Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 2,821 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Game Cover
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In Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, players engage in a turf war as either plants or zombies in a variety of multiplayer modes. Explore three free-roam regions and customize your characters with unique abilities and upgrades. Team up with friends in online cooperative play, or compete in objective-based and deathmatch modes in this charming third-person shooter.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Cloud
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
  • x_box_cloud_gaming
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,821 reviews
story42 positive mentions
stability32 negative mentions
  • Fun gameplay with a variety of characters and abilities.
  • Great graphics and art style that appeals to fans of the franchise.
  • Engaging single-player campaign with plenty of collectibles and side quests.
  • Lack of character variants and customization options compared to previous games.
  • Multiplayer is often filled with bots due to a low player base, making matches less enjoyable.
  • Game has performance issues and crashes frequently, especially on lower-end PCs.
  • story128 mentions

    The story in the game is generally considered fun and engaging, featuring a variety of quests and colorful environments, though it often relies on repetitive fetch quests and lacks depth in character development. While some players appreciate the lighthearted and whimsical nature of the narrative, others find it simplistic and lacking in replay value. Overall, the story mode is seen as a highlight, providing enjoyable single-player content alongside multiplayer options, despite some criticisms regarding its brevity and generic quest design.

    • “The game introduces three distinct regions to explore, each packed with colorful environments and an array of missions.”
    • “Loved this game because of its diverse storyline and PvP along with its wide variety of characters and possibilities.”
    • “The single player content is also very nice; plenty of quests to do, areas to explore, and funny dialogue to read.”
    • “Considering it’s PvZ, there's not much to the story.”
    • “As much as I hate to say it, the game is repetitive; every single main quest is just 'collect 3 things, put things together, fight main boss of area.'”
    • “This is the bare bones of what Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare was; it removes one of the funnest things in the game, the sub-classes to all of the characters, which is really disappointing. It lacks variety in its story/single player mode and is very repetitive.”
  • gameplay114 mentions

    The gameplay of "Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville" has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying its fun mechanics and smooth controls, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking the depth of previous installments. Many users noted issues with bot-filled multiplayer lobbies, balancing problems, and the removal of character variants, which detracted from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, some players appreciate the game's graphics and the unique abilities of characters, suggesting that it can still be enjoyable, particularly when on sale.

    • “From the moment I stepped into the whimsical world of Neighborville, I was captivated by its quirky humor, delightful art style, and addictive gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay mechanics are incredibly smooth, making battles feel both strategic and exhilarating.”
    • “Classic Garden Warfare gameplay plus some new features make for a great sequel.”
    • “Greedy business practices, gameplay that is worse than the previous installment in the team-based shooter franchise, and not just ugly but boring graphics suck the joy and life from this game.”
    • “The gameplay is really nothing to write home about, mostly being made up of the same types of missions and battles.”
    • “They've broken the core gameplay loop; most of the time you go to queue for a battle, it will just put you into a match full of bots (and either your team will have an advantage as 3v1 human players, or a disadvantage of 1v3).”
  • graphics111 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the vibrant and whimsical art style as a significant improvement over previous installments, while others criticize it for being cartoonish and lacking the depth of earlier games. Overall, the visuals are often described as stunning and well-designed, contributing positively to the gameplay experience, despite some technical issues and personal preferences regarding the art style. Many players appreciate the colorful graphics and character designs, though some feel that the game suffers from a lack of content and optimization.

    • “The graphics are remarkable.”
    • “The graphics manage to make up for a lot of the lacking gameplay however because of how crisp and authentic they are and really make you feel like you're in the PVZ universe.”
    • “This game is quite exciting and can make a good mood, a game full of color and adorable graphics that's recommended to play.”
    • “Greedy business practices, gameplay that is worse than the previous installment in the team-based shooter franchise, and not just ugly but boring graphics suck the joy and life from this game.”
    • “The graphics are so unoptimized I have to restart it every few hours if I want to play this game without random freezes and lags, glitching graphics, resolution and FPS drops, and crashes.”
    • “But the new art style for the characters is horrible; it doesn't even look like the original games.”
  • humor37 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its quirky and whimsical nature, with players enjoying the funny dialogue, charming characters, and goofy aesthetics. Many find the humor to be a delightful blend of fun and absurdity, contributing to an engaging and lighthearted gameplay experience. However, some players feel that while the dialogue is entertaining, there could be more comedic elements in the game's actions and animations.

