Where to get it

2012 · Adventure · Sports

Zombies, Run!

A zombie survival strategy game meets jogging companion app for iOS and Android, featuring an ongoing audio story to go along with your running from hordes of the living dead.

Released: 27 February 2012
Platforms: Android iOS watchOS
Genres: Adventure Sports Strategy Video game with LGBT character Zombie
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Single-player
Themes: Survival
Country: United Kingdom

About

Zombies, Run! is a 2012 mobile fitness game co-developed and published by British studio Six to Start and Naomi Alderman for iOS and Android platforms. Set around Abel Township, a small outpost trying to survive the zombie apocalypse, players act as the character "Runner 5" through a series of missions during which they run, collect items to help the town survive and listen to various audio narrations to uncover mysteries.

The storyline of the game is written primarily by Naomi Alderman and a team of writers, with guest contributions by notable science fiction authors such as Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Bear, Joanne Harris and Andrea Phillips. The game was funded by a Kickstarter campaign which raised more than five times what was expected, a total of $72,627 from 3,464 backers. Additional season expansions have been released annually. In October 2012, Zombies, Run! 5k Training, a spin-off app designed as a "couch to 5k" training program, was released.

Keywords

post-apocalyptic
fitness
custom soundtrack
crowdfunding - kickstarter
crowdfunding
city builder
digital distribution
sprinting mechanics
crowd funded
in-game radio
undead invasion
guided by radio

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Zombies, Run! is an immersive running game. Players act as the character "Runner 5" through a series of missions, during which they run and listen to various audio narrations to uncover the story, between listening to music from their own playlists. While running, the player collects supplies which can be used to benefit the base camp of Abel Township.

The app is hands-free while the player runs and items are automatically collected. The app can record the distance, time, pace, and calories burned on each mission through the use of the phone's GPS or accelerometer. When using the GPS feature, the user can also opt to participate in a zombie chase which requires the player to run faster (at least 10% faster—a form of interval training) for a short period of time or be caught by zombies and lose their supplies. The app has 23 missions for season 1.

Development

The game was conceived when writer Alderman attended a running class, during which the instructor asked attendees why they wanted to run, and one answered, "I want to be able to out run the zombie horde." The game was funded by a Kickstarter campaign which raised more than five times what was expected, a total of $72,627 from 3,464 backers in October 2011. Developer Hon described the gameplay's aim as being more role-playing than gamification. The developers' aim in creating Zombies, Run!

was partially to make use of the features of a smartphone such as GPS and the gyroscopes, creating a game that could only be played on a smartphone. Although the game uses GPS and the accelerometer, these are to estimate distance, not track location, and Zombies, Run! has been described as "one of the few actual distance-based games". Zombies Run!

Reception

Zombies, Run! became the highest-grossing Health & Fitness app on Apple's App Store within two weeks of its initial release. As of 2014, Zombies, Run! had over 750,000 players.

Pocket Gamer regarded the "compelling narrative" of Zombies, Run! as being a way to trick the player into exercising. Zombies, Run! has a score of 71 on Metacritic, averaging 5 reviews.