Developed by Dead Drop Studios LLC, ‘Outbreak: Endless Nightmares’ is the sixth installment to the Outbreak series which is a rogue-like horror game that supports single-player and split-screen co-op and pays homage to classic horror games such as the likes of Resident Evil. This review was done with the Xbox Series X however the title is available on all platforms currently.

Starting off with scrolling text, the story of how players have found their way into the new horror that awaits them. For new players, in the main menu, there is a section to recap on the plot of the last game if they wish to do so. There are eight characters to pick from that will each start with a unique loadout that can be changed in the game. As the players are dropped into the world you start off being able to swap out equipment and the ability to get a feel for the controls before having to fight any threats.

This was a great chance to find the right camera setting too as there are three to pick from; a fixed camera that can be compared to Resident Evil 1, a third-person camera which is what I ended up using, and a first-person that just didn’t feel right. This was a great addition as it enabled adjustments for the gamers’ comfort needs.

The controls for Outbreak are a bit of a mess and can take a while to get used to. The in-game inventory system is a copy and paste from Resident Evil 1, I know it is paying tribute to the old games but it just felt lazy to just copy it over without changing the layout.

Visually, Outbreak does well with its aim for a classic horror as the graphics fit the era and style they are paying homage towards. I really liked these old-school influences. The graphics could be better to keep up with the younger players that never experienced the classic horrors but this is not needed for this type of title. The level designs are great and did give me a lot of the classic vibes from Resident Evil and Dino Crisis.

The only negative for the design is that everything felt short given how big the training area you are first thrown into is. Then the game just expects you to fight in a small hallway and then with a quick loading screen sending you into the next room just to do it all over again. Audio-wise the title was good from gunshots to the zombies moaning while heading down a hallway, all adding to the atmosphere.

From a classic horror fan standpoint, Outbreak: Endless Nightmares felt like it took too much from past games and blended it together with no particular innovativeness. There was nothing stand out and unique to hold its own against classic horror games especially the ones on remake train at this point; this game will easily be overlooked.

Written by: Shane Walsh