Info about State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition:

Official game description:
Juggernaut Edition
==================
_State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition_ re-imagines the popular survival game as a brand-new experience to welcome first-time players... and those who've come back from the dead. Available on Steam for the first time, this edition is packed with new and remastered content for the ultimate zombie survival experience.  
Join over 10 million existing players and discover what Juggernaut Edition has to offer:  
*   The base game plus all three add-on packs released to date, including the all-new Homecoming update:  
    • **Homecoming**: a full-size, fully remastered, open world version of Trumbull Valley for the core game, reintegrating the Mount Tanner and Fairfield regions to the map, and adding new sites to scavenge, along with new sights to behold.  
    • **Heartland**: an massive story campaign set in a familiar town with new challenges  
    • **Daybreak Pack**: a test of teamwork with siege-style, "survive the horde" gameplay  
    • **Independence Pack**: a celebration of history that blows up zombies... with fireworks!  
*   **_Remastered graphics_** and an upgraded engine featuring realistic fog effects  
*   An **_expanded soundtrack_** with hours of new thematic musical arrangements  
*   Providence Ridge: a **_brand-new open-world map_** full of forests, zombies, and mystery  
*   Two-handed heavy weapons with **_new melee combat moves_** to bust zombie heads  
*   A **_new introductory experience_** and improved controls to help you master the apocalypse
... and countless other improvements to the classic open-ended sandbox gameplay.
About the Game
==============
_State of Decay 2_ is an open-world survival-fantasy game set just after the zombie apocalypse. Your small community of survivors seeks to rebuild a corner of civilization, and you get to make all the decisions about how that happens.  
You decide who to recruit to your team, where to settle your community, how to fortify and upgrade your base, and when it’s time to move to greener pastures. You select which survivor to bring along on a scavenging run for the food and ammo you need, and who you’ll use to fight off the zombies attacking your base. You choose how you’ll deal with other people who move into your town. Will you be friendly and welcoming... or will you aggressively defend your territory?  
Every player’s experience in the sandbox is unique. Each character in your community has their own special set of skills and traits, so no two communities are ever the same. The challenges you face also vary from game to game, based on who you recruit and the decisions you make along the way.  
With co-op multiplayer support, you can visit your friends' communities and help them through a tough spot, bringing back rewards for your own communities later. Alternate game modes include a full 10-hour narrative campaign and a four-player zombie-slaughtering "siege defense" mode.  
Undead Labs is proud to present our best-ever vision of the zombie apocalypse. Keep your eyes peeled and your weapons ready. This is one apocalypse you won't want to miss.  
**ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS**  
**Gameplay**  
*   Adjustable difficulty can be set to ‘Green’, ‘Standard’, ‘Dread’, ‘Nightmare’, or ‘Lethal’, and can be adjusted separately each for ‘Action’, ‘Community’, and ‘Maps’  
*   Adjustable aim assist, allowing the character to automatically lock on to the nearest enemy, can be set to ‘None’, ‘Normal’, or ‘Maximum’  
*   Game can be paused in single-player mode (pause is unavailable in multiplayer)
**Audio**  
*   Volume controls can be adjusted for Music, Voice, and SFX audio  
*   Adjustable audio output can be set to Surround, Stereo, Headphones or TV
**Visual**  
*   Subtitles for spoken content can be set to On or Off  
*   Subtitle text size can be scaled to 50%, 75%, 100%, 125%, or 150%  
*   Gamma levels can be adjusted to increase or decrease in-game brightness, and is available prior to game start  
*   Field of view can be adjusted between 40% and 100%  
*   Motion blur can be set to Off, Low, or High  
*   ‘Reduce auto-camera movement’ can be set to On or Off  
*   HUD UI visibility can be set to On or Off  
*   In-World Objective Icon visibility can be set to On or Off  
*   UI prompts for Finisher Moves on zombies can be set to On or Off  
*   Mini-map visibility can be set to On or Off  
*   Mini-map rotation lock can be set to On or Off  
*   Tooltip visibility can be set to On or Off  
*   Notifications can be set to On or Off
**Input**  
*   Input remapping for keyboard & mouse, and most controller buttons\*  
*   Controller vibration can be set to On or Off  
*   ‘Auto Camera Tracking on Foot’ can be set to On or Off  
*   ‘Auto Camera Tracking in Vehicle’ can be set to On or Off  
*   ‘Use camera to target interactions’ can be set to ‘Never’, ‘Always’, or ‘Only when using mouse’  
*   ‘Aim on Movement Stick’ can be set to On or Off  
*   ‘Rapid Button Tap’ can be replaced with ‘Hold Button Down’  
*   ‘Hold to Aim’ can be replaced with ‘Aim Toggle’  
*   ‘Remember Aim Zoom Level’ can be set to On or Off  
*   Reduce Auto Camera Movement can be set to On or Off  
*   Adjustable sensitivity for camera movement and weapon aiming for controller joystick and mouse  
*   Ability to invert camera X and Y axes for controller joystick and mouse  
*   Ability to swap left and right controller joystick functionality
\*For Xbox controllers: the right stick, ‘view’, and ‘menu’ buttons are not remappable. To move your character while also aiming a weapon, a mouse or controller joystick stick is required – this cannot be done with a keyboard only.

