State of Decay 2: Zombies, permadeath, and resource management

State of Decay 2, exclusively for Xbox One and PC. Image via StateofDecay.com

Multiplayer

State of Decay 2 has a very interesting take on multiplayer that fits into the theme of the game nicely. Permadeath is still a factor even when playing on your friend’s map and with their community. Meaning, if your character dies in your friend’s game, they die in your game as well. I’m curious to see how the gaming community handles this as I can already see “friends” leaving their buddies behind to die. While cruel, it’s certainly realistic and lets trust become an additional resource to manage.

Sadly, there’s no couch co-op, a game-mode that is severely underused in this day and age. The game is cross-play on Windows 10 however, but it’s unclear if two people can play on one copy of the game with one on Xbox and the other on PC.

Additionally, to play multiplayer, you’ll need an Xbox Live Gold subscription.