DayZ

On your way you will come across variously looking zombie characters, as well as living ones, who might help you or stab you to death. Who can be trusted, when everyone struggles for his own life? You always take the risk that your best friend will be your worst nightmare. The tension is enhanced when you realize that once you die, there’s no way back - you lose all your items and achievements and start from scratch.

Developers aim at realism

Gritty, authentic, open-world – these three features characterize best the Day Z gameplay. After a few minutes of playing, you will realize that your protagonist is not a demi-god, but a real human being, who needs to eat, drink and stay healthy. Watch out not to bleed or starve to death, don’t eat anything, which looks unappealing, as you may become infected from rotten food and refrain from being a stunt man, as it is an easy way to break your bones. 

Players can also go hunting or fishing, grow plants, cook food, create their own items, and establish a home in order to meet their needs for survival. One of the tidbits is the presence of the real world book titles, as you can reach for War of the Worlds and Moby Dick and in multiple languages. Furthermore, 

Chernarus is not a completely fictional place, as the game is based upon an area of the real-world Czech Republic. All this, along with the fact that the players are thrown into a world and asked to create their own stories, makes the title unique among the survival games market.

A standalone successor of the popular mod

DayZ release for PC took place in December 2013. The game has been developed by Bohemia Interactive, being a commercial continuation of the popular ArmA II mod. The impressive work of the studio has been noticed by many gamers and experts, as the title was met with a warm reception. 

DayZ won the MMORPG.com award for Best Hybrid MMO at PAX East 2013, the Best Indie Game and Best Original Game awards. At the 2014 Golden Joystick Awards and was named the 52nd best PC video game ever by PC Gamer in 2015.

The online character of the game, as well as basing the title on a military simulator engine redefines the Zombie apocalypse games, as the real enemies are not only the undead, but also other living protagonists.