    • “From the moment I stepped into the whimsical world of Neighborville, I was captivated by its quirky humor, delightful art style, and addictive gameplay.”
    • “There's loads of extras to collect and puzzles to solve, as well as the hilarious dialogue.”
    • “The characters are funny and the new abilities and maps are better than ever!”
  • stability35 mentions

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and various glitches that hinder gameplay. While some users noted improvements and a more enjoyable experience after updates, others expressed frustration over persistent issues, including unresponsive servers and game corruption. Overall, the game appears to be a mix of fun elements overshadowed by significant stability problems.

    • “The game isn't full of bugs and glitches.”
    • “Matchmaking works fine, not buggy, doesn't lag all that much, overall funny and charming single-player content.”
    • “Bug-free experience.”
    • “Game glitches and I can no longer play; I just get a black screen. Good gameplay, but there's a good 50% chance that 10 hours in, your game gets corrupted.”
    • “Seems like there's an unfixable startup and crash issue. I only got through the intro partway, and troubleshooting the issue through guides didn't solve it either.”
    • “This game is so unoptimized that I have to restart it every few hours if I want to play without random freezes, lags, glitching graphics, resolution and FPS drops, and crashes.”
  • grinding29 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it both fun and tedious. While some enjoy the grind for character levels and cosmetics, others feel it can become monotonous and overly time-consuming, often requiring significant investment to achieve 100% completion or unlock desired items. Additionally, concerns about a lack of developer support and a dwindling player base contribute to the overall sentiment that while the game can be enjoyable, the grinding experience may deter casual players.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Grindy (60 - 100 hours).”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “My only complaints are that the game is pretty dead with no dev support and a very small player base on PC. The achievements are really easy except 'Time to Seriously Go Outside,' which is about promoting 20 characters to master rank. Each character has 50 levels, so it takes a lot of grinding.”
    • “Even if you want to play casually, it becomes boring due to the amount of grinding just to get something.”
    • “If you're a fan of the originals, then I suggest just keeping playing them. Even Garden Warfare 1 is still more active than this game. As much as I wanted to enjoy it, it's just hard to get invested when useful upgrades are locked behind tedious paywalls and new characters require several hours of the same boring game.”
  • optimization21 mentions

    The game's optimization has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players reporting frequent crashes, lag, and performance issues, particularly on PC. While some users noted good optimization on consoles, the PC version suffers from significant problems, including graphical glitches and the need for frequent restarts. Overall, the game's performance is considered poor, leading to a frustrating experience for many players.

    • “The graphics are very good, and, unlike Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, this game is more optimized and I can play it normally.”
    • “Performance hiccups and crashes are rare now; just be aware that this game looks amazing and runs on a demanding modern engine; expect to run it on lower settings on older hardware.”
    • “Despite some bugs and optimization issues, it's still far better than Overwatch 2.”
    • “Ridiculously unoptimized, and I keep crashing after games end.”
    • “This game is so unoptimized I have to restart it every few hours if I want to play without random freezes, lags, glitching graphics, resolution and FPS drops, and crashes.”
    • “This game is very unoptimized for PC, and I would not recommend it.”
  • music21 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its nostalgic and enjoyable qualities, particularly in comparison to earlier titles in the series. While some users find the soundtrack to be good, they note it lacks the unique personality and charm of the original Garden Warfare games. Overall, the audio effects and music are considered top-notch, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere, despite some criticism regarding the absence of music during battles and the reuse of tracks.

