I had fun testing out Corridor Z's impressive endless running mechanics. It is new and innovative, so those of you used to the genre will find that this has a fresh take on a lot of things. Also, it is quite freaky and heart pounding to play - your always within a yard of getting eating alive!!! I've no doubt, the novelty will pull in even hardcore players pretty quick but without solid game play to back it up, that initial hook would loosen up quite fast. This is where Corridor Z manages to impress the most: the game play itself gets full marks, responsive yet not too complicated to get to grips with. There is a good degree of skill and strategy used in the game, and all the new changes will make you wish that other endless runners would follow suit.

Zombies Never Die

It will be a very long time before zombie themed games go out of style (I just made one with myself with Scorum), and why not - they make for effective story villains. Corridor Z's main draw is that you have a lot of long, narrow, running spaces and plenty of zombies to run away from. This makes the whole 'stuck in a school' scenario quite a fitting setting for the game. And having zombies constantly nipping at your heels as you try to escape creates a very powerful and tense atmosphere. Before I continue unlike many of the other games I've reviewed this one can be played on iOS, Playstation 4 and PC.

It is not all serious though, there is a lot of thought put into the player character options and each one has their own unique traits. The dialogue is light and snappy, making the narrative flow quite smoothly despite the relative unwelcome situation that the protagonists are in.

Room to Room Action

In Corridor Z, rooms are your safe zones and the hallways are where you fight against the zombies. Each time you play, you venture out into the hallways and try to run as far as you possibly can. Zombies will try to chase you and the only way to make them slow down is by knocking obstacles towards them or by shooting at them. Unlike other endless runners where you avoid obstacles, you will not bump or hit anything here (except the wall if you fail to make a turn). You actually have to create obstacles as you run that will slow down the zombies chasing you.

Ammunition is scarce and should only be used as a last resort. After all, doing a few shots will certainly thin the herd for a bit of time, but soon enough, they will be chasing you again as if nothing happened.

If you get caught by zombies, you will somehow manage to automatically scamper back to your original room - or if you manage to get far enough, you will get into a new room. This is what makes the game so interesting: there is a point of progression. Not only are the survivors trying to do things randomly, they are actually trying to actively escape. There is a day and night system in the game that keeps track of your progress too. And unlike a lot of other endless runners out there, this one actually has an ending that you can reach. As if that was not enough, there is also a text based narrative given in the form of diary pages that you can randomly pick up throughout the game. It fleshes out a lot of interesting things in the story and it is possible to complete the stages without finding the whole diary first. If that happens, simply keep playing and the missing pages will turn out soon enough.

Upgrades Forever

As expected, longer runs also earn you better resources to be used for upgrades - which in turn help you make even longer runs. This is one part of the endless runner mechanic that we are always happy to see and implemented with gusto. Many of the upgrades for all characters are very useful - there are few rare points in the game where you would ever feel that our current choice of upgrades is not helping at all. There are costumes, weapons, and other collectables for players to acquire. Sure, getting enough of them makes you more effective, but collecting them all can also be satisfying as well.

The School Got Run Down Pretty Quick

One of the stranger design decisions made about the game is how old and broken the school has become in just a day after the zombie attack. The ceiling panels are falling apart, the walls are smeared in dirt and soot, and the windows look like they have years of dust caked up on them. It would have been more sensible if the environment was a little brighter and had that sense that students had been in those halls just recently instead of looking like it was abandoned for years.

Still, despite that oddity, this game is a visual delight. The variations of zombies are interesting, from undead cheerleaders to canteen lunchladies, players will encounter all sorts of academia themed baddies. The character animations are dynamic and adapt depending on what is happening, so it is hard to get tired of watching your characters trying to pull down shelves or push vases in the way of the horde or one formidable foe. And the best part is that the overall visual theme of the game and the user interface looks both stylish and well organised.

It is hard to put down Corridor Z. The game is accessible, easy to learn, and has an addictive game play. The visuals and audio are well polished and the control response is top notch. Best of all, it manages to surpass plenty of other endless runners for having a simple yet great story line and an actual ending to aim for. If you have been looking for a great endless runner for the mobile, we highly recommend this. Oh, and the game has also been ported over to the PS4 and PC for those of you who feel like having a bit of a console running itch that needs to be scratched.

Download Corridor Z for iOS | Download at the Playstation Store | Download at Steam for PC