No More Room in Hell 2 is finally the game it should have been, but it still has a way to go before it’s perfect

“When there’s no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the Earth.” And with that phrase, George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead kickstarted the modern zombie apocalypse genre, taking the flesh-eating fiends from mere isolated incidents to a full-blown world-ending catastrophe. And that film has inspired countless imitators in movies, television and, of course, gaming. So, when No More Room In Hell first hit Steam way back in 2011 it’s no surprise the hardcore zombie survival shooter caught people’s attention.

Dropping you into a winding map, with hordes of shambling zombies between you and safety, No More Room in Hell rejected the fast-paced shooting action of games like Left 4 Dead in favour of a slower, more tension-fuelled approach. It’s a formula that rightfully made this free-to-play Source Mod a big hit…and made the lacklustre debut of No More Room in Hell 2 that much more damning.

No More Room in Hell 2 was at first slated for a 2022 release after being teased for a few years beforehand. However, at the eleventh hour it was announced that the team behind No More Room in Hell were teaming up with Torn Banner Studios, of Chivalry: Medieval Warfare fame, and the release date was pushed back significantly.

Finally, in 2024, No More Room in Hell 2 launched into early access and the reception was…lacklustre, to say the least. Game-breaking bugs, generally poor performance and plenty of rough edges meant many fans, including myself, left the game with a sour taste in our mouths. And in my case, money was back in my wallet as I quickly refunded the game.

I’d forgotten about No More Room in Hell 2 for a while after, except as a nostalgic ‘if only’. But, during August something strange happened; the name began cropping up again on Youtube and social media. Suddenly, people were praising this unexpected survival-shooter hit, and its mix of tension, resource management, cooperative play and terrifying zombies.

So, I decided to dive back in, and give No More Room in Hell 2’s 1.0 release version a shot.

Back from the dead

No More Room in Hell 2’s 1.0 update did not fundamentally change the game itself. It’s still a survival extraction shooter, where you play a civilian responder sent into dangerous situations to help keep things running…well, not smoothly, but running at all. Missions such as repairing a damaged power plant, rescuing civilians or recovering medical data for a potential cure. All of which require you to step into places where the zombie apocalypse is already in full effect.

But now, the game not only runs better and looks great, it also offers plenty of varieties of weapons to use, zombies to fight and a truly nerve-rending soundtrack. The atmosphere of walking through the power plant level, before you find other players, can be truly terrifying as zombies lurk in the mist. And one wrong move will turn a single lone undead into dozens all converging on you from every direction.

While initially I wasn’t a fan of your role as a member of the Civilian Responder Corps, it does offer a surprisingly logical reason why you keep risking your life in this way. The world hasn’t ended just yet, but it’s certainly on the way, and it’s your job to delay that for just a little longer. It’s refreshing to see you take on the role of what are still average people thrust into an exceptional situation, with goals beyond just ‘kill every zombie’.

The tension of resource management is also back in a big way. Guns are, of course, your most efficient option and blowing a zombie’s head off may make them seem like a non-factor (a…no-brainer you might say?). But ammunition is limited, and sooner or later you’ll have to get up-close-and-personal; precisely the last place which you want to be. And that constant scarcity means on those rare occasions where you are flush with ammo, you get a rush of power and adrenaline as you blast through the horde.

No More Room in Hell 2 also manages to strike a good balance between the constant threat of infection, and not making it a simple kill switch. Every time you get hit there’s a chance you’ll be infected; gradually falling victim to terrifying hallucinations until you expire…and rise again. Phalanx Pills, which stave off the infection, make a return, but the only way to permanently cure a character is by taking the very rare, and very slow, gene therapy.

