Pixel Puzzles: UndeadZ

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Pixel Puzzles: UndeadZ on Steam

MSRP: $6.99

Platform: Windows

Release: 6/6/14

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True confession: I do a lot less research on a game when someone’s giving it away.  I already have one pretty great jigsaw puzzle game, and it’s just not something I’m in the mood for all that often, so I don’t pay much attention to them.  However, IndieGala was giving away Pixel Puzzles: UndeadZ recently, and I figured hey, I like puzzles and I like zombie games, why not, it’s free.

I was not prepared.

I thought it was a little weird that all my puzzle pieces were floating in water around the edges of the screen, but I chalked that up to flavor.  What I didn’t notice was the timer at the bottom or that little barricade, or the fact that I could buy stuff. I was just going to make a puzzle, how hard could it be?  I was doing just fine, actually, until the zombies broke through the barricade and killed my little dude in the lower right, and it was game over. Oh. So that’s the gimmick.  I should probably look at the “how to play” huh?

So, while you’re frantically trying to put together a puzzle (and they start off pretty easy, even if you do have to scavenge for your pieces), there’s a timer counting down to the release of a zombie or group of zombies.  When they come out, you have to stop working on the puzzle and take them out.  You have some bullets and a few grenades to start with, but if you need more supplies (and you probably will), you buy them with coins that you get randomly as you successfully place puzzle pieces. If you work too slowly, or just get really unlucky, you might run out of ammo and defenses. No pressure. Really.

It was very much not what I was expecting.  The puzzles pretty much met my expectations – artwork depicting zombies and zombie hunters. If you just want the puzzles, there’s an option to turn off the zombie apocalypse at the bottom of the screen.  There’s 19 puzzles, and the last is a whopping 350 pieces. There are also several other games in the series, if zombies aren’t your thing.