Zombies. One of the most famous members of the horror movie rogues gallery: doesn’t matter if its by curse, by disease, or headcrab, zombies hold a uniquely special place in the cultural zeitgeist. Some think they scare us because they reflect what he don’t like about ourselves - the mindless mob, driven by gut instincts. Others think they scare us because they eat brains.  Whatever the reason, their slow-moving, hostile nature has made them easy prey for video game developers as enemies. While zombies are usually the topic of 3D games - i.e. shooters, survival horrors, etc. - there are equally tons of classic 2D zombie games that deserve more attention! Whether it’s tower defence, strategy or even straight up horror, here are ten fun 2D zombie games that you may or may not have played before! 

10. Plants Vs Zombies – 2009 (PC/X360/PS3)              

Set during a zombie apocalypse, Crazy Dave is just your average incoherent homeowner when a horde of the undead come a’ knocking on his door! His only hope from being eaten alive? His GARDEN, of course. With an arsenal of hostile plants ready to attack, decorate your lawn and keep the zombies at bay! One of the most iconic browser games ever – so much so that it spawned multiple sequels and a shooter spin off – Plants Vs Zombies may not be scary, but it’s damn addictive. Before long you’ll be caught up in the strategy between picking another Wall-nut or a Peashooter. If you feel like killing some zombies in between work or just need to kill ten minutes, Plants Vs Zombies is the game to play. Fun Factor: 85/100

With plants like these by your side, who needs friends? Or zombies, for that matter. 

9. Zombies Ate My Neighbours – 1993 (SNES/XONE/PS4/SWITCH)

After the mad scientist Dr Tongue wreaks havoc on the neighbourhood – running the streets rampant with zombies, werewolves and other monsters – Zeke and Julie have to use any weapon they can find and save the street from Dr Tongue’s tyranny in this loving send-up of the campy creature features of the fifties! A nineties classic, Zombies Ate My Neighbours squeezes as much B-Movie camp and monster madness as can fit in an SNES cartridge. The game’s quirky art style is well matched with its story, which has you leaping across trampolines, rescuing cheerleaders, and even fighting a giant baby (?). And with the rerelease packaged with sequel Ghoul Patrol, it’s even easier to play this retro classic! Fun Factor: 75/100

Zeke's surrounded! Make sure to always stay three steps ahead of zombies – at least!

8. Organ Trail – 2010 (PC/PS4)

Set during a widespread zombie apocalypse, Organ Trail is a survival simulator that follows your journey to the safe quarantine zones away from any hordes. On your way, you constantly risk life or death – and not only from the living dead! Hunger, disease and fuel constantly have to be on your mind as you travel from highway to highway in search of hope. A parody of the famous educational series The Oregon Trail, Organ Trail is a very close recreation of the dysentery simulator save for one minor difference: zombies! While the original freeware release was a close recreation of the original game – albeit in a modern setting and with the added undead - the later version included boss fights, random encounters, and achievements to better distinguish itself from its iconic inspiration. Fun Factor: 80/100

Is it really worth it for the resources?

7. Project Zomboid – Unreleased (Early Access)(PC)

After a zombie epidemic hits Knox County, you’re left with only one option: survive. It won’t be easy, and the odds are against you – it’s not just the zombies that’ll get you. It’s the depression, the hunger and the people that often finish you off. Project Zomboid isn’t like your typical zombie game, it’s a sim that just happens to be set during a zombie apocalypse. Perhaps as close to living through a zombie apocalypse as you’re going to get, Project Zomboid even has a depression and loneliness metre to check how your character is doing! The game lacks an ending, instead having your character try to survive for as long as possible in the middle of an infectious outbreak, making it quite unique in this list and well worth a try. Fun Factor: 90/100

See if you can do better than this guy!

6. Dead Estate – 2021 (PC)

After picking up a nearby hitchhiker on a dark and stormy night, your truck breaks down, leaving you trapped and lost in the woods – surrounded by the undead! You and your new friend quickly escape to a nearby mansion, only to discover there’s even more menaces inside! Now, with the help of a local friendly witch, the two of you must fight off the endless hordes and blast them back to hell! A fun 8-bit twin stick shooter, Dead Estate combines the campy gorey horror of Evil Dead with the run-and-gun action of games like Enter the Gungeon. Throw eight playable characters, sixty weapons and RPG and rogue-like elements in? Now you’ve got an endlessly replayable mansion filled with devils, demons and the undead. Good luck! Fun Factor: 75/100

Explore the Mansion in search of resources and bullet-sponges!

