Turn up “What Was Lost”, prepare for long days scavenging and long nights crafting, building and now even rearing animals in this huge new content update for hit survival simulator Project Zomboid. Build 42 has landed today, so you can download and dive into all the juicy new systems (and marvel at the new graphics) right now! While that’s downloading, though, have a peek at all the changes and additions right here.
Project Zomboid is a cult-classic, although one that has actually surpassed 152,000 user reviews in its long period of Early Access (since 2013, if you can believe it). In the last 13 years Project Zomboid has undergone progression and graphics updates, introduced a map tool and reacted to countless fan requests. Developer The Indie Stone are showing no signs of stopping, with the dense Build 42 update rolling out publicly (not on the smaller preview server) to give all players a taste of the next phase of zombie survival simulator goodness.
Project Zomboid Build 42 Patch Notes Review
There’s a lot of big changes in Build 42. Here’s your run-down while that download is roaring ahead:
A more detailed and more defined Knox Country
The before and after speaks for itself
These screenshots show a much more defined and purposeful world, with dedicated buildings and decor for each area. Exploring Knox Country promises to be more visually diverse and rewarding, with finding a spot for that all-important first base now more engaging than ever.
Improved Survival and Camping Gameplay
If you don’t want to see any of the lavish new buildings, and instead live as the hermit of the post-apocalypse, Build 42 has you covered. A host of improvements allow players to forgo the traditional “boarded-up house” base and instead camp in the forests and wilderness of Knox Country.
- Improved tents and camping supply system allows creation of a home-away-from-home
- Improved fishing makes finding food in previously sparse areas more viable
- Improved and expanded trapping and hunting allow you to truly leave the city behind if you learn how to master these systems
You can now run an in-depth farm in Project Zomboid
Changes and improvements to crops are also in Build 42, with crop varieties through the roof. It’s a brand new type of farming that will catch many people’s attention though: Animal Husbandry.
This brand new gameplay mechanic allows you to look after animals and create a self-sustaining farm in the horror of the apocalypse. That’s right, it’s season 2 of The Walking Dead — farm season.
Crafting and building with improved depth
The systems governing crafting basic gear like weapons and tools, as well as the overarching building system for creating grand bases or forts, have undergone a facelift in Build 42. New combinations and placement options allow you to create the zombie fort you always dreamed of, which in one of the many newly designed and graphically enhanced buildings will look even nicer!
Not only that, but once you’ve carved your way to your new home players can now drag corpses! Only in a game as grim as Project Zomboid could that be news-worthy, but dragging corpses allows you to clean up, isolate bodies in locked rooms or simply move them outside.
Finally, the new 3D item placement system allows a huge amount of 3D-rendered objects to be placed manually. This is great for the interior designers out there, but also for having an immersive in-world storage system. Place your food cans on a table how you like, lay out your weapons on a workbench or just hang up one of the fully-functional analogue clocks (they really have gone all-out with that one).
Improved controller support with real-time diagnostics
A new controller menu ensures players can visualise their control schemes and find what works for them. While Project Zomboid is still a PC exclusive, controller support has been a hard-fought battle to ensure everyone can access the game’s wealth of content.
A deeper world both visually and narratively
Project Zomboid Build 42 also introduces “room stories” and an expanded lore system. Flyers, newspaper articles and more can be found and pieced together to form a wider story on the events of the apocalypse. Maybe you’ll discover a family who were in a pact to escape the zombies on their own terms, making you second-guess stripping their home for planks and nails? The world is more immersive, more visceral and more depressing than ever.
Project Zomboid’s new skyscraper…
That’s right, Project Zomboid has as close as counts to a skyscraper. In reality it’d just be an apartment tower, but in the dense and simulation-heavy world of Project Zomboid a 32-floor building promises a new and exciting way to play. Will you start at floor 1 and try to make it to the top? Or maybe find the cafeteria floor and hold-out there? Then again, once you’re up…the only way is down…
Project Zomboid Build 42 is available now
Project Zomboid is available in Early Access on PC via Steam
