Having been a massive fan of twin-stick shooters since their introduction way back in the classic arcade era, as well as someone who enjoys any excuse to mix it up with zombies, Zombiewood at first glance seemed like a perfect marriage of elements for success. Running with the Hollywood theme, gameplay is spread across the production of multiple fictional movies inspired by a variety of genre styles, with each broken down into segments that you’ll then move your way through. Conceptually this feels fresh and fun, but walking through the details there are hits and misses.

Starting with what works, I did find that the theme of the game lended itself well to keeping the stage scenarios and settings more varied. Typically you don’t see nearly this amount of care put into differentiating the setting or enemies you’ll face, with many twin-stick shooters instead merely focused on amping up the challenge in each new stage you enter. Here your objectives are often different, you’ll encounter new and sometimes unusual varieties of shambling flesh eaters, and even how the stages are constructed can vary quite a lot. Throw in bonus gear or perks that unlock when you manage to complete every mission objective, and there’s even an incentive to return to stages to get everything you can on your side. What helps flesh out the experience more for experienced shooting fans is the inclusion of the Survival mode, which will put you in a more classic arena simply trying to stay alive. This is more satisfying, but it still has some quirks tied to the game’s design that make overall play less than ideal in some cases. The option to play with a friend is also appreciated, though it fundamentally doesn’t change the core experience either.

The biggest problem is that, at least for someone who loves twin-stick shooters for the intensity and challenge, all of this theming and effort put into giving the game variety can interfere with the quality of play. In particular the game’s isometric perspective and the inclusion of elements that help the game look better present problems with visibility and getting in the way of fire. Trees, specifically, will clip in and out of view depending on how closely you get to them, but they’ll functionally still get in your way, and in some spots this can be annoying. Another contributor to this problem, is the fact that between stages you’ll have the opportunity to upgrade your guns and gear, meaning that the tendency was for stages to feel a little too difficult at first, but then once you’ve upgraded a little they can instead become too easy. In the end, the good news is that anyone could probably get through the game, but if you’d prefer to be challenged the upgrade system kind of works against it being consistent, leaving only the Survival mode likely to give you your fix… though the overall play in those modes still isn’t as satisfying as many competitors out there.

The end result is a bit tough to put a finger on, and I think how people feel about it will vary wildly based on their level of experience and what they’re looking for. If you’re a hard core twin-stick fan, while the variety and theming may have some appeal, the lack of consistent intensity and focus on core play make it less appealing. If you’re more of an overall action fan, who is looking for some zombie killing fun and who may like to play through with a friend, it will probably be a better match. In the name of variety, I’m glad it’s available as an option, I just wish some aspects of its implementation were a bit more focused on core play quality rather than aesthetics.