge. Overall, the atmosphere is praised for its ability to deliver scares and create an immersive, suspenseful experience.
- “Great world building and dreadful atmosphere.”
- “Cool school project for sure, got me scared a couple of times. Really cool atmosphere, especially when I got the night vision; it got too creepy real fast.”
- “Overall, I really liked the atmosphere, the well-chosen shaders, the ability to skip the cinematic trailer, and the gameplay itself where zombies die from 1-3 bullets, the realistic aiming.”
monetization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
89%
The game's monetization is praised for having no microtransactions, but the aiming down sights (ADS) mechanic is widely criticized for being clunky, slow, and limited to a toggle option without a hold alternative. Many players find shooting from the hip more effective, and there are calls for improvements to ADS functionality and control customization.
- “Glad you started out on the right track with no microtransactions.”
- “This game is very good but one glaring thing I don't like is the ADS is toggled and there isn't an option to change it from toggle to hold.”
- “Ads'ing is clunky and slow; a toggle is the only option I saw, and it did not feel like it had any buff over just using the built-in crosshair when not ADS.”
- “If the dev wants to continue on the project, more levels, and better ADS because I felt the gun took half the screen and the iron sights were still a bit small.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game’s optimization appears inconsistent among users, with some praising its performance as well-optimized compared to similar titles, while others report poor optimization likely due to developer inexperience with UE5, highlighting a crucial area needing improvement.
- “The game seems poorly optimized for my system.”
- “The game is not optimized, likely due to the developer still learning how to use UE5, but optimization is an incredibly important issue that needs to be addressed.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from stability issues, including buggy options and unskippable cutscenes, which hinder the overall experience. Additionally, the lack of instructions and customizable controls further detracts from its stability and usability.
- “A very short prologue, with buggy options, no instructions, no customizable controls, and unskippable cutscenes.”
- “Achievement system is buggy.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users found the humor in the game's sound design amusing, particularly how the zombies' noises made them feel unexpectedly close, adding a humorous element to the experience.