The Best Nintendo Game Every Year 1983 - 2024
13. 2012 - ZombiU
The Wii U’s launch line-up consisted of a selection of lesser-versions of 3rd party games like Mass Effect 3, Batman Arkham City and Assassin’s Creed III. In terms of exclusives, the console didn’t have a strong start.
The best of the bunch though, unexpectedly, was a Ubisoft title. Far from a perfect game, with review scores ranging from “good” to “good enough”, ZombiU was still an excellent addition to the Nintendo line-up for a few reasons.
First of all, coming off the Wii, it represented hope that the company was more open-minded about signing off on more mature titles. Secondly, it was one of the more ingenious uses of the gamepad that the console ever saw in it’s lifespan.
Set in London during a zombie apocalypse, players used the GamePad screen as a map and inventory. There was nothing like the tension of looking between the TV and the controller, expecting a monster to come looking for lunch whilst you rifled through your backpack. End up eaten, and you’d reload as another hopeful survivor, able to find your former zombified self (or even your friends, with online functions enabled).
ZombiU was a rare breath of fresh air in an otherwise mouldy, rotting zombie genre, and its ports to other consoles come with the caveat of “it was better on Wii U” - which nobody says about really any other game.