Zelter

Zelter is a survival-crafting game where scavenging, base building, and fighting off the undead are the whole point. By our assessment, its appeal is straightforward: gather, craft, fortify, repeat, with the usual pressure of hunger, danger, and limited resources. The strength of that kind of game is the routine itself, because every found tool or patch of shelter has immediate value. The drawback is just as familiar, since survival-crafting can become grindy fast if the world does not keep offering new problems. In practice Zelter sounds like one of those games that asks for steady upkeep and a tolerance for repetition more than big story moments. It sits in the crowded middle of the genre rather than above it, alongside many other zombie survival projects. It is for players who like making something hold together under pressure, and not for anyone hoping for a clean, fast-paced action game.