Developer Dead Drop Studios LLC stated that Outbreak: The New Nightmare is an homage to classic survival horror games like the original Resident Evil. Instead, Outbreak: The New Nightmare is a ripoff of the best survival horror games, and it somehow performs worse than video games from three console generations ago.

As soon as players press the start button they will be hit with the first of many callbacks to Resident Evil as a voice says, “Outbreak” in the exact same tone and cadence as the beloved RE title screen. They will quickly notice more similarities between the two titles, like the fact that Outbreak: The New Nightmare explores a world full of zombies, the UI and controls are nearly identical, and the level design is oddly reminiscent of some of the areas in Resident Evil 2 specifically. One of the most egregious examples of these similarities is the inventory screen and the health bar, which seem like they were ripped straight from the assets of the first RE game – which, while not necessarily a bad thing during its time, certainly hasn’t aged well in the many years since, and is out of place now.

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Players have the option of several different game modes in Outbreak: The New Nightmare: Campaign, Onslaught, and Experimental. The Campaign mode just puts players through a series of missions as they try to escape the ruined city they find themselves in. Onslaught is basically a horde mode where players face off against waves of zombies. Experimental, which is probably the most unique mode, puts players in various survival circumstances that should enhance the difficulty, like a level that is complete pitch darkness. There is little difference in gameplay between these modes, as players will spend their time running around finding weapons and killing all the zombies that they find regardless of which one they choose, with little to differentiate between them beyond minor changes.

There are many mechanical issues with Outbreak: The New Nightmare. For one, the camera spends most of its time fighting the player in a battle that’s far more challenging than most of the zombie hordes. Dead Drop Studios tried to adopt the fixed camera angles of classic survival horror games, but most of these angles are set in such a way that it is impossible to see what is happening in particularly frantic moments. The frame rate is also wildly inconsistent on PlayStation 4, despite the fact that game is fairly simple in terms of visual rendering and graphics prowess. It is one thing for a game’s frame rate to drop when there are dozens of enemies on screen, but Outbreak: The New Nightmare’s frame rate drops into the single digits sometimes just by switching to the menu or sprinting.

The character controls and animations are also very rough in Outbreak: The New Nightmare. Outbreak uses the same tank-like controls that old school survival horror was known for, but here it is even more sluggish. Turning left or right takes too long, and by the time anyone lines up a shot on a zombie behind the character they will probably be half-dead from attacks. When characters are walking or running, it looks like they are on ice – for as quickly as their legs move, they don’t get very far at all, and all the other animations just look stilted.

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The gameplay is also boring and repetitive. Each level tasks players with searching the area, finding keys, and killing all the zombies in their path. If the controls worked better this might actually be fun, but more often than not players will just be frustrated as they die over and over again. There are none of Resident Evil 2‘s great puzzles to bolster gameplay or interesting lore to discover, so this is survival horror without the heart and soul of the genre that made some of its most memorable so famous.

Outbreak: The New Nightmare is not a fun game, and it seems to be more of trial of patience for its players. Its mechanics are frustrating, and fans will most likely be turned off by the game’s shameless imitation of the legendary Resident Evil series. Outbreak: The New Nightmare adds nothing new to the survival horror genre and somehow winds up sporting controls and visuals that are worse than its decades-old innovators.

Outbreak: the New Nightmare is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Screen Rant was provided with a PS4 code for the purpose of this review.

Our Rating:

1 out of 5 (Poor)
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About The Author


Cody Peterson
(951 Articles Published)

Cody Peterson is an avid reader and writer. Graduated from Midwestern State University with a BA in English where he worked as an editor for the University literary journal. Currently a freelancer for Screenrant, where he spends most of his time writing guides or reviews. Be warned that any conversation started with him will probably wind up gravitating towards his two dogs, The Adventure Zone, or Kingdom Hearts 2.

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