    • “Phenomenal music as always for the whole series.”
    • “An amazing and nostalgic feel when I hear the theme song start.”
    • “Everyone can remember the melodic backyard music of the original PVZ, setting up pea shooters and sunflowers, and defending Crazy Dave and his house.”
    • “The intro song to this is mid, not very good.”
    • “In battle, there is no music.”
    • “The soundtrack in this game is fine, but after playing GW1 and GW2 more, I realized it has way more personality than whatever this is.”
  • monetization17 mentions

    The monetization model of the game has drawn significant criticism, with many reviewers labeling it a cash grab, particularly highlighting the prevalence of microtransactions and high prices for cosmetics. While some players appreciate that progression can be achieved without spending money, others feel that the game is overly reliant on in-game purchases, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the monetization strategy is seen as exploitative, especially given the game's poor quality and lack of meaningful content.

    • “Easy to progress in battle when I can play, and the in-game purchases can be ignored since everything, including the battle pass, can be easily unlocked through play.”
    • “[b]Not pay to win;[/b] the only microtransactions are cosmetics or things that get you more cosmetics.”
    • “There is almost no fun in just walking around and doing meaningless tasks, which are charming, but after having played GW2 way more on PC, I can safely say the servers there are better, still active, the campaign is better, microtransactions are less intrusive, and to be honest, it's not that bad there. There is no point at which you have to buy anything, and the fact of the matter is that after you get all the variants, everything else is cosmetic, which you can also get for free by just playing the game.”
    • “Just an example of EA being a cash-grabbing soulless company.”
    • “When PVZ 2 came out, the dev realized EA wanted it to be an exclusive phone app that has microtransactions.”
    • “This pile of rotten watermelons wants you to think it's a good old Garden Warfare game, but instead you get a game full of microtransactions, bad graphic changes, and a campaign that literally supports buying a lot of the in-game currency tacos.”
  • replayability8 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is seen as a mixed bag; while many players appreciate the endless activities and addictive gameplay, others criticize the lack of engaging character variants and a compelling story campaign, which diminishes long-term interest. The absence of meaningful upgrades and a fresh setting also detracts from its replay value compared to previous titles in the series.

    • “The replayability is endless with so many things to do.”
    • “This game is very good; even though it does not have character variants like Garden Warfare 2, it still has a lot of replay value.”
    • “The replayability factor was really there, unlike for BFN.”
    • “Proper variants with more interesting upgrade and tweak trees (and a slight change in style, why are we back in suburbia after the events of GW2 where we literally travel through time?) would've given this game a lot more replay value; hell, it would've possibly saved it from its cancellation.”
    • “- No replay value for story campaign.”
    • “There's no replayability; for example, after you do all the story missions, it's just boring at that point. I liked this game series before EA said, 'Hey, you can't make good games anymore!'”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is characterized by a hero shooter approach, featuring distinct roles and abilities for each character, such as shields. The new character designs are praised for their beauty and originality, contributing to an engaging multiplayer experience, despite the game's unconventional theme.

    • “Space Cadet is the peak of multiplayer shooter character design.”
    • “The new character design is just beautiful.”
    • “I've always had a lot of fun with it, and I think the character designs are super neat and original.”
    • “It definitely went for more of a hero shooter approach to character design, with some characters having shields and defined roles on a team.”
    • “Space cadet is the peak of multiplayer shooter character design.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is praised for being vibrant and immersive, contributing to an engaging experience that remains appealing even years after its release. However, some players still prefer the atmosphere of other games, such as Guild Wars 2.

    • “Even in 2022, this game's atmosphere still feels so alive.”
    • “Good game, nice atmosphere and challenge, but currently I prefer GW2.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is perceived as lacking, with users feeling that it fails to engage or innovate, leading to a disconnection from the experience. The overall sentiment suggests a sense of indifference, as players find themselves merely waiting for the game to load without any compelling reason to interact.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Buy Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville

Play time

25hMedian play time
48hAverage play time
2-70hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 11 analyzed playthroughs

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