History VideoGame / StateofDecay

It was released on September 20th 2013 for PC on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}'s Early Access program (Notably, the game looked better and has keyboard support, but mouse control is very clunky - an XBox 360 controller is still preferable - and the graphic options cannot be fine tuned). Details can be found [[http://ie.ign.com/articles/2013/09/19/state-of-decay-enters-steam-early-access-tomorrow?abthid=523b659d46deec6f4e000009 here]]. Later updates and patches finally tuned mouse control to something acceptable for a shooter.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: In spite of FinalDeath usually happening from characters getting killed, the game will give you a break if your character falls to their death accidentally while away from zombies - the screen will fade to black but you'll then be back playing the same character with the game's state being alike to when they took their fall.
* ApocalypticLog: The Logs tab is reminiscent of this. Also throughout the game you may find random pieces of paper in loot, ranging from diary pages, to notes left for loved ones, to the guy who [[ForTheEvulz claimed to have poisoned]] [[ParanoiaFuel one of the canned foods you've just looted earlier]].

It was released on September 20th 2013 for PC on {{Steam}}'s Early Access program (Notably, the game looked better and has keyboard support, but mouse control is very clunky - an XBox 360 controller is still preferable - and the graphic options cannot be fine tuned). Details can be found [[http://ie.ign.com/articles/2013/09/19/state-of-decay-enters-steam-early-access-tomorrow?abthid=523b659d46deec6f4e000009 here]]. Later updates and patches finally tuned mouse control to something acceptable for a shooter.

* The Garden/Greenhouse Base Facility. With a little work, you can make your base indefinitely stocked with food. But there is such a huge overabundance of food everywhere, you'll never need it except at the absolute highest levels of Breakdown.

* DeadpanSnarker: Lilly definitely has her moments.

-->'''Lily:''' Maybe it's some kind of [[Franchise/ResidentEvil messed up]] [[Film/TwentyEightDaysLater super-virus]]. Maybe it's [[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead radiation from outer space]], or [[VoodooZombie black magic]] or... or [[Film/DawnOfTheDead the Wrath of almighty God]].

* WrongGenreSavvy: Kicks off the main plot of ''Lifeline'''s campaign. [[spoiler: Dr. Horn blows out his own brains after being bitten, assuming that he's become a ZombieInfectee. However, the main game establishes that, unlike most zombie fiction, being bitten isn't necessarily a death sentence provided you receive competent medical care. And this guy was supposed to be the world's greatest expert on the virus.]]

* ApocalypticLog: The Logs tab is reminiscent of this. Also throughout the game you may find random pieces of paper in loot, ranging from diary pages, to notes left for loved ones, to the guy who [[ForTheEvulz claimed to have poisoned]] [[ParanoiaFuel one of the medicine bottles you've just looted earlier]].

* MoreDakka: [[http://undeadlabs.com/forums/showthread.php?9183-Firearms-Thus-Far&p=88186 There are 99 guns in the game. Each one looks differently, has its own stats.]] [[ShownTheirWork Stats that were painstakingly calculated from data taken from real world experience, police and military consultation, firearm reviews and magazines.]] Why only 99? [[http://undeadlabs.com/forums/showthread.php?9183-Firearms-Thus-Far&p=95478 "99 was the number we had done the day they told me to stop adding guns."]]. And in the ''Breakdown'' DLC, they added a few dozen more guns.

** ''The Walking Dead': There is a potential community site in Spencer's Mill (the first town) called the Kirkman Residence, a reference to ''Walking Dead'' creator Robert Kirkman. There also posters in Spencer's Mill that say "Richard Grimes for Sheriff", a reference to protagonist Rick Grimes.

* TakingYouWithMe: Companion characters that have lost all health (i.e before they get ripped in half like the player character) can pull a grenade from their HyperSpaceArsenal and blow themselves up. Player-controlled characters can do this too, if they have a grenade/molotov cocktail equipped. In fact, in ''Breakdown'' mode, dying like this is required to unlock a Hero character.

* [[ActionizedSequel Actionized DLC]]: With the protagonists as military, it takes the concept of MoreDakka UpToEleven. Compared to the main game where ammo is scare and guns were uncommon at best. In ''Lifeline'', your home locker at the beginning has access to small armory and [[NoKillLikeOverkill enough ammo and explosives to kill everything within the city limits thrice over]]. Weapons are much more commonly found and with the introduction of supply drops, you'll soon find yourself absolutely '''swimming''' in dakka. Aside from firearms, the radio now gives the players access to various forms of artillery strikes and drone support.
* TheSiege: A key gameplay element in ''Lifeline.'' Every half hour, your base comes under attack from [[ZergRush dozens and dozens of zombies]] in two waves. [[RedAlert Everybody in base, soldiers and civilians alike, must repel this attack]]. Worse, each of these attacks are stronger than the last ones, and includes many more [[EliteZombie special zombies]]. [[LastStand It can get out of hand very fast]].

