During a press session, Andy "Geruhn" Perdana, Community Manager at Thera Bytes GmbH, introduced me to the German studio's new game, Zombie Cure Lab, a strategy/simulation game planned for 2022.
We play scientists lost in Canada, in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. Immediately, the graphic style pleases me and reminds me of another simulation game that I love, Two Point Hospital (inspired by the excellent Theme Hospital). When I ask Andy about this, and what were the inspirations of the graphic designers, he does not know how to answer me. So shortly after, he comes back with a response from his lead artist:
We have developed our own artistic style and have not copied it. In the pre-production phase, I did a lot of testing and experimenting. I came to a compromise, between something as beautiful as possible but also simple enough that it could be done with just a few artists. The most important part was about the characters. We had to find a readable and recognizable design that we all liked. We also quickly realized that the low poly look was now too common. The hand painted textures were also a great find, we immediately said "yes, that looks like it works, we want that".
In addition, Andy reminds me of an important point concerning the atmosphere. Even though it's set in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, Zombie Cure Lab is meant to be a fun and humorous game, and the art style had to represent that.
The objective of the game is simple and consists in saving humanity by transforming the zombies back into "humbies", which I will allow myself to translate into hombies. These hybrids, not quite human, exist in three thirds. The lower rank is limited to the basic tasks of gathering and bringing back resources. The second third is able to repair and construct buildings. Finally, only the hombies of the maximum third collaborate with the scientists to help transform even more zombies.
The process begins with catching zombies, without any violence. There are also no weapons in the game. The zombies fall into traps and become a transportable ice cube to one of the transformation chambers. Then, it is important to take care of them so that they recover muscle mass, learn tricks and above all do not regress, otherwise they could become a danger to the community. Without forgetting to defend the complexes against the other zombies who throng the door, no doubt to nibble on a piece of science, unless among their grunts, they are enthusiastic about the proposed treatment. And this pressure will become more and more important as time goes on, because the presence of hombies annoys the zombies.
Among the modes offered, the studio is currently working on a free mode. They are also considering a single-player campaign. The game already has its page on Steam where you can add it to your wishlist. Don't hesitate if you like the concept because a play test will be offered very soon.
