The Last Stand: Aftermath – PS5 Version, Reviewed on PS5 Pro – Horror, Shooter, Survival
The Last Stand: Aftermath features a top-down zombie-filled world that puts the player in control of randomly generated “survivors” which themselves are infected, and therefore must go out into the countryside and scavenge for supplies and information before they perish. This is the fifth installment in a long-running “Last Stand” series first published in 2007.
Story:
Set in a post-apocalyptic society, a human camp named “The End” is small and in need of supplies to keep going. The humans still alive have grouped together and built a protected zone, but unfortunately people still wind up infected by the surrounding zombie plague. Anyone that winds up as such becomes a “volunteer” and is sent out into the ravaged world to find anything useful.
Infection however means that there isn’t much hope for your controlled character. There is a limited time remaining before you are fully zombie-fied, or worse. Worse??? Well, exploded, torn to pieces, squished, eaten, you know the drill. It’s a dangerous world out there.
So, what is the “story” then exactly? Well, the game will generate a group of three volunteers for you to choose from for each traversal into the lands surrounding. They all will have a bit different of a beginning load out (a mix of weapons, supplies or booster items), and then trek out into the suburbs. What will they find?!
As the game mixes up its possible locations, bad guys, loot and more, it generates a “fresh” and relatively “new” map and experience for each run. There are branching locations to choose from, not all of which will be accessible for your volunteer’s journey, giving some choice and consequence for the player. As you work your way through zombie filled streets and try to stay alive, maybe you will stumble across some information on the plague itself, or maybe some hope to surviving it if you keep pushing forward?
Gameplay:
The gameplay is basic, but mostly fair. You are given melee, long range weaponry and explosive or special type throwables. You guide your character around from a top-down perspective, rolling or dodging away from lurching zombie swings or bites, and trying to avoid the infection setting in any sooner than needed. As your player is always infected, there is an “infection meter bar” on the screen always showing you how close your character is to death, or zombie-fication. It is both health meter and zombie meter, as if you die or become fully infected your character’s journey is over.
It is just a matter of time before you succumb to one form of Game Over trigger, so you must balance your character’s existing life with remaining time left. Pushing forward quickly however could be disastrous as it is easy to be overcome by too many zombies. However, if you choose to go too slowly you may not learn most anything or get many supplies for camp before the hour glass’ sand is gone.
In general, you get to keep a lot of supplies that you don’t use, and send that stuff home to camp for permanent level ups and unlocks which are then applied to all future survivors. This gives you a chance to get tougher and stronger, last longer in the zombie-fied wasteland, and have stronger weapons or medical supplies right out the gate.
Melee weapons break down after usage, and ammo resources are sparse. But maybe you’ll get lucky and come across a cache of some sort, or supply box. Hopefully you have the right unlock key, as they are also limited, but if you have been planning and using resources wisely a well-balanced run through the danger zone can leave your character armed up and ready to mow down crowds of baddies.
Exploration is key, as hidden items or details are spread throughout all the maps randomly. Some will trigger story continuations, and some will just give a new tidbit of detail about surviving the plague. Story moments when triggered will then give you a new goal for any next survivor when your current one dies along the way.
When you start feeling stronger and advancing through the story a bit, the game will introduce much tougher “super” zombies to really ruin your day, which adds a bit of tension as one small mistake can kill a very healthy character in seconds. After you make it through the suburbs, your players will keep pushing on along through the mountains, through a sunken city and finally to hell. Yay.
Noise is both enemy and ally, as you want to avoid zombie detection and moving slowly and quietly helps, however you can also use it to aid you by creating a distraction. Just make sure that when you trigger any loud siren or car alarm, or throw a makeshift noise grenade, stay the hell out of the loud area. Zombies move fast when they hear something they think they want to eat, or triggers their curiosity.
While it may feel a touch repetitive, especially after a long hour or so run leads to nothing, the basic gameplay is explore, attack, strategize, manage resources, and survive as long as possible. Understanding that your character WILL die, and how best to use their time is key.
Graphics:
While not revolutionary, the backgrounds are detailed and the figures move and look just fine. Zombies explode into bloody messes, gas clouds and poison reveal themselves clearly, fires burn with hot danger, debris and loot is scattered along the wayside everywhere. Gunplay and explosions are fine, and most everything looks pretty good overall.
As a game like this is mostly designed to be a simple presentation and focus on the gameplay, it’s nice to get as detailed presentations of city and landscape exploration. All of the four major zones have their own distinct feel and lots of maps to explore. None of the places felt sparse and only sometimes did I feel like I had really explored the same zones over and over.
Fun-level:
This is where the levels will vary. Some people will love the timed survival and exploration aspects. Some will absolutely hate how putting in a full hour can sometimes lead to almost nothing. Some will love seeing how far they can make it with their survivors, while some will feel devastated to lose so much progress upon each inevitable death. It definitely is repetitive at times.
I got used to getting into an exploration groove, but did get bummed out a few times after a very small mistake, or bit of area that was hard to navigate and got my character stuck and killed instantly. The good news is, retaining a bit of the supplies and experience gathered did mean next time you come back stronger, and eventually you are able to level up survivors enough to skip plenty of the repeated early stages, or power through early zones without a lot of danger.
Is there any hope if all of your characters are doomed to die? Well, possibly, but you’ll have to play the game to find out.
Downloadable Content (DLC) Review:
None at this time of writing.
Final Score: 7.0
DLC Score: N/A