When I first heard that World War Z was coming to Nintendo Switch, my first response was, how? World War Z’s key selling feature is the sheer amount of zombies you encounter in-game. We aren’t talking like a “normal” amount but HUNDREDS of zombies rushing at you at once. How would a game that requires hundreds of zombies at a time attacking you work on Nintendo Switch? Of course, the wizards at Saber Interactive somehow found a way to get it to work. The port itself is quite impressive, even if the actual game itself is rather mediocre.

World War Z is your typical zombie shooter. It sees you and up to three other players adventure around the globe in cities like New York City, Jerusalem, Moscow and Tokyo. Your goal is to hold off waves of zombies, escort a bus there, mow through millions of zombies and level up as you go. The story is forgettable in almost every way, it’s your standard zombie-shooter story. To be honest, I’ve never seen the Brad Pitt film on which this game is supposedly based, so I couldn’t tell you if there’s any connection to that.

World War Z is an extremely impressive port much like The Witcher III, showing that developers like Saber Interactive truly know how to push Switch hardware to the max. The main difference between this and other zombie shooters on Switch is the ridiculous number of zombies you can have on-screen at any one time, with the game’s signature hordes stacking up upon one another in order to scale walls and reach your location. Shooting out the lower levels of these zombie pyramids and watching them all fall apart is genuinely a delight to behold. It’s even more impressive when you play in handheld mode, which is where this port really shines. Having this much happening on-screen in handheld mode brings back that “woah” feeling when playing these types of impressive Switch ports.

The issue with World War Z is that it is very “meh”. It’s your typical zombie shooter right down to the zombies themselves. Taking a page out of Left 4 Dead, you encounter a variety of zombie types during your playthrough. These are your typical hordes, spitters, tanks, and shielded enemies. There’s nothing new or special in this area of the game. Zombies in World War Z are just like the zombies in every other game. Even the normal gameplay is very much a copy and paste of games like Left 4 Dead. Each city involves you fighting waves of zombies, escorting a bus, killing more zombies, surviving more zombie attacks and that’s it. There’s nothing new or original here. This COULD be fine if you’ve never played other zombie shooters. If you have played other zombie shooters, World War Z feels like more of the same. It’s not bad, it’s just not good enough to stand out. It’s simply “okay”.

Ultimately, I had a much more fun time playing World War Z with friends. Playing solo works, but let’s face it, playing with AI whose intelligence is…questionable, isn’t as much fun as yelling at your friends. World War Z supports PC cross play, so if your friends are playing on Switch or PC, you’ll get to play together. Honestly, while the game is still average, playing with friends had me enjoying the game a whole lot more. Seeing the horde of zombies towering up to a ledge to reach one of my friends, while said friend was fighting off a horde of zombies above, was equal parts horrifying and hilarious. Playing with friends is absolutely the way to experience World War Z on Switch. It’s still your average zombie shooter, but the experience is much better when you can do it with others.

Overall, World War Z on Nintendo Switch is decent…and that’s about it. The technical aspects of this game are truly impressive and seeing the game in action is quite the feat on Switch. The overall game is mediocre. It’s your typical zombie shooter that doesn’t stray from the path of all the other zombie shooters set before it. World War Z does the job of being an enjoyable experience with friends, but its five-hour campaign means the fun only lasts for a short time. If you’re looking for a zombie shooter on Switch, then World War Z isn’t a bad choice. Just be prepared for a shorter, average experience.