The evolution of videogame zombies

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A horrifying history of the shambling flesh-eaters we love to shoot

Disposition: Sneaky

Eternal Darkness was a game known for springing unique tricks and twists on its players, but one of the biggest was that its battlefield was presided over by three dark, nigh-omnipotent forces of evil, and depending on which one you chose to oppose at the beginning of the game, the zombies you face throughout would be different. Red ones were physically tougher than all the others, blue ones could deal out magical damage, green ones could have adverse effects on your character’s sanity, and the black ones – which were present no matter which path you chose – were kind of weak and skeletal and not really much of a threat. Still, the prospect of facing an entirely different kind of zombie – and earning different endings as you chose all three paths – was a cool feature, and was one of the many reasons Eternal Darkness was as incredible a game as it was.

Mikel Reparaz
Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.