While Undead Labs has finally given us our first look at the gameplay from State of Decay 3, we now have a closer look at the title courtesy of YouTuber Brian Menard, who got to spend some time with the title’s early alpha build. Menard has uploaded a lengthy video, clocking in at almost 72 minutes, showcasing what some early-game gameplay for State of Decay 3 will look like.
The video features a mix of the different kinds of gameplay that players will get to engage with, from sneaking around through zombie-infested wrecks to scavenging for resources in dilapidated buildings. The early minutes of the video focus largely on showing off just how extensive the zombie infestation has gotten, with spore-spewing pustules.
Menard then comes on-screen to explain that the gameplay is from an incredibly early build of State of Decay 3, which means that there will be plenty of issues to be noticed all over the place, ranging from performance hitches to strange behaviours with player and enemy hitboxes.
Fans of State of Decay 2 will be happy to find that much of the survival-centric gameplay will return in State of Decay 3, including gameplay aspects like needing to repair your vehicle from spare parts that you might have found while exploring. The title will also seemingly retain its predecessor’s free-form player exploration, where it is left completely up to the player to figure out where they want to go next and how they might want to tackle the ever-growing zombie threat.
When it comes to dealing with zombies, stealth and melee skills will continue to play a major role, since ammunition for guns will be rare resources until the player becomes capable of creating their own ammo.
Further in the video, we also get to take a look at Menard taking on a zone with a Plague Heart, leading to intense action sequences with plenty of regular and special zombies, all while the player had to deal with their own dwindling resources.
While State of Decay 3 already seems quite a bit more polished than State of Decay 2 was at launch, the fact that the footage is from an early build of the game is quite evident. Throughout the video, we spotted things like some lighting effects not showing, leading to flat textures due to a lack of shadows.
Despite this, however, the video does a good job of showcasing what Windows Central’s Jez Corden meant earlier this month when he noted that Undead Labs “really, really nailed the ‘AAA’ feel that was absent from State of Decay 2.” Despite it being an early build, the game looked quite smooth to play. And while we didn’t get to see any multiplayer gameplay, the co-op experience has also likely been tightened up to give players more options and reasons to team up together.
State of Decay 3 is being developed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and is slated for release in 2027. Let’s just hope that Undead Labs isn’t hit by the layoffs that are reportedly going to hit the Xbox division in July.
