When you think horror games, the atmospheric, psychological, and survival-focused titles like Silent Hill 2 remake or even the recent A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, come to mind. Zombies, dreaded as they may be, have fallen into their own sub-genre – where ripping and tearing them apart in creative ways is the aim, and catharsis reigns supreme. If it isn’t a Dead Island 2 or a Dead Rising: Deluxe Master, then maybe Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s return to a more traditional Zombies slaying format.
However, zombies have long since proven a medium to evoke terror and remind humanity of its frailty and how things can go from peaceful to post-apocalyptic in the blink of an eye. What do you do when that’s the case? Lever Games’ No More Room in Hell captured that tension, that ever-present atmosphere of dread, from its inception as a Half-Life 2 mod to a standalone release in 2011. You weren’t a hero or someone special; just a survivor attempting to see another hellish day.
Despite the naming, No More Room in Hell 2 isn’t that.
“Right off the bat, any semblance of building a spooky atmosphere feels tossed by the wayside in favor of pushing the objective.”
Torn Banner Studios may be listed as the developer, but it acquired Lever Games in June, with the sequel having been in development for several years. That Summer Game Fest trailer certainly gave the impression of adhering to the original’s fundamentals, albeit on a much bigger map (singular).
However, early access portrays a more traditional – and, at times, rote – extraction shooter. As disappointing as that sounds for fans of the original, any hopes of it standing on its fundamentals are dashed by numerous technical issues, some flawed design decisions, a repetitive gameplay loop, and an unexciting premise. Even the zombies feel like they’re just here so they don’t get fined – more akin to contemporary Romero than the classics.
Contrary to what it may feel like at the start, No More Room in Hell 2 does have a premise. Instead of a survivor, you’re a “responder” who must rush to the power plant to restore it and prevent total regional collapse, as the CRC blares over the radio. You start alone, but there are seven other players on the map.
With nothing but a revolver, flashlight, and metal pipe, fight or avoid zombies to survive while looting other points of interest for better weapons, healing items, explosives, equipment, etc. Once you know where things are, stocking up on ammo is pitifully easy, though going trigger-happy out in the wild isn’t the best idea since the noise can attract other zombies.
Right off the bat, any semblance of building a spooky atmosphere feels tossed by the wayside in favor of pushing the objective. I appreciate the CRC telling me from the outset about key, red-marked locations to clear first. However, any tension from exploring locations, like the hospital, hopping up crates and other materials to the boarded-up second floor while discovering dozens of undead casually roaming on the first, is dulled by constant updates.
“Even if you can deal with all that, the zombies in question feel like they soak up too much damage.”
Whether other players looted a location, ventured to the power plant, or tripped over a rock, you’ll hear about it. I would have appreciated more subtle notifications when far from others – the cacophony can continue when we’re together.
Despite reasonably meeting the recommended requirements for High settings and setting the upscaling to TSA, the frame rate left something to be desired in my first go-round. Toning down a few options like volumetrics while opting for Nvidia DLSS Quality improved things significantly, even with crowds of zombies. However, the zombies themselves present a litany of their own issues.
Rubber-banding, sliding across the floor, suddenly shifting from awkward shuffles to lunges, teleporting through the player – it’s a far cry from the dead simply walking the Earth. Graphical glitches like zombie heads awkwardly floating in the air or, even worse, barely attached to the still-moving body are one thing.
But everything else impacts the overall gameplay, especially turning melee into a test of luck unless you’re on top of a car and swinging away at an undead crowd (which seemingly can’t reach, despite their climbing capabilities). It doesn’t help that melee combat feels clunky overall, regardless of the weapon’s size and weight – like you’re swinging while underwater. At least the fire axe feels like it has some heft to it.
Even if you can deal with all that, the zombies in question feel like they soak up too much damage. I’m all for dealing with runners, whether pushing them away (which feels clumsy) or desperately fleeing and using the environment to turn the tables. However, the red-eye zombies and their ability to tank punishment notwithstanding, unleashing a shotgun blast or heavy rifle shot to the skull to see a zombie continually amble forward with nothing but their lower jaw and wagging tongue is annoying. Humorous to some extent, but disheartening regardless.
“Starting alone is intriguing until you spend time reaching the plant and find that 60 percent of the lobby is already dead, making the final stretch that much more challenging.”
No More Room in Hell 2 tries combining the original’s brutal mechanics and realism with a more “mainstream” approach (for lack of a better word). However, some elements don’t mesh with the more fast-paced gameplay flow. Starting alone is intriguing until you spend time reaching the plant and find that 60 percent of the lobby is already dead, making the final stretch that much more challenging. Zombies infinitely respawn, which feels balanced for eight players, but significantly more irritating when you’re suddenly ambushed out of nowhere from behind after mind-numbingly clearing out undead from atop a car.
However, it doesn’t quite explain the approach to permadeath. You start with a responder, and upon successful extraction, they receive XP to unlock new passive skills of your choosing. If they die during a mission, you must select a new randomly generated responder and repeat the process.
It’s not unlike other extraction shooters where dying results in lost loot, even if co-op is forced, and the team’s failures, through no fault of your own, result in hours of lost progress. But if you give me some rando I have no attachment to, why not let me customize their appearance and playstyle when starting afresh?
When you’re not facing bugs like your weapon’s ADS glitching out, making it impossible to shoot, or zombies getting stuck in the railing, the visuals are appealing. Locational damage on the undead is perhaps the highlight, even if it can range from exposed bits to simple crimson masks when taking one too many hits to the decaying dome. It’s no F.L.E.S.H. system from Dead Island 2, but I’ll take it, and despite the many issues with melee combat, at least the gunplay feels satisfying and responsive.
“Torn Banner may eventually find a way to reconcile the sequel with the original’s approach, but it currently has a long way to go.”
The lighting, shadows, and environmental details are also worth noting, with several locations dripping with atmosphere, like rows of abandoned vehicles near checkpoints, field camps in disarray and bodies, undead and otherwise, lying about. Their puzzles fell a little too much on the simple side – like knocking out four fuse boxes to turn off electrical traps to enter a building and then hitting three breakers to restore power – but they work. Now, if only there were more to the gameplay loop than just running to the plant and extracting.
Even after dealing with all the issues and glitches, No More Room in Hell 2, ironically, has plenty of room to grow in early access. Moments, where you’re desperately gunning down hordes and extracting alongside what little teammates remain can be enjoyable, bugs and all. However, considering how many other better and more polished co-op shooters are on the market, it’s not enough. Torn Banner may eventually find a way to reconcile the sequel with the original’s approach, but it currently has a long way to go.
This game was reviewed on PC.
