‘#KILLALLZOMBIES’ Review

Platform PlayStation 4

Developer/Publisher Beatshapers Ltd.

Genre Twin Stick Shooter

With a video game title such as #KILLALLZOMBIES (#KAZ), it’s instantly clear you don’t have to take the game seriously. On the other hand, one may think “I’ll pass” upon hearing the silly name. Whoever is reading this and had the latter instinct is correct.

#KAZ is a twin-stick shooter where players are put in a hexagon-shaped arena to fight off endless waves of – you guessed it – zombies. Using items placed in the arena with 50 perks given to players at random, which can either help you or meet your demise sooner, the goal is to survive for as long as possible.

The main draw with #KAZ is its unique idea of integrating broadcast viewers with gameplay. Anyone who is viewing a game via Twitch or UStream has the ability to either assist the player or zombies in different ways by typing commands.


However, that’s where the game’s distinctive feature ends and barely goes anywhere.

Whether you’re a viewer or fighting the undead horde yourself, the gameplay itself is overall monotonous. Not to mention the rounds can end quickly because it can get almost too difficult too fast.

#KAZ has hardly been marketed either, meaning people will care even less to watch. After waiting between 30 minutes to an hour, I only had one viewer and, admittedly, it was my roommate. Like me, he had no idea what to do because the game doesn’t provide clear explanations, or in general for that matter, on how viewers may interact with players.

It also like feels like developer Beatshapers shipped an incomplete package. The only mode available at the moment is Survival, but the two other modes – Defend the Flag and Co-op Ladder – along with more weapons and enemy types will be made available at a later time. Although this content will be free, it would have been a much smarter move to release all content at once instead of giving players one-third – perhaps even less – of the product, especially when I see entertaining potential in a local co-op mode.

The game as a whole isn’t completely bleak, however. Even though you are placed in only one dull environment, it has pretty visuals for a download title, and there can easily be dozens of zombies on screen without causing lag, even during live streams.

Although I dislike how the perks you can use are picked at random whether people are watching or not, some of them are great. Perks such as making all zombies move in a slow motion or temporary are literal life savers in dire situations. On the other hand, riskier ones such as receiving less points while sacrificing two-thirds of your health to kill all zombies on screen add flare to the title.

The starting weapons players receive, some of which are unlocked by playing the game for a few matches, are well-balanced. For example, the shotgun has power and a wide blast radius, but has little range and only two shots before reloading. On the other hand, the revolver has longer range, can pierce through multiple zombies and has six shots. None of the weapons can be dubbed as awful. The preference is simply in the eye of the beholder.

I wouldn’t recommend #KAZ among the bevvy of other downloadable choices the PlayStation 4 offers. The gameplay is boring, there is currently only one mode to choose from, players are pitted in the same compact environment, and though the concept of integrating viewers during a stream – which isn’t featured in hardly any other games, if any – is a unique idea, it falls flat in nearly every way. If Beatshapers had shipped a more complete game, #KAZ would be an easier recommendation, but as of now, your $13.99 can be put to better use elsewhere on the PlayStation Network than this undead as a doornail title.

The Good

  • Weapon balance
  • Looks great with many zombies on screen
  • Some interesting perks…

The Bad

  • … that can only be chosen at random
  • Mostly boring gameplay
  • Feels incomplete at launch
  • Rounds can end too fast
  • Streaming features not explained well…
  • … And good luck getting viewers to use the feature anyway

The Score: 4.0