Release date: 13 Mar, 2020

Categories: Survival, Open-World Exploration, Base Building, Resource Management, Community Management, Cooperative Multiplayer, Real-time Combat, Single-player Story


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Addictive Core Gameplay Loop (weight 1): Players consistently find the game highly fun, engaging, and addictive, leading to hundreds of hours of play. The blend of action and strategy, combined with consistent updates, keeps players returning to build new communities and makes time fly by.
- Enhanced Cooperative Multiplayer (weight 0.85): The cooperative multiplayer mode is a major highlight, significantly increasing fun and immersion. Playing with friends fosters camaraderie, elevates the experience, and makes tackling the apocalypse even more enjoyable and chaotic through shared challenges and teamwork.
- Immersive Zombie Apocalypse Survival (weight 0.72): The game excels at creating a tense and authentic zombie apocalypse experience, often compared to 'The Walking Dead'. Permadeath, strategic decisions, and managing limited resources contribute to a strong sense of survival, making every choice feel impactful.
- Deep Base & Community Management (weight 0.37): A central and highly satisfying aspect is the intricate base-building and community management system. Players enjoy recruiting diverse survivors, developing their unique skills, and strategically utilizing outposts for resource flow, defense, and expanding safe zones.
- High Replayability & Dynamic World (weight 0.33): The game offers immense replayability through diverse, expansive maps, randomized elements, emergent narratives, and significant player freedom. Each playthrough feels fresh, offering new challenges and allowing players to create their own unique stories and strategies.
- Significant Evolution & Polish (weight 0.31): The game has undergone substantial improvements and polish since its launch, notably with the Juggernaut Edition. This definitive version brought enhanced graphics, a refined combat system, quality-of-life changes, and all DLC, making it a highly regarded and much-improved successor to the original.
- Customizable Difficulty & Strategic Depth (weight 0.27): Players highly value the flexible difficulty settings, which allow for a tailored challenge from relaxing to intensely strategic. Higher difficulties, such as Nightmare and Lethal, significantly transform the experience and demand careful planning and tactical thinking.
- Varied & Satisfying Combat (weight 0.15): The combat system, encompassing both melee and ranged options, is described as visceral, strategic, and deeply satisfying. Players appreciate the wide variety of weapons, fluid animations, and impactful gore that enhance the fighting experience.

