Respect the Horde is about outsmarting, not outshooting, an endless swarm of zombies

One of the best parts about stumbling upon an interesting indie game is following the developer to their next projects and seeing how they build on previous lessons. For instance, I enjoyed No Plan B, a breach and clear tactics game where the player meticulously plans a timeline of events, and then watches it play out to see whether the team succeeds or perishes. The developer’s follow up game builds on that foundation with something more dynamic: a zombie game called Respect the Horde that pits a small band of scrappy survivors against the apocalypse. I was offered an early code from developer GFX47, and I always enjoy a good zombie apocalypse, so I gave it a spin.

In Respect the Horde, you play as a survivor setting out to scavenge for essential supplies. An early mission might have you checking for training equipment at a gas station. Each mission is packed with zombies, but they begin as relatively benign and aimless. You can clear them out with an assortment of ranged or melee weapons, but there’s a catch. The more noise you make, the more zombies you attract. A danger meter slowly ramps up, and making noise or murdering zombies makes that even worse. Finding the equipment you’re after, or making an escape, triggers a frenzy where every zombie locks on and rushes you.

What makes things really interesting is the fact that you can build little structures, like barricades and danger strips, to redirect the Horde as you please. A dangerous swarm can be funneled through a series of walls and over blockades until they’re thinned out. Structures take scrap, which isn’t unlimited, so players have to be careful. A blockade can buy valuable time, or – as I accidentally learned on one unfortunate occasion – trap you in a corner where you’ll inevitably be chewed on.

That’s the tension of Respect the Horde: managing resources. Time is the most obvious of these; the danger meter means you can’t just kite forever, even before the game introduces more zombies with faster legs and nasty tricks. Scrap is necessary for building barricades, but if you spend it too easily, you’ll find yourself running from a swarm with no way to escape. You also have a stamina meter, so you can’t run or fight forever.