Zafehouse: Diaries

About

Zafehouse: Diaries is a single player survival role playing game with a horror theme. It was developed by Screwfly Studios and was released on September 6, 2013. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

In Zafehouse: Diaries, you manage a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. Through interactive diaries, make strategic decisions, manage resources, and maintain morale to ensure your group's survival. With procedurally generated scenarios and extensive replayability, each playthrough offers unique challenges and opportunities.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 516 reviews

gameplay17 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

The game offers a unique text-based survival experience that emphasizes strategy and character management.
Customization options allow players to create their own characters and scenarios, enhancing replayability.
The game effectively captures the tension and unpredictability of a zombie apocalypse, making each playthrough feel distinct.

The game can be extremely difficult and punishing, often leading to frustrating losses due to random events.
Survivor interactions can feel unrealistic and overly volatile, with characters frequently fighting each other for trivial reasons.
The interface and mechanics can be clunky, making it hard for players to manage their survivors effectively.

gameplay
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
70%
11%
The gameplay of Zafehouse: Diaries is a mixed bag, featuring unique automatic mechanics that create an engaging atmosphere, but it is often hindered by clunky controls and a frustrating user interface. While the strategic elements and character creation are praised, many players find the reliance on RNG and the lack of direct control over certain actions to be detracting from the overall experience. Despite its potential and addictive nature, the game requires a steep learning curve and can feel repetitive, leading to a recommendation for patience and a willingness to embrace frequent losses.
- “It has unique automatic mechanics which really makes the characters and world feel alive, but it's a difficult game also if you play on hard, for example.”
- “Pretty fun and addicting when you get used to the mechanics and how the game works.”
- “Still, I really recommend it because of the unique gameplay that is fun and at the same time very addicting.”
- “The game mechanics feel wrong, the in-game UI is horrible, and the game does not register that some tasks/missions are unable to be pursued any further. The limitation of actions available makes it not enjoyable at all!”
- “However, this game has some very clunky mechanics and can be rather hard to follow and understand in the beginning, which makes it very hard to get into at all.”
- “Zafehouse: Diaries certainly had potential and is enjoyable at times, but the game is bogged down by questionable design choices and clunky in-game mechanics.”
story
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
84%
7%
The game's story is primarily conveyed through diary entries, allowing players to create their own narratives while navigating a zombie-infected world. While the randomly generated events and character creation foster a sense of connection, many players find the story lacks interactivity and depth, often feeling more like reading than engaging in a traditional gameplay experience. Overall, it serves as a decent story generator for those willing to invest their imagination, despite its repetitive nature and limited choices.
- “You lead a bunch of survivors on a quest to leave a zombie-infected town.”
- “In my opinion, the best thing about this game is the idea of reading your survivors' story/diary.”
- “The randomly generated events, and the ability to create your own survivors adds a sense of actual connection to the story.”
- “The story isn't very interactive, the choices are rare, and it's more like just reading a story than playing a game.”
- “Zafehouse is one of those games that makes you crave and wish that the game was more detailed, less repetitive, and had a much better story.”
- “Even if you do things right and pick the right people for certain missions, the game just rolls the dice that says 'you're dead' on every side of the dice.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
The graphics of the game, while primarily text-based, are noted for their immersive quality that enhances the storytelling experience. Users appreciate the art style, comparing it to "This War of Mine," and find the visuals stimulating and satisfying, despite the lack of traditional 3D graphics. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's atmosphere, making it feel more engaging than many other titles in the genre.
- “The game is text-based, but that doesn’t mean that the visuals don’t enhance the gameplay.”
- “Graphics are immersive and bring life to the story.”
- “Graphics are highly stimulating and satisfying.”
- “At least DayZ had visuals!”
- “If you want a tactical game that is heavily graphical, then buy XCOM.”
- “Has a really similar art style to This War of Mine without the sidescrolling elements.”
replayability
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
33%
7%
The game offers significant replayability due to its custom content creator, allowing players to create unique survivors, items, and locations, which enhances the overall experience. With randomly-generated playthroughs and the ability to share stories through a diary feature, players can enjoy a fresh experience each time, making it highly recommended for those who complete the main campaigns. Each session lasts about 1-2 hours, but the variability ensures that no two games are the same.
