Intensifying all the winning elements listed so far including the unforgiving zombies, the surivival elements and the often malevolent human players is the game's treatment of your character's mortality. In short, the game's policy on dying is thus: 'once you're dead, you're dead'. There are no re-spawns in DayZ. If you die, your character and all the rare weaponry and items you've acquired on your journey are lost and you're forced to start anew. With all the time you've dedicated to that character at stake, the game really becomes a nerve-racking experience. Every time you venture into the open you're wary that a bandit sniper could be eyeing you up and every time you go on a supply run you know that if there's one zombie too many you could be their next meal. It's this fine line between life and death which truly makes DayZ the best zombie game out there as it forces you to think long and hard about all the decisions you make as a bad one could easily result in your demise as it would do in a real zombie apocalypse.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
