Unturned
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2016) |
| Unturned | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Smartly Dressed Games |
| Publisher(s) | Smartly Dressed Games |
| Designer(s) | Nelson Sexton |
| Programmer(s) | Nelson Sexton |
| Artist(s) | Nelson Sexton |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Survival |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Unturned is a free-to-play multiplayer zombie survival video game designed by Nelson Sexton of Smartly Dressed Games.[1] It was released on Steam in July 2017, after three years as an early access title. The game received critical acclaim.
Gameplay
Unturned features several different game modes, all of which consist of the same basic concept of zombie survival. The game also has multiple difficulty settings.
In the survival game mode, the player's character is spawned on a game map with clothes depending on their skillset.[2] Players must find weapons and supplies to survive against the zombies. As the player progresses through the game, they gain experience points which can then be used for upgrades. Survival mode is also available in multiplayer. The greater aim is to survive, but the players may team-up or fight each other.
Arena game mode is for multiplayer only. Players are spawned in the middle of a map with supplies and weapons scattered around. The winner is the last person, or the last team, alive. Players may die due to being slain by other players or by crossing the boundaries of the map.
Horde game mode is a multiplayer mode previously available in Unturned 3. While it can be acquired through the use of the Steam Workshop, it is otherwise currently unavailable. In this game mode, players fight off waves of zombies and the points collected by the player can be spent at buy nodes. The player cannot die due to starvation or thirst in this game mode.
Development
Unturned was developed by Nelson Sexton from Calgary, Canada.[3] Sexton started his career with Roblox, creating two of the most-popular games on the Roblox site, Battlefield and Deadzone.[3] Deadzone was a zombie-survival game similar to Unturned and is no longer available to play. Nelson was only sixteen years old at the time of the Unturned's first release. Before Unturned was on Steam, it was played on web-browsers and was listed as Unturned 1.0. This version of the game is no longer available to play. Unturned was originally listed under Steam Greenlight as Unturned 2.0.[4] It was successfully greenlit[clarification needed] on May 28, 2014. Unturned allows players to create custom maps, cosmetics and mods using an in-game editor, and allows them to publish these maps on the Steam Workshop.[5][6]
On November 22, 2016, Nelson created a post titled "Postcard from Hawaii" on the official blog for his company, Smartly Dressed Games. He stated that a team of community mappers are working on a new Hawaii map. According to the blog post, the four community mappers are "Rain, Spyjack, Mooki2much and Gamez2much".[7]
On June 30, 2017, Nelson uploaded a teaser trailer on Smartly Dressed Games' YouTube channel for a new Germany map. It boasts locations such as large cities, farms, a quarry and a space shuttle launch center. It is set to be released on July 7, 2017, the third anniversary of Unturned's launch on Steam.
The game was officially released out of early access on July 7, 2017.[8]
Reception
According to gaming website Kotaku, Unturned was one of the most-popular games on Steam in mid-2014.[9] Both Kotaku and Rock, Paper, Shotgun characterized the game's popularity as unexpected, since the game is mainly developed by a single person without a major studio's resources.[9][10]
On July 17, 2014, PC Gamer published a review of the game saying that while "Unturned has few real ideas on its own" it is a simple, accessible survival-simulator that one may enjoy provided they can "stomach the low production values"; however, the author added that with Nelson constantly updating the game, it is expected that many more features may be added.[11]
As of July 2017,[update] Unturned had a user rating of 91% positive from 279,318 users on Steam,[12][non-primary source needed] and a rating of 3.6/5 by MMO Games.
References
- ^ Winkie, Luke. "Unturned: how a survival game made by a 16-year-old racked up 24 million downloads". PC Gamer.
- ^ Nelson Sexton leon skantz (July 12, 2015). "August Plans". Smart Dressed Games. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- ^ a b Fackler, Alan. "From ROBLOX Game Dev to Steam Sensation". blog.roblox.com. blog.roblox.com. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
- ^ "Steam Greenlight :: Unturned". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ Steam Community announcement
- ^ "Steam Community :: Unturned". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ^ blog post at Smartly Dressed Games
- ^ "3.20.0.0 Update Notes". steamcommunity.com. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
- ^ a b Hernandez, Patricia (July 10, 2014). "The Story Behind Unturned, One Of Steam's Newest Top Games". Kotaku. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
- ^ Smith, Graham (July 10, 2014). "Unturned: Minecraft Meets DayZ Meets Huge Popularity". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- ^ Kelly, Andy (July 17, 2014). "Unturned review (Early Access)". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
- ^ "Unturned on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved January 8, 2017.