Just finding other human players in DayZ can be a struggle. And when you do, they’re more likely to rob and murder you than help stay alive.
Just seconds into the current build of DayZ it’s clear we’re playing an alpha. When you launch the game a message flashes up warning you of its incomplete state and the ‘I understand’ button is buggy, obscuring the line explaining that the game is unfinished. But comical corruptions aside – and there are a lot of them – the brutal essence of the DayZ experience is untouched, and in many ways this is already better than the popular Arma mod.
When you start a new game you’re dumped randomly on the coast of Chernarus, a colossal 230 square kilometre expanse of bleak Eastern European countryside that’s filled with zombies and up to 39 other players. What you do next is up to you. There are no objectives or goals other than those you make yourself. Staying alive is a priority, and scavenging for food, water, weapons, ammo, and other supplies is key to surviving those first few grueling hours.
In the mod very few buildings were accessible, but in this new version of Chernarus almost every structure has an interior. This makes the environment feel much richer, and loot is no longer just lying conspicuously on the floor – you have to look under beds and on top of dressers. It makes the pace notably slower, especially since the loot tables are so sparse. You’ll search every house in one of the many towns dotted around the countryside, with only a can of beans and a pair of sunglasses to show for it.
The shadow of permadeath hangs over everything you do. You might get lucky and stumble on a cache of weapons and food, or a fallen player’s backpack, but that sniper on the hillside doesn’t care. They’ll kill you without thinking, and you’ll be back to square one: on the beach in a t-shirt with a flashlight and a single battery. The HUD has been minimised dramatically, replacing the Sims-style meters of the mod (hunger, thirst, bleeding, etc.) with text-based messages that express your character’s needs: “I’m hungry”, “I need something to drink”, “I can feel blood seeping through my clothes”, and so on.
The current alpha build of the game is still very buggy – zombies occaionally walk right through walls, and textures are often glitchy. But if you can look past the problems, there’s much surivalist fun to be had.
If you’re bleeding out you can remove your t-shirt and tear it into rags, using them as makeshift bandages. But there’s the risk of infection if you don’t use alcohol. You can also get sick by eating the rotten fruit that litters Chernarus, but it will sate your hunger briefly. If you find canned food, you’ll need a can opener to get at it. Even the most heavily-armed players can be foiled by an inaccessible tin of beans.
But what makes DayZ really interesting is its social dynamic. The zombies are dangerous, and will doggedly pursue anyone who alerts them, but it’s other players you really have to worry about. Our first life in the alpha saw us cornered by three players wearing full military gear and eerie clown masks, pointing high-powered rifles at us. They handcuffed us, emptied our inventory, then set us loose, only to murder us with an axe as we fled.
If you’re starving or freezing and you run into an unarmed player, you have to wrestle with the morals of killing them for any food or clothing they might have. Chernarus is a ruthless place, and as a real post-apocalypse might, casts a spotlight on the very worst of human behaviour. Occasionally you’ll run into a good Samaritan who’ll drop some food for you, but it’s a rare occurrence. You won’t make many friends out there. Usually, it’s kill or be killed. Teaming up with friends and sticking together increases your chance of survival, but since all players spawn randomly along the coast, and there are no maps, just finding each other on the expansive island can be a hurdle.
DayZ creator Dean ‘Rocket’ Hall has been frank about the state of the alpha, which was released suddenly on Steam this week. “I don’t recommend buying DayZ now,” he said on Twitter. “Don’t just buy it because you heard it was cool. Many people are now streaming. Visit these and view the (many) bugs first.” Some other bugs we encountered included a character vaulting over an invisible fence; our black-skinned character’s arms turning white when we equipped some gloves; and zombies frequently walking through walls. It’s broken, but it’s playable.
Since release, there have already been a number of patches. Hall and his team are fixing bugs at an impressive rate, and it’s likely the game will be unrecognisable this time next year. Whether you should indulge in the alpha at this stage depends entirely on your tolerance for bugs. If you can stomach them, this is a fascinating opportunity to see a game grow and evolve in real-time. The DayZ community is incredibly vocal, and it’s the players who’ll shape the future of the project as much as the developers.
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