Even though Project Zomboid‘s long awaited Build 42 has only just come out in its beta-testing Unstable version, I’m here to recommend you give it a shot regardless. Of course, the developer recommends you only do so if you’re okay with bugs and shoddy balancing, but jump straight in, regardless.
My reasoning for this is really simple, actually: the full announced feature-list that The Indie Stone released for Project Zomboid B42 doesn’t encapsulate the totality of changes that have been made to the game. For instance, the addition of three new towns and their adjoining regions was hardly even mentioned ahead of time, but that only scratches the surface of how monumental B42 really is.
Now, obviously, I’m talking about Build 42 from a long-time veteran’s point of view. I’ve been playing Project Zomboid on and off since 2012, and so leaping headfirst into zomboids comes as second nature to me. Yet, B42 has entirely revitalized almost every aspect of the game, and I find it unlikely that players will stick around with the old Build 41 for much longer. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that virtually everyone will move on to B42 as soon as multiplayer is enabled once again, but that’s a different can of worms.
Unstable Build 42 is way less Unstable than you’d expect
To begin, I feel like I have to address the spooky and scary-sounding “Unstable” moniker that Build 42 currently has. It’s not the final version of B42 that’s going to release a few months down the line, no, and you certainly can lose your character if the game bugs out in just the right (wrong) way. Yet, as soon as you get back into the groove of things you’ll come to realize that these things don’t matter.
Now, I don’t recommend settling in for a truly long-term playthrough just yet, but testing out character builds, exploring new areas, and fiddling about with all the fancy new features are more than enjoyable enough to keep you going.
This is entirely anecdotal, but I’ve yet to encounter a crash or a progression-blocking bug in Unstable Build 42. People have come across broken basements that insta-gib your character, yes, but such bugs are so few and far between that I feel they’re hardly worth worrying about.
In fact, Unstable B42 is the perfect time to get a sense of all the revamped and improved gameplay features. Aiming, for one, has received a massive rework that The Indie Stone has tried to explain outside of the game. Animal husbandry and tracking, too, add entirely new survival options we never had in Zomboid before.
The end result is an absolutely perfect staging ground if you intend to play Project Zomboid in the foreseeable future: get the sense of the game now while it’s Unstable, and then apply that knowledge once B42 releases in full.
The Modpocalypse isn’t half-bad, actually
Mods were, admittedly, a huge concern of mine. Project Zomboid has historically lived and died by its modding community’s efforts, and so wiping the slate clean with Build 42 was a notable point of contention. But hey, the good news is twofold in this regard!
Firstly, modders have been extremely quick to pick Project Zomboid back up and update and revamp some very interesting mods for Build 42. Era-appropriate arsenal expansions and simple bonus features such as weapon slings are already in, with heaps more on the horizon. It’s taken mere days for some remarkable mods to be re-released in B42 format, which is extremely promising.
Secondly and even more importantly: you’re going to need way fewer mods in Build 42 to make the game as enjoyable as it can be. To begin with, the game looks remarkable thanks to the lighting improvements and a massive visual upgrade to almost every single building you come across: no additional graphics mods necessary. Gameplay-wise, a whole bunch of previously mod-specific quality-of-life improvements are now available in the base B42 game. Car fuel tank indicators, base cleaning mods, the ability to sit on chairs, and named literature are all included by default, just off the top of my head.
In practice, then, picking up Build 42 feels like you’re playing a tastefully modded Build 41 right off the bat, and I don’t think anyone saw this coming.
Substantial improvements to core gameplay systems wherever you look
That all of the above would be for naught if the gameplay loop itself had stayed the same. It’s great, then, that it didn’t. I’ve already mentioned a humongous rework of firearms and aiming, but I feel like you could now hyper-specialize into a few entirely new loops right away. Fishing has a mini-game all of its own, hunting and camping are novel and engaging enough to keep you busy without so much as seeing a zombie unless you want to, and post-apocalyptic blacksmithing is here to keep us going after the electricity and water finally shut off.
The really neat bit is that you don’t have to play the game differently if you don’t want to: massive improvements are visible every step of the way. Melee weapons, for example, now have a mind-boggling number of options to mix and match, maintain, and even create entirely new versions. The new liquid system is a surprisingly deep feature as well. For example, you can now mix bleach and water to properly dilute it while still maintaining its ability to clean blood and gore. It’s a simple example, for sure, but liquids are an extremely powerful new system that the community has yet to properly explore. It sure as heck is promising, though.
Don’t forget about brewing, stone-working, and pottery crafting sub-systems, either: each of these comes with its own skill tree and recipe list, allowing specialized characters to assemble more-or-less anything you might need in a long-term survival scenario. The list goes on and on!
Build 42 is easily the best Project Zomboid has ever been
I find it difficult to put into words just how impressive Project Zomboid‘s Build 42 has already been. The Indie Stone’s work has paid off with dividends, I feel. Even though it’s been a long time coming, it’s now clear as day that B42 sets Zomboid up for even more success in 2025 and beyond.
Build 42 is still being tested by Zomboid players, of course, and its many secrets are yet to be uncovered. Yet, it already seems all but obvious that this is easily one of the biggest major content updates this game has ever received. And, let me tell you, that’s a heck of a feat considering Zomboid‘s history. So, if you had any doubts as to what The Indie Stone may or may not deliver, now’s the time to jump off of that fence. Sure, B42 is still Unstable, but I’d be hard-pressed to imagine anyone not enjoying it for what it is.
Published: Dec 22, 2024 10:14 am