Common complaints:
- Persistent Technical Instability (weight 0.35): Players frequently encounter severe bugs, glitches, crashes, and performance issues across various game modes, including co-op. Many of these problems persist despite updates and often lead to frustrating or unplayable experiences, compounded by general jankiness and poor optimization.
- Repetitive & Shallow Content (weight 0.35): The game is criticized for its lack of depth, variety, and engaging content in its story, missions, and map design. The core gameplay loop becomes repetitive over time, contributing to a sense of grind and a perception that the game is less evolved than its predecessor, especially regarding its limited narrative and world interactivity.
- Frustrating Zombie AI & Spawns (weight 0.14): Zombie AI and spawning mechanics are a significant source of player frustration. Issues include zombies appearing suddenly, teleporting, ignoring NPCs, instantly respawning in cleared areas, and unfair grappling, which breaks immersion and creates artificial difficulty spikes rather than genuine challenge.
- Unbalanced Difficulty & Pacing (weight 0.11): Difficulty settings are imbalanced, with lower difficulties being too easy and higher ones often becoming tediously grindy or unfairly challenging due to broken enemy spawns and constant timed mission pressure. The unforgiving autosave system can also lead to frustrating loss of progress.
- Ineffective & Problematic NPC AI (weight 0.11): Both friendly and hostile NPC AI are widely criticized for being ineffective and unintelligent. Friendly companions are often suicidal or unhelpful, leading to player frustration and character deaths, while hostile human enemies are perceived as overly tanky.
- Simplistic Base Building System (weight 0.1): The base building and management system is considered simplistic, restrictive, and lacks meaningful customization or strategic depth. Players desire more freedom in base construction, better resource management, and more diverse options beyond fixed layouts and limited slots.
- Poor Character Models & Customization (weight 0.07): Character models are frequently described as generic, unappealing, and lacking visual diversity. The bare-bones customization options, relying heavily on random generation, fail to allow players to create unique or engaging characters, hindering player investment.
- Weak Narrative & Dialogue Quality (weight 0.06): The game's narrative, character development, and dialogue are found to be lacking in depth and quality. Reviewers cite generic, repetitive, and sometimes 'cringe' dialogue, inconsistent NPC monologues, and an absence of deep conversations, failing to create an immersive story or character connections.

Gameplay feedback:
- Eliminate infectious Plague Hearts (weight 0.12): A primary objective is to locate and destroy Plague Hearts, which are critical infection clusters that attract hordes and spread the Blood Plague. Players must manage the risk of contracting Blood Plague, a fatal infection if not cured, which adds a constant layer of threat to exploration and combat.
- Multiple distinct game modes (weight 0.09): Beyond the main campaign, the game offers distinct modes like Heartland, which provides a more structured, narrative-driven experience with set characters. Additionally, Daybreak is a wave-based co-op horde defense mode used to earn prestige and unlock rewards for the main game.
- Varied zombie types & vehicle use (weight 0.06): The game features a diverse array of zombie types, including special variants like Screamers, Bloaters, Ferals, and Juggernauts, each requiring different tactical approaches. Vehicles are crucial for traversal and combat, but fuel is limited, and excessive collisions with zombies can damage or destroy them.
- Dynamic map progression (weight 0.04): Players can move their established communities to new maps after completing current objectives, allowing for continued progression or a fresh start on different difficulty settings. This system enhances replayability and offers strategic choices for long-term community development.

Performance notes:
- Decent PC requirements and performance (weight 0.07): The game generally runs smoothly across a range of gaming PCs, with many players experiencing good performance even on lower settings, attributed to acceptable optimization and the game's age. However, some users report inconsistent performance, occasional stuttering, or high GPU temperatures when playing on higher graphics settings.
- Severe multiplayer lag and desync (weight 0.04): Multiplayer gameplay, particularly in Daybreak mode, is significantly affected by connectivity issues, severe lag, and desynchronization. This leads to non-host players being frequently kicked, items becoming unresponsive, and bizarre in-game behaviors like players passing through barricades, even when connection pings are low.

Recommendations:
- Strongly Recommended, Value Focus (weight 0.39): A vast majority of players highly recommend the game, often giving it high ratings. Many emphasize its excellent value, particularly when purchased during sales, though some believe it's worth full price for fans of the genre.
- Core Survival Strategy Gameplay (weight 0.28): The game is lauded as a robust and unique survival simulation, featuring base building, resource management, and strategic gameplay within a zombie apocalypse. It resonates with fans of the survival genre, RPG elements, and emergent narratives, but may not satisfy those seeking deep stories or technical polish.
- Diverse Difficulty Recommendations (weight 0.05): Players provide varied advice on difficulty. Many suggest starting on Dread Zone or even Lethal for a challenging experience. However, new players are also cautioned to begin on lower settings or be aware of the significant jump in difficulty at higher tiers.
- Technical Issues Impact Experience (weight 0.03): The game is noted to have some technical problems, including bugs and login issues, which have led some players to issue negative recommendations or suggest refunds. While some players tolerate these flaws, they are a point of concern for others.
- Requires Patience and Adaptation (weight 0.03): To fully appreciate the game, players are advised to approach it with patience, be prepared for repetition, and not become too attached to characters due to potential losses. Learning game mechanics and considering community-made mods are also frequently recommended to enhance the experience.
- Requests Japanese Language Support (weight 0.01): A small but specific segment of the player base, particularly in Japan, expresses a desire for official Japanese language support in future iterations of the game to improve accessibility and broaden its appeal in the region.
- Standalone from First Game (weight 0.01): While some reviewers might suggest playing the first State of Decay, it is generally agreed that the sequel can be enjoyed as a standalone experience without prior knowledge of the original, as it builds upon and improves its predecessor.
- Recruit Red Talon Agents (weight 0.01): A specific recommendation is to recruit Red Talon agents for their unique and beneficial fifth skills, which significantly enhance expeditions and base capabilities, making them valuable additions to the survivor community.

