For some reason, I recently decided to get back into watching the TV show Walking Dead which has kicked off an entire bender of consuming other zombie-related content. (Like, did you know 28 Days Later has a sequel? Apparently I missed the bus on that one.) So, in my life, I’ve got a zombie TV show, more zombie movies than I could ever watch in one lifetime, which leaves zombie games as the next thing I need to get super obsessed with. Thankfully, NetEase just released LifeAfter (Free) which is set in a post-apocalyptic universe where a virus has caused almost everyone to turn to zombies- In this world, the only way to survive is through mastering a surprisingly in-depth crafting system where you’ll be harvesting, collecting, and combining all sorts of materials to create all the tools (and structures) you’ll need to survive.

While you’re doing all your hunting and gathering to survive, you’ll be completing all sorts of other missions to try to make some sense of the zombie hellscape you’ve found yourself in. Interestingly enough, like a lot of zombie scenarios, zombies aren’t your only threat. It turns out humans can be pretty terrible too. When you meet other survivors, you really never know if they’re going to attack you and try to take your stuff, or offer you a new mission and a share of some loot. Oh, and unlike the zombies of the Walking Dead universe, these zombies actually move pretty quickly and are quite threatening- Particularly when you encounter larger boss-style zombies. In a way, this component of LifeAfter reminds me a lot of Left 4 Dead.

One really neat thing that immediately stands out is when you start the game and create your character, you also get a customizable animal companion. You get to name your dog and everything, and this animal companion sort of works like having Dogmeat following you around and helping you out in a Fallout game. While we’re making game comparisons, if you’ve spent any time playing NetEase’s Knives Out (Free), you’ll be right at home with how the game controls and how the menu systems work. Whether intentional or not, it seems like they’ve borrowed quite a bit from Knives Out (which is a really good thing).

What’s really surprising about LifeAfter is that it’s free. This is the kind of game that had it been released in a different time period of the App Store, it would’ve easily been $9.99 all day long. Since we live in a world where few things make sense in mobile games anymore, LifeAfter is free. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first downloaded LifeAfter, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised by how full-featured this game is. The crafting components are weirdly cool, and survival games are super in fashion right now so LifeAfter is pushing a lot of our buttons. Definitely check it out.