Kick Some Zombie Butt And Be The Last One Standing In Thorn: Zombie Dungeon Survival
Thorn: Zombie Dungeon Survival ($1.99) by Good Controller LLC is an arcade-like game that mixes dungeon survival with many levels of mazes. This may be the developers' first game, but with the great graphics, gameplay, and music you would have never guessed.
Meet Thorn. He is a Viking hero who has set out to save his brains from the mazes full of zombies. There are treasure chests to open in each dungeon level which provide you with health potions and new weapons (axes, bombs, and even shuriken).
This game sounded interesting enough. I mean, really, you throw "zombie" in the title and I'm all over it like the undead on some brains. Not to mention the fact that it's in a dungeon setting made the little RPG nerd in me screams, "Want!"
One of the first screens I see is one that reads, "This game is cooler with headphones." Oh, really? Well, I grabbed my headphones and plugged them in. I was blown away. The music is amazing. I would literally pay two dollars just to open the game up and listen to the music all day long. I love it.
The goal of the game is to make it to the end of the levels. You must navigate the different dungeons and slay as many zombies as you can on your way to the exit. To move, just click where you want to go. I played by holding my finger down most of the time, until I came across some brain-hungry monsters.
To attack the zombies, click on them. You can even use thrown weapons to attack at range. The best part, though, is that you can slash more than one zombie face at a time by tracing a line from Thorn to multiple zombies. C-c-c-combo!
What else is fun? You can double tap anywhere to roll to that area. Getting owned by zombies? Just roll to the other side of the room and start attacking from afar. You will also have a clear view of both your own health and the zombies health at all times.
Even though I knew it was a survival game, I was a bit hurt to find myself back at level one after dying. I guess I'm just spoiled by "save points" and "insert coin to continue." However, because the levels are randomly generated, it's really not a loss. The map and spawning points of loot and monsters will never be the same. So, even though you'll start back at level one once you die, the replay factor is still very much there.
If you have questions, concerns, or just want to tell the developers how awesome the game is, they have forums set up on their site. They actually want to hear from the player base as to what you want implemented, what you like, and what you don't like.
Currently, there is only an iPhone version, but I hear a universal app is on the horizon. It's only two dollars in the App Store and I highly suggest purchasing it. My only qualm is that I would like Game Center support with achievements. But the graphics and music are great and the unique controls and gameplay tie it all together in a perfect dungeon slasher package. And did I mention zombies?
Here's a short walkthrough video for the first level, compliments of Good Controller LLC:
