Dead Trigger Review

No one ever gets it right. In the middle of a zombie apocalypse, in a deserted (minus the living dead) city, the last thing anybody should do is make noise. And guns make lots of noise. It’s akin to ringing the dinner bell, which attracts more zombies, which leads to more shooting, which attracts more zombies, and so on. Dead Trigger obviously doesn’t give a crap about the realities of zombie Armageddon survival, but at least it makes tempting fate in an already no-win situation fun.

The action in Dead Trigger is broken up into specific missions set in some mid-sized, tight-quarters style maps. Tasks tend to range from protecting specific areas/barricades to braving the spooky corridors of one abandoned facility or another to obtain a specific item and hightailing it back to the entrance. All punctuated by perforating zombie skulls, naturally. Re-killed enemies will sometimes drop extra ammo or cash, while it’s also possible to find semi-hidden suitcases full of greenbacks if players are willing to search around a bit. Money can be used to purchase essentials such as more weapons and character upgrades, and more gear can be unlocked for the shop by attaining higher levels.

Dead Trigger avoids some of the pitfalls that have plagued other similar titles by forcing players into cramped areas with dozens of possible entry points. Simply walking into a hallway and lining up the fodder won’t work here as zombies can enter from just about anywhere and can circumvent obstacles that the player can’t. It’s a bit far-fetched to think that a walking corpse can outmaneuver a healthy person, but it definitely keeps the levels from getting boring. As does the occasional opening of a locked door or two, which tempts players out of their more immediately familiar surroundings and into lesser-known territories that may or may not contain some hidden goodies.

Sometimes I found myself really needing to get somewhere in a hurry, and the default run just isn’t fast enough. Similarly it can be tough to aim properly at far-off targets using just the crosshairs. And forget about knocking a zombie back to take a clear shot once it gets too close. As much as I hate to agree with negative App Store reviews, mostly because they tend to be completely unreasonable, I have to do so with Dead Trigger. It’s a fun shooter and all, but it could really do with those gameplay staples we’ve all come to expect from the genre. In other words it needs sprinting, a real melee attack (that zombie grab QTE doesn’t count), and iron sights.

Even without the mysteriously absent staples, Dead Trigger is still a fun arcade-style zombie shooting romp. It’s probably not going to make everyone happy (what game ever would?), but it certainly does a much better job than some of the competition.