It’s no secret that zombies have swarmed over the gaming, film, and TV industries in the last two decades, and of course, with that comes several tropes. Whether it be the hidden bite or the long thought dead survivor returning, some things never changed, but God Save Birmingham will be avoiding one tired trope of the genre, the developers confirmed at Gamescom to us, exclusively.
Sitting down with God Save Birmingham‘s Creative Director Hyeonseong Cha and Content Manager Guinn Kim, we got into the nitty-gritty of what gamers could expect come the release of the game. Cha didn’t waste any time in highlighting the game’s focus on physics, both in combat and the environment, as well as the impact that nighttime would have on the game, especially considering there’s a very obvious lack of manufactured light, being the 14th century. When discussing the light, I pressed him for how the day/night cycle would also influence the zombies present, and he had this to say:
“When night comes, zombies won’t change. But the characters are too dark, and the action is limited. And zombies will appear at night… And to make the night more threatening, the future plan is to have wild animals like wolves, and the animals will be more threatening. The zombies will remain the same day or night, but the player character will have less vision and, of course, will have the fatigue build up[from the day’s activities]… So zombies are the same, but yes, the night will probably be more threatening, so whilst obviously the zombies won’t change for various reasons, gameplay elements and the player themselves would have to act differently, you’d have to do things differently.”
So there you have it. Unlike franchises like Dying Light or Dead Rising, the zombies won’t be super-powered as soon as the sun goes down, with their threat coming from the lack of visibility and our own human weaknesses, like fatigue and the inability to go on. The thought of trying to escape a small horde of zombies whilst a pack of wolves attacks indiscriminately also offers another angle to fully terrify us, if nothing else.
As it stands, God Save Birmingham is slated to release into Early Access in ‘Early 2026’ on PC.
For more Thumb Wars, don’t miss our chat about the upcoming James Bond 007 First Light, and how it’s not just another Hitman reskin, or the Call of the Elder Gods interview with some surprising admissions.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
