We all have an unhealthy obsession with zombies. Whether it's in film, comics or games, the risen armies of the undead capture our imagination like few other narrative cliches can. Ideally it would be an exclusive chapter of Telltale Games' stellar The Walking Dead adventure series that we would have on this list, but we need to be realistic - that's not going to happen. Telltale is too set on pumping their episodic content out on any platform that will have it, and it would be a bridge too far to consider them an acquisition target for Microsoft. State Of Decay developer Undead Labs, on the other hand, is already tucked in nice and cozy with Microsoft, so here we have a potential Xbox One-exclusive zombie apocalypse mega-franchise just waiting to happen. The first outing landed on the Xbox LIVE Arcade in June 2013 and surprised many of us with its scale and innovative take on the zombie survival genre in an open world setting. It was marred by a clunky game engine littered with bugs and glitches, but the overall experience outshone the technical issues - a sense of desperate urgency laced every moment of gameplay, making for one of the most tensely atmospheric releases of the year. While we can't entirely overlook the rusty exterior, the underlying game does give us an idea of what a follow-up could be like with Microsoft backing it up. We already know that Undead Labs has secured Microsoft support, with a next-gen port heading to Xbox One in 2015, but this is just the beginning - with the right support and guidance, State Of Decay could become one of those massive brands that defines its genre over the years.
Game-obsessed since the moment I could twiddle both thumbs independently. Equally enthralled by all the genres of music that your parents warned you about.
