There are many zombie games out there. But Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days from PikPok in New Zealand really stands out. This is firstly because it is a 2.5D side-scrolling shelter survival game, and secondly because it is set in an immersive 1980s world.
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days is a 2.5D side-scrolling shelter survival game set in 1980s Texas. The game blends stealth, action, base-building and decision-making with resource management during a zombie outbreak in Walton City, starting with survivor pairs. Players control survivors who must contend with hunger, injuries, depression and hordes of zombies while unlocking new areas and recruiting others with unique skills. The game is divided into two phases: Scavenging Runs and the Base Phase. During the former, players must creep through the remains of Walton City, risking the lives of their survivors as they encounter threats from zombies and humans alike while scavenging resources. Stealth is key to survival.
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days © PikPok
In between runs, the survivors seek shelter at the base. There, players manage the group and resources, as well as upgrading the shelter to protect the survivors from the zombie threat. At night, hordes of zombies attempt to break through the defences. Players must keep moving from refuge to refuge to stay one step ahead of the advancing hordes. During base phases, players can control all recruited survivors directly, assigning them to tasks such as crafting, farming or resting. During scavenging runs, however, only one survivor can be controlled directly at a time. Later in the game, if several survivors are on the move at the same time, they are controlled sequentially. If a character dies, they are permanently dead. However, the game only ends when all characters have died.
One of the game's strengths is its 1980s aesthetic, which creates an immersive atmosphere with retro fonts and icons, as well as eerie zombie groans and tense audio design, which are particularly effective during outdoor missions when wearing headphones. The soundscape is hauntingly powerful. Similarly, the stealth aspects are impressive. Taking a stealthy approach is important because direct confrontation should mostly be avoided. Ideally, players should take out zombies quietly in close combat, distract them, lure them into traps, or avoid them completely. Loud weapons usually attract more enemies. Ammunition is scarce and weapons don't last forever.
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days © PikPok
In Stealth, noise management is prioritised across foreground and background planes (2.5D). Survivors have complementary strengths and weaknesses, and human threats as well as zombies must be faced. This combination, as well as the decisions involved, distinguishes it from other zombie games. While on the run, players can either convince others to join their group or eliminate them and take their resources.
As well as this high-risk, high-reward scavenging, the basic aspects of cooking, crafting tools and weapons, making medicine and upgrading shelters are also really good and engaging. Players assign survivors tasks such as crafting, healing, fortifying, and going on scavenging missions, while monitoring their needs, such as hunger, injuries, morale, and depression. Barricades degrade over time due to zombie attacks, necessitating regular repairs with scavenged wood, metal, and nails to prevent breaches. Each survivor has unique strengths, such as melee power, stealth aptitude, crafting speed or medical knowledge, alongside flaws like frailty, noise proneness or slow movement, which influence task assignment. The game rewards careful planning and features characters with different skills and morale. Players must balance the group's physical needs, such as hunger and exhaustion, with their psychological needs, such as despair and nightmares. In this respect, the game is reminiscent of This War of Mine. Last but not least, Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days is challenging precisely because of permadeath. There is no meta-progression, unlocks or persistent upgrades that carry over to make subsequent sessions easier. Instead, players must learn from their mistakes and apply these lessons first with other characters and then in subsequent sessions.
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days © PikPok
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days is being developed by PikPok, which claims to be New Zealand's largest game development and publishing studio. Founded in 1997, the studio employs over 200 people in New Zealand and Colombia. The studio is best known for the Into the Dead series, the Rival Stars franchise, Shatter and Super Monsters Ate My Condo. Into the Dead is an original video game franchise set during a zombie apocalypse. Since its debut in December 2012, the franchise has achieved over 150 million downloads and sales worldwide across multiple games released on various platforms. The first game was an arcade endless runner. It has been downloaded over 100 million times on mobile and VR. Into the Dead 2 (iOS, Android and Switch) is an action game featuring a cinematic narrative spanning a core campaign and multiple side stories. The series makes its PC debut with Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days.
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days was released on 10 April 2025 in Early Access for €24.99 on PC, Mac and Steam Deck.
We're planning for at least a year of active Early Access development. However, the exact timeline may shift as we learn from player feedback, balance the gameplay loops, and add and polish new features and content. We want to make Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days the best it can be, and we won’t rush out of Early Access until we’re confident we can deliver a truly compelling survival horror experience. - PikPok
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days © PikPok
Since the Early Access launch, the following have been added: guns, curveballs, difficulty settings, infection mechanics, new districts/locations, personal missions and NPCs, survivor relationships, a morale system and more. The seventh Early Access update, Heart of Darkness, was released on 15 January 2026. A new escape plan will lead survivors straight to Pickett Stadium, the epicentre of the outbreak. New characters joining the cast include Sgt. Bowman and Dr. Stanfield, who will offer players new narrative turns and moral choices. The Heart of Darkness update sees players discover the new rooftop Researcher Camp and return to existing areas with surprises. The developers are committed to player-driven narrative and world-building with branching endings and more emotionally complex decision-making. The eighth update is planned for February 2026. It will be smaller, with some quality-of-life improvements, including weapon swapping and improved shelter management. Following the release of version 1.0, the game will also be made available on consoles.
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days is an immersive shelter survival game set in the 1980s. It is both gripping and challenging.
