7 Days to Die
" Immersive open-world survival RPG with creative base building but poor optimization "
7 Days to Die Review
7 Days to Die is a long-standing survival crafting game set in a post-apocalyptic zombie world, combining base building, exploration, combat, and RPG-style progression. Players appreciate its unique blend of survival mechanics, crafting depth, and cooperative multiplayer, with extensive mod support enhancing replayability. The game features a massive open world with destructible environments and intense 7-day horde attacks that require strategic base fortification and resource management.
However, after over a decade in development, many players feel the game has shifted away from its original sandbox survival roots toward a repetitive, quest-driven RPG experience. Criticism centers on frustrating combat mechanics, tedious progression systems reliant on skill magazines, poor optimization, and a perceived lack of meaningful updates despite a price increase. Zombies are varied but often exhibit inconsistent AI, and base building can feel limited due to the game's physics and zombie behavior. While modding and older versions offer alternatives, the current state leaves many feeling disappointed with the game's direction and polish.
Highlights
Players praise the game's immersive open world, extensive crafting and building systems, and the tension created by the 7-day horde mechanic. The cooperative multiplayer mode enhances enjoyment, allowing teamwork in resource gathering and base defense. The destructible environments and variety of zombie types add strategic depth. The modding community is highly regarded for extending gameplay and customization. Despite dated graphics, the atmospheric sound design and detailed maps contribute positively to the experience. The game’s creative building mechanics, including base fortifications and traps, are frequently highlighted as strengths.
Criticisms
Common criticisms include the game's poor optimization, leading to performance issues even on mid-range PCs. Combat is often described as clunky and unintuitive, with inconsistent hit detection and overly punishing mechanics like crippling injuries from minor falls. The progression system relying heavily on skill magazines and RNG is frustrating and grindy. Zombies, while varied, have simplistic AI that does not scale in intelligence, reducing combat challenge. Base building is hampered by zombie AI exploiting physics glitches, making defense tedious. Many players feel the game has shifted away from its survival sandbox roots toward a repetitive quest grind, with promised features still missing after years of development. The price increase at full release is seen as unjustified given the game's state.
Pros
- • Immersive open world with destructible environments for creative base building.
- • Engaging 7-day horde mechanic adds tension and urgency to gameplay.
- • Deep crafting and resource management system encourages exploration and planning.
- • Varied zombie types offer different combat challenges and strategies.
- • Cooperative multiplayer enhances fun and teamwork opportunities.
- • Strong modding community provides extensive customization and replayability.
- • Creative building mechanics allow for unique and strategic fortifications.
Cons
- • Poor optimization causes performance issues even on capable hardware.
- • Combat mechanics are clunky with inconsistent hit detection and frustrating injuries.
- • Progression heavily reliant on RNG-based skill magazines and grindy quests.
- • Zombie AI simplistic and does not scale in intelligence or challenge.
- • Base building is tedious due to zombie exploits and physics glitches.
- • Game shifted from sandbox survival to repetitive quest-driven RPG style.
- • Many promised features remain missing after over a decade of development.
Rating Criteria
About This Game
HOW LONG WILL YOU SURVIVE?
With over 18 million copies sold, 7 Days has defined the survival genre, with unrivaled crafting and world-building content. Set in a brutally unforgiving post-apocalyptic world overrun by the undead, 7 Days is an open-world game that is a unique combination of first-person shooter, survival horror, tower defense, and role-playing games. It presents combat, crafting, looting, mining, exploration, and character growth, in a way that has seen a rapturous response from fans worldwide. Play the definitive zombie survival sandbox RPG that came first. Navezgane awaits!GAME FEATURES
- Explore - Huge, unique and rich environments, offering the freedom to play the game any way you want, featuring 5 unique biomes and worlds up to 100 square kilometers in size.
- Craft – Handcraft and repair weapons, clothes, armor, tools, vehicles, and more with over 500 recipes. Learn more powerful recipes by finding schematics.
- Build – Design your fort to include traps, electric power, auto turrets, automated doors, gadgets and defensive positions to survive the undead in a fully destructible and moldable world.
- Cooperate or Compete – Work together to build settlements or against each other raiding other player’s bases, it’s really up to you in a wasteland where zombies and outlaws rule the land.
- Create – Unleash your creativity with access to over 800 in-game items, and over 1,300 unique building blocks and a painting system that offers infinite possibilities.
- Improve – Increase your skills with a multitude of perks under 5 main attributes. Gain additional skills by reading over 100 books. 7 Days to Die is the only true survival RPG.
- Choose – Play the campaign world, or dive back in a randomly-generated world with cities, towns, lakes, mountains, valleys, roads, caves and over 700 unique locations.
- Combat – Encounter nearly 60 unique zombie archetypes including special infected with unique behaviors and attacks progressing in difficulty to provide an infinite challenge.
- Survive – Experience real hardcore survival mechanics with nearly 50 buffs, boosts and ailments that will impact the gameplay in ways that can both challenge and aid in your survival.
- Destroy – Buildings and terrain formations can collapse under their own weight from structural damage or poor building design with real structural stability.
- Loot – Scavenge the world for the best weapons, tools, and armor with 6 quality ranges providing thousands of permutations. Augment items with a multitude of mods.
- Quest – Meet several Trader NPCs who buy and sell goods and offer quest jobs for rewards. Enjoy many unique quest types supported by over 700 locations.
- Customize – Create your own character and customize your character further in-game with a huge selection of clothing and armor you can craft or loot in the world.
- Drive – Enjoy the badass vehicle system where you find all the parts, learn the recipes, craft and customize your own bicycle, minibike, motorcycle, 4x4 or gyrocopters and ride with friends.
- Farm or Hunt – Plant and grow gardens for sustainable resources or head out into the wilderness and hunt over a dozen unique wild animals.
Worth a Buy Guys
“7 Days to Die is like Minecraft with Gravity. Building defenses with friends and huddling in the corner hoping no zombies get through can be great fun. But what keeps me coming back to the game is the TNT.”
Kotaku
“7 Days to Die looks genuinely impressive, and I can’t see this not making a huge impact when it arrives.”
Rock, Paper, Shotgun
7 Days to Die is an open-world game that is a unique combination of first-person shooter, survival horror, tower defense, and role-playing games. Play the definitive zombie survival sandbox RPG that came first. Navezgane awaits!