SmallZ

About

SmallZ is a third-person, massively multiplayer role-playing game where players survive in a zombie-infested world. During the day, gather resources and build fortifications while zombies are docile, but be prepared for increased threats and the chance to loot higher-tier items from air drops at night. Interact with a power plant and generators to manage electricity, and watch out for other players who could pose a threat.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

57%

Audience ScoreBased on 46 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

The game has great potential for an open world zombie survival experience with a fun gameplay loop.
The developers are actively engaging with the community and consistently releasing updates based on player feedback.
The crafting and building mechanics are enjoyable, allowing players to create fortifications and strategize their survival.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and optimization issues, including save file corruption and inconsistent performance.
The map is small and feels unfinished, with limited points of interest and clunky movement mechanics.
Multiplayer functionality is lacking, with no servers available and various issues affecting gameplay, such as T-posing characters and unresponsive controls.

gameplay
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
11%
33%
Gameplay reviews are mixed, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses. While some players appreciate the fun, challenging mechanics and smooth controls, others criticize issues like janky performance, lag, and subpar combat. Overall, the game offers an engaging experience with frequent updates, though improvements in map size and gun mechanics are desired.
- “The gameplay is fun and challenging, and the developers have been constantly updating the game with new content.”
- “The single-player mode offers challenging gameplay with intuitive controls and smooth mechanics.”
- “The cooperative gameplay is a blast and the graphics have taken the game to a whole new level.”
- “The gameplay is janky, with obnoxious background sounds, laggy performance, and the combat is poor.”
- “The gameplay loop is the same as any other survival game out there, with the difficulty being easy to adapt to for new players.”
- “The mechanics are easy enough to understand but take a while to get used to.”
graphics
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The graphics of the game are described as simple yet effective, contributing positively to the overall experience, particularly in cooperative gameplay. However, there are notable issues such as glitches during attacks, a poorly executed day-night cycle, and sluggish movement that detract from the visual experience. Overall, while the art style is appreciated, technical shortcomings hinder the graphics' potential.
- “The cooperative gameplay is a blast, and the graphics have taken the game to a whole new level.”
- “Lovely art style, and the game is fun with friends.”
- “The graphics are very simple but work great with the game.”
- “The graphics and game world are fairly basic and only acceptable.”
- “When you jump, it feels like you're in slow motion, and when you attack anything, the graphics glitch.”
- “The day-night cycle is implemented poorly, and players spawn camp as soon as you load into the only two servers available.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with players reporting numerous bugs and glitches, including issues with gun mechanics, frame rate drops, and equipment problems. While it shows potential, the overwhelming presence of these technical issues significantly detracts from the overall gameplay experience, making it frustrating for users.
- “They almost have something good, but it's a buggy mess.”
- “Currently, there is a decent amount of glitches like gun magazines not working properly, horrible FPS, and equipping problems. Not to mention, you can melee the zombies without worry if you use fast melee, as it stun locks them.”
- “I get that it's in early access, but when 90% of what you end up doing is managing the bugs and glitches, and the other 10% is dying while trying to fix said bugs and glitches, it makes for a god-awful playing experience.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express frustration with the grinding aspect of the game, particularly criticizing the time-consuming micromanagement required for farming, which yields minimal rewards. Additionally, the lack of weapon variety despite extensive exploration contributes to a sense of monotony and dissatisfaction.
- “Farming does not respect your time, as it expects you to micromanage adding water every 15 seconds to each plot for 20 minutes, yielding less than a third of a brick per plot.”
- “I didn't find any other weapons than the butcher knife I started with, despite running through a huge farming area, several houses, and that military camp.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, leading to problems such as save corruption during loading. Players have noted that it feels akin to playing a mobile game on PC, resulting in subpar performance.
- “There are optimization issues, and my save got corrupted just trying to load into it like normal, so I quit.”
- “If you ever wanted to play a mobile game on your PC and still get the equivalent of mobile performance, then this is the game for you.”
story
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story aspect of the game is criticized for its time-consuming farming mechanics, which require constant micromanagement and offer minimal rewards, leading to frustration among players.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization of the game is criticized as a cash grab, with users noting that it appears to reuse resources from another title, Deadpoly, and lacks significant improvements or bug fixes.
- “I tried to give the game the benefit of the doubt, but it feels like a total cash grab. It uses the same resources as Deadpoly, and the developer barely fixed any bugs before releasing it.”
- “The monetization strategy is frustrating; it feels like they prioritize profit over player experience.”
- “It's disappointing to see a game that could be great marred by aggressive monetization tactics.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely criticized, with users noting that the sound effects are so poorly executed that they detract from any comedic value, making the experience more frustrating than amusing.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users generally find that the game's replayability significantly enhances its overall enjoyment, leading some to change their recommendations to positive.
- “The game offers so many different paths and choices that I find myself coming back to explore new strategies.”
- “Each playthrough feels unique, thanks to the variety of characters and storylines available.”
- “The random events and challenges keep the gameplay fresh, making me want to dive back in for another round.”

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SmallZ
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SmallZ

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Buy SmallZ

SmallZ

Videos

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