Ground Zero

Ground Zero isn’t a bad game at all, in fact I was surprised by how much I had fun with it. The developer understands what makes the survival horror genre a compelling one, but Ground Zero feels like its being held back.

Ground Zero may not be the most original survival horror game you'll ever play, but it is certainly one of the titles that best understands the essence of the genre. It looks to the past with respect while still introducing improvements that make it more enjoyable by modern standards. Despite its pacing issues, some questionable design choices, and a difficulty curve that loses momentum toward the end, its atmosphere, exploration, and commitment to classic horror make it an experience that any fan of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, or Dino Crisis should check out.

Anyone who wants to experience the original Resident Evil 2 and other survival horror of the PS1/PS2 era in a different package will want to stop what they are doing and pick up Ground Zero.

Ground Zero is an interesting title, capable of creating an excellent experience for anyone looking for a horror game with a retro aesthetic and atmosphere. The gameplay is solid and well-balanced foundations, although the level design is prone to some uncertainty, with some areas sadly feeling devoid of any real purpose within the game.

Ground Zero is one of the most complete indie survival horror games I’ve run across in a long time. While it may come across as a Resident Evil clone, Ground Zero is more like a companion game than a mere clone. The game keeps itself fresh with its generous mix of combat, puzzles, extra modes, and unlockables. Ground Zero offers a lot of quality survival horror gameplay at an indie price.

Ground Zero transforms South Korea into Racoon City. If there’s one game that reminds us, both visually and in terms of gameplay, of the early Resident Evil titles on the PlayStation, it’s this one

Ground Zero is pretty much everything I wanted it to be. It’s a strong throwback horror game with excellent level design that had me checking every corner, a story that knows not to take itself too seriously, and that classic, slightly clunky gameplay the genre is built on. It’s not perfect, but it absolutely understands what makes this style of horror work, and that goes a long way. I can only hope we end up seeing a lot more of it in the future.

Ground Zero doesn’t hide what it wants to be. From the moment you step into the fog-covered ruins of Busan, it wears its inspirations proudly: a deliberate throwback to classic survival horror, where tension builds slowly, and every bullet feels like a decision between life and virtual death.

Ground Zero is one of the best resi-likes out there. In many ways, it’s superior to the games that it inspired, with deeper gameplay and jam-packed with content. Not everything works perfectly, like when the game occasionally glitches and enemies get stuck in a looping animation after they die. It’s nothing a patch couldn’t fix, but it’s still strange to see something like that in an otherwise polished game. Thankfully, it isn’t a rogue-like.

Ground Zero stands out as one of the most polished and complete indie survival horror experiences in recent years. While clearly heavily inspired by Resident Evil, it feels like a lost game in the series rather than a copycat and the mix of combat and puzzles keep things fresh throughout. Throw in the generous extra modes and the unlockables mixing up subsequent playthroughs and you have a game that offers dozens of hours of quality survival horror for a bargain price.