* MultipleEndings: Unlike the main story, the fate of Danforth rests in your hands. The ending is usually a combination of several decisions made and influenced with the presence of certain characters, but mainly result in [[spoiler:whether Danforth receives thermonuclear nuclear annihilation or not]]. Some of the variations include:

** Rejecting all civilian evacuations or [[spoiler:rescuing enough to bring Vienna Cho to the [=FOB=]]].

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:The Trumbull Valley survivors are not seen nor encountered by Greyhound. No mentioned of them has been made leaving their fate ambiguous.]]

The first DLC, ''Breakdown'' was released for seven dollars on November 29th. It comes with a much heavier focus on survival. The main focus of the DLC is the titular "Breakdown" mode, an EndlessGame mode where your survivors must locate and fix an RV in each level to escape the town (and reach a new level that looks exactly the same, but with resources refreshed and difficulty increased). Breakdown Mode introduced playable characters who used to be [=NPCs=] from the Storyline Mode.

The second DLC, ''Lifeline'' was announced in February 2014 and released on May 30th. It takes place in the city of Danforth just outside of Trumbull Valley and puts you in control of a small military unit called Grayhound One. In an inversion of several zombie tropes, in this DLC the military are well-meaning and not mindlessly gunning down people. Another inversion is that unlike the main game and ''Breakdown'', you don't start with no resources and slowly become powerful -- you start with several powerful items in the beginning of the DLC, but slowly they go away as it continues. It also added new achievements, both for itself and for ''Breakdown''.

* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: A key gameplay element in ''Lifeline.'' Every half hour, your base comes under attack from [[ZergRush dozens and dozens of zombies]] in two waves. [[RedAlert Everybody in base, soldiers and civilians alike, must repel this attack]]. Worse, each of these attacks are stronger than the last ones, and includes many more [[EliteZombie special zombies]]. [[LastStand It can get out of hand very fast]].

* DownerEnding: In ''Lifeline'', you can choose to let [[spoiler:Sasquatch complete his mission, which is to set off a nuclear bomb in Danforth, killing the zombies -- and any civilians who remain]]. This is doubly sad when you take into account [[spoiler:the survivors from the main game were heading into Danforth.... presumably just before this happens. So they made it only to die.]]

* NewGamePlus: The DLC ''Breakdown'' mode, in a sense. There is no longer a storyline, only the player's community trying to survive for as long as possible. The player must locate and RV somewhere and repair it. After that, the player can choose 6 characters to advance to the next level, where they keep their entire equipment, the entire map resets, all containers become lootable again, the zombies become more dangerous and vehicles gets fewer.

* UnwinnableByMistake: In ''Lifeline,'' the game gets in an unwinnable state if [[spoiler:Sasquatch]] dies while [[spoiler:doing his sample-hunting missions]]. Worse still, this is ''probable'' given the fact he's a weak NPC and [[LeeroyJenkins his approach to battle is anything but elegant]].

* ZombieApocalypse: Very heavily implied. The extent is unknown, but Trumbull Valley is completely overrun.

** Confirmed in ''Lifeline''. You get reports from throughout the Americas from as far afield as Toronto and Caracas and a Hawai'ian squad member comments that all contact with the islands has been lost.

*** A character in ''Breakdown'' is ''Walter''. He also only wears a hazmat suit, similar to Walter White's cooking gear. Note that this hazmat suit [[AwesomeYetPractical cannot be damaged and makes you completely immune to Bloater gas and Screamer's shrieks]].

*** A character in ''Breakdown'' is ''Walter'' DeGrasse. He also only wears a hazmat suit, similar to Walter White's cooking gear. Note that this hazmat suit [[AwesomeYetPractical cannot be damaged and makes you completely immune to Bloater gas and Screamer's shrieks]].

* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: A key gameplay element in ''Lifeline.'' Every half hour, your base comes under attack from [[ZergRush dozens and dozens of zombies]] in two waves. [[RedAlert Everybody in base, soldiers and civilians alike, must repel this attack]]. Worse, each of these attacks are stronger than the last ones, and includes many more special zombies (who are much more dangerous).