Other player notes:
- High Anticipation for State of Decay 3 (weight 0.25): Players express immense excitement and high expectations for State of Decay 3, frequently asking for its release date and hoping for significant improvements. They desire enhancements in co-op features, deeper base management, new content, and overall game polish, aiming for a more immersive and community-focused experience.
- Game Identity and Comparisons (weight 0.09): The game is recognized as a unique post-apocalyptic zombie sandbox experience, often compared to other titles like Project Zomboid and The Walking Dead. There's discussion about its classification as a 'survival game' and some players desire more immersive survival mechanics.
- Demand for Expanded Base Building (weight 0.08): There's a strong desire for more flexible and in-depth base building options, including the ability to construct bases from scratch, utilize surrounding structures, and upgrade outposts with defensive features. Players also wish for deeper character and vehicle customization, alongside improved cooperative base management.
- Development Focus Shifted to SoD3 (weight 0.04): Players are aware that the current game has received its final updates and support has concluded. The development team, Undead Labs (backed by Microsoft), has now fully shifted its focus and resources towards the upcoming State of Decay 3, which is anticipated around 2026.
- Accessibility & Microsoft Account Friction (weight 0.04): While the game is frequently acquired at a low price during sales and is available on Xbox Game Pass, the mandatory Microsoft account login process is a notable point of friction for some players, despite others finding it quick.
- Broad Audience Appeal (weight 0.02): The game is perceived to be suitable for a wide range of audiences, from adolescents to adults and even the elderly. This indicates its broad appeal extends beyond typical gaming demographics.
- Desire for Mod Support (weight 0.02): Players express a clear desire for official mod support, particularly through platforms like Steam Workshop. This would enhance customization and extend the game's lifespan with community-created content and language translations.
- Unrealized Game Potential (weight 0.01): Some players feel the game had significant potential, especially in solo mode, but ultimately failed to fully deliver on it. This left certain aspects unfulfilled, despite overall interest in the game's premise. This feedback is based on limited specificity.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.29): Players felt satisfied by the game's excellent value for money and its high replayability, often describing it as fun, addictive, and a top-tier zombie survival experience. This was driven by well-implemented core gameplay loops including strategic base-building, community management, deep survival mechanics, and engaging combat, alongside consistent improvements and content updates.
- Frustration (weight 0.13): Frustration stemmed primarily from persistent technical issues, including numerous bugs like getting stuck, crashes, and critical data loss, as well as recurring Microsoft account login problems that prevented gameplay. Players also experienced frustration with poor multiplayer implementation, unfair AI behavior, repetitive endgame content, and certain difficulty spikes or problematic mechanics like car physics.
- Excitement (weight 0.1): Excitement was generated by the game's thrilling zombie apocalypse experience, particularly on higher difficulties like Lethal mode, which offered constant tension and rewarding challenges. Players also felt excitement from the addictive gameplay loop, high replayability, dynamic content, and a strong anticipation for future installments like State of Decay 3.
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): Disappointment arose from the game's perceived repetitiveness after initial play, a lack of story depth, and the failure of developers to address persistent bugs or update content. Players were also let down by shallow base building, poor AI, and the limited, often broken, implementation of multiplayer/co-op, leading to unfulfilled potential compared to the first game.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.07): Enjoyment was largely derived from the game's entertaining and addicting core gameplay loop, which involved driving, scavenging, base building, and managing characters in a zombie apocalypse setting. Playing with friends in co-op, engaging with varied difficulties, and appreciating the game's atmosphere and replayability significantly contributed to this positive feeling.
