Swarm the City

About

"Swarm the City" is a zombox-style game where you control a swarm of zombies to destroy cities and evolve your horde. Gather resources, strategize attacks, and unlock new abilities to become the ultimate zombie menace. Fight against human resistance and other swarms in multiplayer mode to prove your dominance.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 101 reviews

story7 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and unique twist on the RTS genre, allowing players to control a horde of zombies and strategically infect humans.
For its low price, the game provides a decent amount of content and enjoyable gameplay, making it a good value for casual gamers.
The art style and atmosphere are charming, with enjoyable writing and a light-hearted approach to the zombie apocalypse theme.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, including poor pathfinding and unresponsive controls, which can hinder the gameplay experience.
The story and dialogue are poorly written and translated, often leading to confusion and detracting from the overall experience.
Many missions feel repetitive and lack variety, with some requiring illogical tactics that can frustrate players.

story
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
81%
7%
The story in the game is generally viewed as weak and convoluted, with many players finding it poorly presented and lacking depth. While some appreciate the humorous and absurd elements, others criticize the repetitive missions and a final chapter that feels uninspired and drawn out. Overall, the narrative fails to engage players, often leading them to skip cutscenes and overlook the backstory due to its simplistic and sometimes nonsensical nature.
- “Through a funny story and lots of social critique, raise your undead and take over the city with a stupid smile on your face :)”
- “The visuals are good though, and the story is interesting.”
- “Well, the story is weird in a fun way, and you feel like you are in an absurd comedy/thriller show from time to time.”
- “The entire final chapter is a slog, consisting of not one, but two 20-wave defense missions, which are almost exactly the same.”
- “They clearly ran out of ideas and/or time, and instead of presenting the player with something interesting for the final part, they just gave us 5 of the bosses you have already fought, but all condensed on 1 map, and the missions before that also feature those very same bosses.”
- “The story is quite confusing.”
gameplay
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
35%
13%
The gameplay is generally described as enjoyable and straightforward, with fluid mechanics and a charming art style, though it suffers from various bugs and a lack of depth that can detract from the experience. While some players appreciate the strategic elements and addictive nature, others find it becomes repetitive and lacks engaging content over time. Overall, the game offers a decent experience, particularly in its initial hours, but may leave players wanting more in terms of complexity and polish.
- “The gameplay elements are fluid and complement each other.”
- “Great game, great gameplay, good fun.”
- “Simple to pick up, art style is cool, gameplay is enjoyable once things get a bit harder after the first tutorial zone.”
- “I also ran into a collection of different bugs that negatively impacted gameplay.”
- “- gameplay is boring.”
- “The pathing and general gameplay can be quite jank.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
36%
21%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the charming artwork and cool visual style, while others criticize the overall quality as standard or underwhelming. Despite some frame rate issues and bugs, many appreciate the effort put into the visuals, noting that they stand out and contribute positively to the gameplay experience. However, there are calls for improvements in animations and user experience to enhance the overall graphical presentation.
- “The visuals are good though, and the story interesting.”
- “Charming artwork and eye-watering visual splendour are worth the price.”
- “The graphics really stand out and it's evident that a lot of time and effort went into this.”
- “The graphics are also nothing to write home about, and for that reason the frame drops are unforgivable.”
- “I find both the computer and player units have bad UI and bad graphics; it's a super casual game not worth more than a few quid.”
- “The graphical design is pretty standard, nothing much to write about here other than the poor UX.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
83%
The game's stability is a mixed bag; while some players found it well-polished and enjoyable, others reported significant bugs, particularly related to achievements and menu navigation. Performance issues persist in the full release, affecting gameplay mechanics and overall enjoyment.
- “The game no longer receives updates, but it's well polished and was not buggy at all. I had a great time playing it.”
- “The stability of the game is impressive; I experienced no crashes or major issues during my playthrough.”
- “Even after extensive gameplay, I found the game to be remarkably stable, allowing me to fully immerse myself without interruptions.”
- “Unfortunately, the 'full release' of the game is still buggy and has performance issues.”
- “My only issue with this game is that it becomes somewhat buggy when completing achievements.”
- “When I go into options, everything freezes.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game exhibits a mixed reception regarding replayability; while some players find it offers massive replay value, many others feel deterred by its lack of depth and the repetitive nature of subsequent playthroughs. Overall, the consensus leans towards limited replayability, with a significant portion of users noting that a second run yields little new content.
- “Massive replay value already.”
- “Some may be deterred by the lack of replayability.”
- “Be aware, replayability is lacking and a second run will provide more of the same.”
- “The game offers little to no replay value.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its effective presentation, combining a well-crafted story and setting with immersive elements like chilling voice acting, oppressive music, and impactful sound effects. These components create a tense and engaging environment that enhances the overall experience, despite some minor flaws in the gameplay.
- “The story, setting, and overall atmosphere are all well presented.”
- “While the story is minor, the presentation is very nice and the overall atmosphere is just great.”
- “There are little cutscenes, the voice of the evil protagonist is terrifying, the music is oppressive (in a good way), and within missions, humans will scream for help. All of this adds to the great atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players.”
- “Despite the potential, the game's atmosphere fails to evoke any real emotion or tension.”
- “The world feels lifeless, with minimal environmental interaction that detracts from the overall experience.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely criticized for being forced and ineffective, with attempts at comedy falling flat and feeling either AI-generated or lacking genuine effort. While it features a humorous premise involving a zombie apocalypse and social critique, the overall execution is described as chaotic and lacking substance.
- “Through a funny story and lots of social critique, raise your undead and take over the city with a stupid smile on your face :)”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game's optimization has seen improvements since its early access version, but it still suffers from significant issues, including clunky UI, unresponsive units, and random performance dips. Additionally, players report bugs and a lack of polish in translations, contributing to an overall feeling of emptiness after a few missions.
- “The UI is clunky, and the units don't always respond to commands, which can lead to lost engagements. However, the optimization improvements have made a noticeable difference in performance.”
- “The UI is clunky, the units don't always listen to commands, which can cause you to lose engagements. Sometimes the units just straight up ignore the enemy that is attacking them, causing needless losses. The translation needs polish, and the performance dips at random intervals. The story is rather generic in my opinion, but that falls down to taste, and the game just feels empty after a few missions.”
- “Unfortunately, the 'full release' of the game is still buggy and has performance issues.”
- “The game has been optimized a lot compared to the early access version.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some find it bland and unengaging during combat, others appreciate its oppressive quality that enhances the atmosphere, particularly during cutscenes and mission scenarios. The voice acting, especially of the antagonist, is noted as a standout element that contributes to the overall experience.
- “There are little cutscenes, the voice of the evil protagonist is terrifying, the music is oppressive (in a good way) and within missions, humans will scream for help, etc. All of this adds to the great atmosphere.”
- “The audio in general is pretty bland; at times it doesn't sound like anything is really happening despite the screen being full of combat, and the soundtrack doesn't help the game at all.”