History VideoGame / SevenDaysToDie

''7 Days to Die'' is a SurvivalSandbox game with a healthy dose of zombies.

** [[DropTheHammer Sledgehammer]]. Big, powerful and exceedingly efficient melee weapon with a high probability of a OneHitKill when swung at a zombie's head, and good at smashing blocks to boot. Problem is, it swings very slowly and uses up a lot more stamina than most other melee weapons. Unless you have sufficient skills or the right items to offset the stamina loss, extensive use of the sledgehammer can leave you in a vulnerable position when you're faced with a group of zombies.

* LevelGrinding: In A17, the skills system was completely revamped: in the past, using the skill enough would raise it. Now, skills can only be raised when you spend points when you level up (like in Fallout). But you get only one point to spend per level up, and the cost for each point gets more expensive as you advance. Plus you have to buy perks separately, they are not earned at a threshold. So if you want a particular perk, you may have to build 10-15 levels just to get it. In Alpha 18, each skill only costs one point and ahs no level requirement anymore, but requires a certain amount of the parent stat (strength, perception, etc.) to upgrade.

In the game, so far, you're randomly placed somewhere on the map of Navezgane, having to survive on your own right. Which so far, since the game is still in Alpha, is the only thing you can really do: Survive for as long as possible. You can destroy and build terrain as you please[[labelnote:*]]Provided that you have the tools and small knowledge about physics, otherwise your creation may come tumbling down on your head[[/labelnote]], craft items, find and/or make food, repair guns and create them using gun-part molds, and prepare for when night falls, cause that's when the zombies start running for you.

** If you're playing on Navezgane, there's a chance you may stumble onto an [[Film/TheEvilDead isolated cabin with a workshed out back, sitting a short ways from a rickety bridge that could collapse]].

The game is currently in Alpha 20, featuring a new faster world generator, new places of interest, updated textures, some new equipment, and dynamic difficulty based on which biome the player is at.

* BladeOnAStick: The spears, added in A18, either made from Stone, Iron, or Steel. It has better melee range than other options, and while it doesn't have a power attack, you can throw it if you need to close the distance without switching to a gun/bow.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: While the game isn't that much consistent with realistic outcomes, some still crop out.
** Wearing a Leather Duster because it looks cool? Unless you're in a cold biome or it's raining outside, it will likely lead to overheating. It should be noted, though, that leather dusters were worn commonly in deserts out west largely to keep people ''cool'' during the day by helping one sweat, and insulated and warm at night.
** Falling from too great of a height (Unless you have Parkour maxed out) will lead to a broken leg, which will take a while to recover from, with a speed and star penalty, unless you use a Plaster Cast.
** A17 introduces some drugs that you can use to get powerful buffs, but using them dehydrates your character and runs the risk of withdrawal, and while the symptoms are short, they're unpleasant if you decide to go cold turkey.
** Explosives are dangerous, regardless of your character's level and/or equipment. Even in Steel armor that has the Steel Plating mod installed, you'll still take a significant amount of damage from land mines, let alone the Rocket Launcher.

* MsFanservice: Trader Jen became one with the Alpha 19 update. She was cute before, but Alpha 19 changed her model significantly. She now has BuxomBeautyStandard figure, wears a tanktop that shows a lot of cleavage and [[BareYourMidriff a bared midriff]].

* BareYourMidriff: The Female protagonist will be able to wear shirts like this.

* MsFanservice: Trader Jen became one with the Alpha 19 update. She was cute before, but Alpha 19 changed her model significantly. She now has [[BuxomIsBetter larger breasts]], wears a tanktop that shows a lot of cleavage and [[BareYourMidriff a bared midriff]].

* AnAxeToGrind: You can craft a stone axe as your first do-all tool and weapon, and later can craft or find iron or steel axes which can be used for wood or as a weapon.

* DifficultySpike: The longer you survive and the higher you level up, the bigger and tougher the Blood Moon Hordes will get.
** Also, the more activity performed in one area, the "hotter" it gets for zombie spawns. So if you have a centralized base where you do most of your crafting and don't make the effort to hide from Screamers, be prepared to fight off hordes constantly.

* NiceHat: The armor system contains quite a lot of them, such as a mining helmet (complete with headlamp), a cowboy hat (useful for cooling off in hot weather) and more. Craftables include a hood, a leather mask giving a nice ''Film/MadMax'' vibe, and several helmets.

** The weapon with the highest DPS in the game, an AK-47 that fires full-sized 7.62mm NATO rounds, is without question the hardest to obtain. Parts for it are only rarely found on Fallen Soldiers, Feral Walkers, airdrop crates and ''extremely'' rarely on Shotgun Messiah gun crates. To compensate, it works more like a general-purpose machine gun than the assault rifle it's supposed to be, and even single shots are still devastating. As of Alpha 17-18, AKs are fairly commonplace in lower tiers (1-2), but higher tiers are exceedingly uncommon.

* {{Knife Nut}}: You can become this by choosing the 'Deep Cuts' skill, which inflicts bleeds and increased decapitation chance when using knives.