- “The ability to create custom survivors, items, and places is pretty cool, and the feature to save the diary to allow players to share stories for the community is a unique experience that adds significant replayability value.”
- “This variability gives the game an epic amount of replayability, and once you complete the three main campaigns, the game includes an easy-to-use in-game custom content creator.”
- “Each game takes about 1-2 hours to beat, but there's tons of replay value as every game plays out differently.”
- “I highly recommend the custom content options once you're finished with the three campaigns, as it adds longevity and replay value to your game.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
78%
22%
The atmosphere of the game is described as highly engaging and immersive, with great sound effects that enhance the experience, particularly in survival scenarios. However, some users feel that certain aspects lack excitement or atmosphere, indicating a mixed reception. Overall, the game's ability to create a compelling atmosphere is noted as a significant strength, despite its simple interface.
- “It's got a great atmosphere, awesome sound effects, and is incredible for saving at a moment's notice without losing anything of your game.”
- “Awesome survival game, and while it's only a text game, it's still super fun and it has great atmosphere.”
- “+ highly engaging, if not downright addictive gameplay that perfectly encapsulates the tone and atmosphere.”
- “There is no atmosphere to speak of or anything exciting.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
38%
The game's music effectively enhances the suspense and immersion, drawing players into the cooperative escape experience. However, some users criticize the sound assets as weak, noting a lack of substantial music and reliance on generic sound effects. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the atmosphere, it may not meet the expectations of all players.
- “The sound assets are weak and there is no real music, just some generic sound effects.”
- “Music is simple yet adds to the suspense.”
- “The music of the game draws you in as you try and keep your fragmented group cooperating as you all work together to escape the city before it's too late.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs reported by users and a lack of updates over the past few years. The forums are largely inactive, indicating a decline in community support and ongoing development. Overall, players describe the experience as a "big buggy mess."
- “The game has not been updated for a couple of years, the forums seem empty, and the game is buggy.”
- “One big buggy mess.”
- “When I bought this game, I stupidly assumed it would provide more than a few days' worth of buggy text adventure.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players experience a strong emotional pull when making decisions, often feeling torn between logic and their feelings towards characters. The ability to create custom groups, such as beloved characters from franchises like Mario or Adventure Time, enhances the potential for emotional attachment and investment in the game.
- “You will feel pressured by the logical side of a decision, and the emotional side.”
- “If you want to form an emotional attachment to the default group.”
- “Also, you can make custom survivors and spawn, say, the super best friends, a Mario group, or the cast of something nice and wholesome like Adventure Time.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users feel that the game's optimization is lacking, with suggestions for better image resizing and acknowledgment of various bugs and usability issues. While some features are appreciated, there is a consensus that significant improvements are needed for a smoother experience.
- “The game is not completely flawless; it could be optimized significantly, and you may encounter bugs or usability problems.”
- “It would be great if the game could be optimized to allow better resizing of the images.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is largely criticized for being virtually non-existent, leading to a lack of emotional investment in the characters. Players express frustration over the inability to connect with survivors, especially when their deaths occur quickly and without meaningful growth or narrative impact.
- “The virtually non-existent character development throughout the game, combined with injury debuffs that never seem to go away, makes it hard to care about the survivors when they inevitably die after just an hour of play.”
- “Character development is almost non-existent, and the persistent injury debuffs only add to the frustration, leaving players indifferent to the fate of their survivors.”
- “With minimal character development and injury debuffs that linger indefinitely, it's difficult to feel invested in the characters, especially when they fail to perform in critical moments.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly the repetitive task of moving items between secured locations, which offers little in terms of reward or satisfaction.
- “Traveling back and forth to move items from a secured house to your new secured location is very tedious and without much reward.”