Zombie Soup Review: Fun Boss Fights Save Top-Down Shooter

It’s difficult to stand out in the top-down shooter space, which has seen a boom in popularity since the advent of digital games. In such a crowded genre, it makes it all the more important to have a wholly original and unique hook to draw players to it. Sadly — despite being competently made — Zombie Soup features little compelling enough to choose it over a long list of contemporaries.

It certainly doesn’t help that mowing down hordes of zombies isn’t a particularly intriguing premise in 2023. The game’s dated and generic art style also works against it, as the main character model looks like a rejected Jimmy Neutron background character with guns. The only potentially interesting aspect of this twin-stick shooter is that the main character is also strapped with a melee weapon. However, this only really comes into play when battling characters that can’t be hit by bullets. There are no real combos or depth to it, which makes melee fall flat.

Levels are pretty lengthy, as the player clears out multiple rooms filled with zombies and moves from floor to floor. This core gameplay is completely fine — the combat feels tight enough and enemies offer a bit of a challenge — but its tedious repetition smothers any attempt to be much more than just fine. The constant need to backtrack further adds to its laborious nature, which isn’t alleviated much by the refrigerators that let players fast travel around (don’t question it).

Boss fights are Zombie Soups only real saving grace. Even if you’ve used in-game currency to level up your character’s stats or unlock alternate weapons, these climactic fights can be quite difficult. It’s fulfilling to learn the boss’ attack patterns, then pull off that one perfect run. It’s the one area where the game’s basic approach shines, as you have less strategy to employ and can focus purely on execution.

There is some replayability here, even though it’s hard to want to play even more of such a repetitive game. Multiple weapon-based classes can be unlocked, such as using a shotgun or SMG over the default set of pistols, and these all feel distinct enough from one another. There are also optional challenges to take on, which sometimes will restrict certain mechanics — like disabling grenades — and dole out weapon upgrades as rewards. Much like the rest of the game, the feature list is adequate but not exactly inspiring.

Zombie Soup Review: The final verdict

Being adequate defines Zombie Soup. It’s a serviceable top-down twin-stick shooter that has players downing thousands of zombies much like many of its genre peers. However, just being solid isn’t that attractive anymore — especially in such a cramped genre. Without a defined selling point, a dozen or so engaging boss fights don’t propel Zombie Soup much past the hoards of twin-stick shooters that continue to shamble onto every digital storefront at a steady pace.

Disclaimer: Our Zombie Soup review is based on a PS5 copy provided by the publisher. Reviewed on version 1.000.008.