5. Endoparasitic – 2022 (PC)      

Lost on a faraway asteroid – trapped in a research facility infested with mutant zombies  – and missing three of your limbs. Not a great start to the day, that’s for sure. Endoparasitic is a game of balance: with only one arm left, you only have one limb to shoot and ward off monsters, to inject yourself with vaccines to prevent the titular parasite from reaching your brain, and to crawl around the laboratories in any effort to escape. A real experiment in game design, Endoparasitic lets you do all the things the average survival horror game lets you do. The only difference is, with one arm left, you can only do them one at a time. In a split second you must decide whether to shoot an approaching zombie or quickly crawl to safety. The unusual control scheme makes this an exciting and interesting play for all fans of zombie games. Fun Factor: 75/100

One arm to reload, shoot and even vaccinate yourself to stop the parasite!

4. Plague Inc – 2012 (PC)

Unlike other games in this list, Plague Inc has you working on the side of the zombies! By controlling the disease’s evolution and development, you must try and infect the world as fast as possible – spreading the zombie plague by growing the virus yourself and adding more skills and benefits as you go, such as increasing the plague’s deadliness, changing the symptoms and increasing the rate of transmission – anything to complete your goal and end the world as soon as possible. While not strictly a zombie game, with expansion packs like Necroa virus and (arguably) the Neurax worm, the game quickly becomes quite apocalyptic in nature. With both packs creating hordes of undead, mindless hosts that spread infection like wildfire, it’s tough to resist giving this game a go. Fun Factor: 80/100

You’ll have to grow and evolve plagues like this one to end the world. 

3. The Pulse of Evil – 2023 (PC)

Set in an old, abandoned mine shaft, you – the unnamed player – discover something living down deep in the Earth. Using any tools and makeshift weapons you can find on your way, you must take on the infected, destroy the living limbs and vestiges that scale the walls and floors of the mine and find the source of this disease at the deepest, darkest end of the mine. A free game on steam and Itch.io, The Pulse of Evil is more akin to a demo than a full title – taking the average player maybe less than an hour to beat. In spite of that, the game is just pure 2D horror fun all the way through. With an addictive gameplay loop and an inventory system inspired by Resident Evil and other survival horror classics, The Pulse of Evil is short but deadly! Fun Factor: 90/100

Who knows who – or what – is lurking somewhere in the shadows?

2. DEADBOLT – 2016 (PC/PS4/SWITCH)

It looks like Hell is full, and the dead aren’t dying. As the Grim Reaper, it’s your job to explore the overrun and infested city and put a stop to the recent zombie uprising. One catch: all it takes is one hit and you’re dead too! Only one question remains: can you take on the apocalypse and come out standing? From the creators of popular rogue-lite shooter Risk of Rain 2, DEADBOLT is an early 2D title from Hopoo Games and one that is begging for reassessment. A stealth and action game and one as formidablely challenging as Hopoo’s other games, DEADBOLT will have you running around and using your unholy powers to stop the end of days by any means necessary. Fun Factor: 65/100

You’ll have to fight your way through blood and bone in each building!

1. Charlie Murder – 2013 (X360/PC)

Punk Rock has never been so deadly! Take on rival death metal band (emphasis on death) Gore Quaffer’s legions of zombies, hellspawn and general undead monsters in this arcade-style rhythm/beat-em-up adventure. As the titular punk rock band Charlie Murder, it’s up to you to stop the apocalypse! With a soundtrack that seems more fitting in a moshpit than a video game and gritty comic book visuals, Charlie Murder is a unique and experimental title that more people need to check out. Originally released for the Xbox 360, the later release on steam made this game more accessible for the modern audience, and its inclusion on the platform is a great addition to the brawler genre that is currently oversaturated with easy, filler titles. Fun Factor: 85/100

Panic on the streets!