Introduction
You can buy the game on Steam or PlayStation 4 or Xbox One for $14.99
Gameplay
Scavenging works just as you would expect for it to; you search around the maps to find the items you desperately need, as well as the items you desperately want in order to make the next cool gadget or base structure. You'll need to look in various locations as items may have a single designated place. For example, you can collect wood logs and sticks from both the woods and the swamps, but you aren't likely to find them in the parking lot of a city. Same is vice versa with cement blocks; they can be found in the parking lots of the city, but not in the woods. Braided rope is popular in the swamps, and you can find cloth on nearly all zombies. There's a countless amount of potential items to find though, these are just a few example, so being mindful of your weight is important (but you get quite a bit of room, so it's not too stressful). You fast travel to locations when you accept a quest, so making sure you already have deposited some things in a storage chest before beginning one is a pretty smart idea.
Character and base customization allow for a really immersive experience, even if limited in some ways. Once you start your character profile and go through the initial introduction, you can access inventory and then proceed to the "customization" tab in the top right corner. Here you can change the base appearance of him or her, hair style, hair color, shirt, pants, shoes, etc. Each category has 1-5 possible options which is not a ton, but it still offers enough uniqueness to them. Skill progression is another aspect that can make you extremely different than other survivors with the options of boosting melee damage, stamina, health, hunger and hydration resistance (yes, you must make sure you eat and drink often). Setting up base and progressing its power level is an entire guide of its own but to keep it simple, you pick a spot anywhere on the map. It's best to set up near one of Kovac's bunker entrances, and with minimum entry points. After you set up your basic structures like storage and armory, you can build different forms of defenses (walls, traps, obstacles, etc.).
Sound and Graphics
Conclusion
How to Survive 2 is a quality zombie survival game, and the fact that you can enjoy with a bunch of friends is even better. It improves many things in comparison to the first one, but could have used a little bit more in order to make it all even better. The maps feel a little repetitive in the sense that, for example, one small section such as a parking lot is almost completely copy and pasted just down the street. If you look at your world map, everything feels like a strict structured environment, which is understandable in the city, but not in the swamps. The other struggles are from a lack of explanations you get in regards to what you can craft and when. There's a lot of menus and items, so you'll have to invest a little time in perfecting your inventory searching.
Those are the negatives however, and if those sound bearable to you, then there's a lot to love. The camp building and defending is incredibly fun (and chaotic at times), and even better, there's always something to do regardless of where you're at in your overall progress. Day and night cycles, along with weather, make for a world living on its own, and the possibilities of crafting items and structures is wide open for you to sink hours of your life into exploring. The game isn't perfect, but it has a pretty good idea how to be enjoyable (but consider bringing a friend, or a couple of them, to get the most enjoyment).
Pros | Cons |
+ Tons of looting and crafting | – The maps feel a little too strict in format |
+ Online co-op with friends | – Lacks a story or purpose |
+ Camp building and defending | – Skill progression is not very impressive |
+ A permanent circle of clear vision |