And while No More Room in Hell 2 may nominally be an extraction shooter, there’s no PvP element. Which means, mercifully, no friendly fire. It means you’re incentivised to work together, especially since player character death is permanent. Gradually, your ‘responder’ will gain new perks that enhance their capabilities, making them run faster, drain stamina slower, carry more gear etcetera. So, sooner or later, in classic zombie movie style, you’ll wonder whether it’s better to just leave that dead weight of a teammate behind so you can make good your escape.

Like any good title in a niche genre, No More Room in Hell 2 satisfies a very specific, but tantalising fantasy. The same slow, methodical, tension-filled thrills you’d find in George A. Romero’s original films, or the works of Max Brooks. I’d even call it oddly calming, at least in comparison to more competitive multiplayer games such as Deadlock or Marvel Rivals.

Still room to suffer

Of course, that doesn’t mean No More Room in Hell 2 is flawless, as you’ve probably guessed from the headline of this article. There’s still plenty of room for the game to grow, and refine, before it becomes not just a legitimate successor but overshadows the original game.

The first issue is melee combat, which feels painfully same-y. No matter whether you’re using a baseball bat, cleaver, tire iron or kitchen knife, it usually takes two-to-three hits to bring down a zombie. Eventually, you stop thinking about what you’re picking up in terms of weapon type and just look at the star rating in the hopes of eking out a bit more damage. It makes what should be a desperate attempt to stay alive feel more like pounding a bag of wet sand.

It’s particularly ironic that this is an issue, as Torn Banner previously made a name for themselves with visceral, dynamic and realistic melee combat in Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. In comparison, the melee system feels slow and clunky. I’m not hoping for Vermintide or Darktide levels of hack ‘n slash, but I wouldn’t mind it if the different weapons felt reasonably distinct, and that a well-timed swing of your machete could net you an instant kill if you’re patient.

Secondly, gunplay could use a fine tune. Generally, you’ll only really grab weapons based on the calibre they use, which does make sense; .22 rimfire is not liable to blow someone’s head clean off as .44 magnum does after all. But it does mean you’ll be desperately dumping rounds into a zombie’s head as they lurch towards you, something that can be a bit tricky when their movement animation causes them to lurch out of the way at the last second; something I’m not going to call an actual problem, but I’m not going to pretend it isn’t frustrating either.

And therein lies one of the core problems with No More Room in Hell 2. There’s a fine line between fair and unfair difficulty, and for a game that relies on realism and tough consequences, there’s not much leeway for mistakes. Missing at close range because of the tiny dot used for your crosshair, or because somehow you got too close to a zombie that the enormous baseball bat goes through them rather than into them, immediately shatters that immersion and makes it feel less like a consequence of your own actions and more the game playing against you.

That’s not to say I ever died because of these issues in my 20+ hours of playtime, though. Usually, it was due to my own mistakes or, well, the ‘only way out’ when infected. But it does still make it frustrating when you find a full box of ammo, only to waste half of it because a shambling zombie is somehow taking a serpentine motion towards you. Ultimately, the core combat gameplay can really start to feel boring if you play more than two or three sessions back-to-back.

Is it worth your money?

Despite all those complaints, at the moment, I’d say No More Room in Hell 2 is finally at a place where I could recommend it. But, in the unlikely event someone from Torn Banner Studios is reading this, I’d say that there’s still plenty more work to I feel needs to be done on the foundation before you go decide to go adding new cosmetics.

No More Room in Hell 2 is niche, and that’s a good thing. There’s very few, if any, games offering a similar first-person zombie survival experience like it, and if the aged, awkward nature of the Source original gets on your nerves, then this will fix all those problems; while introducing new ones. But if you’ve ever watched Night of the Living Dead and thought, ‘Wow, I wish that were me!’ then first, check in with your psychiatrist, and second, buy No More Room in Hell 2!

In future I hope the developers at Torn Banner Studios will focus on improving the core gameplay loop. Because when you feel like, as a player, you have all the tools at your disposal to survive and thrive, the only way to lose is by your own stupid mistakes. And really, is there anything more authentic to zombie fiction than that?