H1Z1 brings out the best (and worst) of human nature in an undead apocalypse

World War Me

I warmly greeted the first person I saw in H1Z1's rural wasteland with a friendly wave. He waved back. I then brandished my torch, lit him on fire, and ran circles around him while he burned to death, his axe swinging frantically and futilely at my face. And yes--God help me--I teabagged his corpse. Such is but one of the memorable moments possible in H1Z1, Sony Online Entertainment's foray into the open-world, zombie survival genre.

H1Z1 drops players into a barren, zombie-filled forest, with only your wits, a torch, an axe, and the clothes on your back. Typically, the treacherous first hour in H1Z1 involves gathering firewood, foraging for scraps of food in the form of wild animals, and praying that no zombies catch your scent when night falls. But to a goofball like me, H1Z1 provided frantic, humorous experiences one after another. There was the time I killed a pursuing zombie, only to be devoured by a nearby rabid wolf. Or the time I lit a live deer on fire; why not kill and prepare the venison at the same time? There was a terrifying ring-around-the-rosie as I desperately ran around a table being chased by zombies. And the piece de resistance: standing in the pitch black of night, hearing moans and gurgles, and lighting my torch only to see a train of nine zombies lurching full-speed at me. It was exhilarating and hilarious at the same time.

The dusky, grimy aesthetic of H1Z1 and persistent, player-made changes to the gigantic world are everything you've come to expect from a top-notch zombie apocalypse MMO. It's a game of survival, and the consequences of trying to work with strangers when you're unsure if they're friend or foe. Or, in my case, it's a hilarious demonstration of just how miserably I'd fare if a zombie apocalypse actually occurs.

Check out the following screenshots for additional info!

Open-world PvP is enabled from the start, so you're always in danger of becoming a zombie's dinner or a bandit's unwitting mark

H1Z1 allows for third-person or first-person perspectives, though it's far easier to see what you're slashing at from the behind-the-back camera

The pre-alpha version of H1Z1 is slated to hit Steam Early Access soon, giving players the opportunity to give feedback help build the game from the ground up

Everything's on one giant, persistent server, so you'll definitely run into player-owned encampments as well as pre-existing architecture