Since it is October, I decided I wanted to talk about one of my favorite topics, video games. Specifically in Halloween spirit, zombie video games.

Now, I want to state, this is my opinion, and it is totally okay if you do not agree. I know there are a lot of great video games based around zombies and I will be covering two of my favorites.

In complete honesty, they are my two favorite video games of all time.

The first is ‘The Last of Us: Part 1.’ This game first came out in 2013 and follows the story of Joel and Ellie in their adventure across the country. Ellie is a 14-year-old girl who was bitten by this game’s zombies but survived and holds the cure to ending the apocalypse.

This game does not have your standard zombies, there are multiple stages to the infection depending on how long it has been since bitten or have breathed in fungal spores. When a person is first bit or breathes spores, they turn into a “Runner” which means they have their full vision, and their hearing is that of an average human.

Stage 2 is called the “Stalker” where their vision is starting to be taken over by fungus and their hearing becomes better. They tend to hide in the dark and surprise their prey.

Stage 3 is called the “Clicker” which is one of the most terrifying forms in my opinion as they are completely blind but use sound to see. They make a clicking noise hence their name and are not able to be killed with hand-to-hand combat.

The last stage we see in the first game are “Bloaters” which are bigger than the rest and have been infected for a few years. They are slow but very strong and throw spores at the player which is very hard to get away from.

These different stages of zombies are one of the reasons I am so attached to the game. In a lot of zombie-based games, the zombies are simply the undead and they will stay the same throughout their undead lifetime.

In ‘The Last of Us,’ there is more to the apocalypse and the zombies are not actually dead, they are just people who have been infected and have turned.

The game uses a real type of fungus that is said to “mind control” insects and adapts it to a human level. This makes the game almost scarier as it shows this could actually happen in real life in some form.

The storyline is also just fantastic and the character development between many different characters we see feels accurate to humans not just video game characters. I do not want to ruin the game, but I definitely recommend playing or watching ‘The Last of Us’ show which came out earlier this year.

The second game I would like to talk about is ‘Resident Evil 4.’ I will say, I do enjoy the ‘Resident Evil’ franchise, but the 4th game has always been my favorite.

This game came out in early 2005 when I was 3 years old, and it is one of the first games I remember watching my dad play in our living room. I would sit and watch him play for hours and would say it was my favorite game well into my teenage years.

Earlier this year, ‘Resident Evil 4’ was remastered, and I lost my mind. I was so excited to see my favorite childhood game in 2023 graphics.

For a game made in 2005, it was absolutely revolutionary. In previous ‘Resident Evil’ games, the camera would be set in one spot and switch between rooms or hallways. There was no way to change the angle or zoom in closer.

In the 4th game, the camera follows Leon Kennedy, the main character, and provides the player with a 3rd person view. In my opinion, this makes the game easier and smoother to play compared to the previous ‘Resident Evils.’

The game has a longer more intense storyline, big areas for the player to explore, and some really great bosses to fight.

The story follows the outbreak of the “T-Virus” and causes people to turn into zombies if bitten or if they die which is the normal way zombies happen in most media. Even with just standard zombies, the ‘Resident Evil’ games are one of the best zombie-based franchises.

I personally find zombies to be overdone in today’s world, but these two games always have me coming back and playing them over and over. I can say, even with their age, they hold up very well against other zombie games and will not disappoint you if you try them out.

Kierstyn Budz can be reached krbudz@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.