Zombie games are nothing new, and neither are business management simulators, but ZOMBUTCHER: Monster Business Simulator looks set to put a great twist on both genres. Developed by ODIUS and published by Loopr Partners, this darkly comedic simulator puts players in the rotting shoes of a zombie entrepreneur who is tasked with running and owning a successful butcher shop by day, then hunting and butchering unsuspecting humans at night. The game promises something a little bizarre and entertaining.

The game features a light narrative that you don’t particularly need to follow, but it serves as a backdrop for the gameplay, which allows you to really focus. You play as a butcher who gets on the wrong side of some people, which results in your demise, but then you come back as a zombie butcher. You need to meet your customers’ demands during both the day and night. The vibe is quirky and darkly humorous, with enough context to tie the dark and night cycles together. While the plot isn’t particularly deep or emotionally impactful, it never felt like it needed to be.

ZOMBUTCHER: Monster Business Simulator combines stealth, resource gathering, and shop management and some simulation mechanics into a surprisingly addictive gameplay loop. During the day, you’ll be running your butcher shop, collecting meat, preparing products, fulfilling customer orders, and managing your growing business. As profits increase, you can invest in upgrades and new equipment to improve efficiency and expand your operations. When night falls, that’s when the game shifts into gear, and you will encounter a stealthier experience in the game.

You are a zombie living among the humans, and you’ll need to sneak around through the streets and avoid the Police patrolling the streets. It’s the perfect time to feast on some brains and also find the more peculiar items for your monster customers. I really enjoyed the nighttime portion of the game as it added some risk and reward, rather than just selling your standard meats you would find in a butcher shop. The XP you gained was quite quick, so you didn’t feel like you really needed to grind to get to that next level to unlock something for the shop.

For the most part, the controls are straightforward to pick up, with the movement and interactions feeling responsive enough, allowing you to focus on managing your butcher shop and dealing with various tasks that the game throws at you. That being said, there were several moments where the interaction system felt a little too precise for its own good. The biggest issue I encountered was when processing chickens.

While butchering tasks could be completed quickly and accurately, the final cut on the chickens often required far more precision than it needed. I regularly found myself repositioning my cursor multiple times to find the exact spot needed to complete the cut, which slowed down an otherwise smooth process. I found a similar problem when butchering the human bodies. Highlighting the body to start butchering, you really needed to find the sweet spot before the game would recognise any kind of input.

The combat interactions could use some refinement. Punching the Police officers felt quite clunky, with hits not always feeling responsive, and I found myself dead because I was hitting the LMB and nothing was happening. Overall, the controls are functional, but a few tweaks would go a long way toward making the gameplay feel smoother and more intuitive.

The game features a semi-cartoonish art style that blends some exaggerated character designs with darker, horror-inspired themes. Rather than aiming for that photorealism, the game uses stylised visuals and some more muted tones. The environment is detailed enough to support the gameplay, with the butcher shop, streets, stores and the graveyard I found myself in a couple of times.

I found the cartoon tone kept it from becoming overly serious, which gave the game that quirky, often humorous identity. The visuals really helped find the balance between the horror elements and the simulator-style gameplay, making the world feel both entertaining and memorable. I did encounter the occasional texture glitch whilst I was playing this, which was nothing game-breaking, but sometimes you would stop and think why. The issues are relatively minor and could likely be addressed in a future update.

The audio design was fairly basic, with very little in the way of a memorable soundtrack or environmental ambience. Much of what you’ll hear throughout your playthrough will consist of character grunts, zombie noises and some gameplay-related sound effects rather than a rich soundscape that brings the world to life. The one element that became frustrating quickly was the constant knocking from the monster customer at the back door.

Instead of a single door knock with a subtle on-screen prompt, the repetitive knocking became distracting and made me think Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory was knocking at the door. Whilst the sound effects generally get the job done, the game could benefit from some ambient audio and environmental effects sounds to make the world feel more alive.

ZOMBUCHER: Monster Business Simulator is a quirky and entertaining blend of business management, stealth gameplay and dark humour that manages to carve its own identity in an overly crowded genre. While some of the controls can be frustratingly precise and the audio design could use some variety, the addictive gameplay loop and unique premise kept me coming back for “just one more day” in the butcher shop.

If you are looking for a simulator that’s a little different from the norm, and you don’t mind a few rough edges. It offers a fun and memorable experience that’s well worth checking out.

Written by: Hayden Nelson