- Joy (weight 0.05): Players experienced joy from the sheer fun and addictive nature of the game, often amplified when playing with friends or family. The game's engaging randomness, immersive qualities, and its ability to provide long hours of entertainment and distraction were key contributors, with some players expressing a deep affection for the game and its mechanics.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Anger was fueled by severe technical issues, including game-breaking bugs, critical data loss, and persistent login problems that made the game unplayable or wasted significant player time. Frustration also stemmed from perceived poor developer decisions regarding game mechanics, unfair enemy spawns, and restrictive multiplayer design, leading to feelings of being cheated or stressed.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Players appreciated the game's core gameplay loop, unique survival experience, and the developers' ongoing commitment to free updates and remastered content. The game's gritty atmosphere, replayability, innovative features, and its community-focused theme were also highly valued, recognizing the efforts to improve and support the game.
- Hope (weight 0.02): Hope centered on desired future improvements for the game and its sequels, particularly State of Decay 3. Players hoped for enhancements in character visuals, customization, online multiplayer functionality, and more varied content like maps and base building options, anticipating a more polished and expanded experience in the next installment.
- Engagement (weight 0.02): Engagement was driven by the game's addictive base building, supply management, and unique survivor traits, which made each playthrough meaningful. The immersive zombie survival experience, constant quests, time management challenges, and the weight of permadeath decisions kept players engrossed for extended periods, often leading them to lose track of time.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation was primarily directed towards the upcoming third installment in the series, State of Decay 3, with players eagerly awaiting new content, features, and improvements. The desire for new maps to extend the current game's experience also contributed to this forward-looking emotion.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Players expressed a strong desire for more freedom in construction options, outpost customization, and deeper character interactions within the game. There was also a notable wish for more integrated multiplayer experiences, workshop support, and additional content like new maps and diverse enemies to enhance replayability and overall game depth.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Enthusiasm was characterized by strong recommendations for the game, often praising it as the 'best in its genre' or a 'must-play' zombie survival experience. Players expressed continued interest, highlighting the game's addictive nature, variety, and the overall quality of its design and appeal, particularly for collectors and strategists.
- Amusement (weight 0.01): Amusement came from chaotic and often absurd in-game situations, such as bizarre car explosion bugs, exaggerated zombie physics, and the humorous interactions within a dysfunctional community. Players also found amusement in recounting past failures, unexpected events, and the extreme challenge of playing on maximum difficulty.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration was evoked by the game's perceived superiority over other titles in the zombie survival genre, often described as an 'absolute masterpiece' or 'gem.' Players praised its detailed mechanics, comprehensive feature set, unique approach to the zombie apocalypse, and its overall high quality within the survival genre.
- Annoyance (weight 0.01): Annoyance stemmed from specific frustrating game mechanics such as vehicles getting stuck easily, counter-intuitive design choices, and constant intrusive radio calls or pop-ups from NPCs. Minor bugs, inaccurate collision detection, and the mandatory Xbox Live login requirement also contributed to player irritation.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom resulted from the game becoming repetitive, especially on lower difficulty levels or after learning its mechanics. The lack of varied content, monotonous campaign missions, uninteresting mobs, and limited actions for guest players in multiplayer contributed to players feeling disengaged and finding the game uninteresting over time.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arose from the game's initial learning curve, unclear game mechanics, and a perceived lack of guidance, often necessitating self-discovery or external research. Disproportionate rewards, unexplained resource functions, and specific oddities in story mode also left players puzzled.
- Addiction (weight 0.01): Addiction was caused by the game's highly engaging core gameplay loop, immersive qualities, and compelling community management aspects. Players described the game as so engrossing that they couldn't stop playing, often leading to prolonged playtimes and a persistent desire to continue engaging with its systems.
- Surprise (weight 0): Surprise typically involved unexpected enjoyment of the game, especially for players who didn't usually favor survival games or had low initial expectations. This also included the unexpected appearance of difficult enemies, the game's actual genre differing from initial thoughts, and discovering features like stealth requirements for scavenging.}