No More Room in Hell 2 Is An Incredible Hardcore Co-Op Zombie Experience - Preview

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When I was younger before I had a job on my own, I was constantly on the hunt for free games or mods to play with my friends, and the first experience I found that stuck with me for years was No More Room in Hell. This Half-Life 2 mod evolved into a co-op realistic first-person zombie survival game, and it was just phenomenal. It was created in 2003, and it evolved into its 1.0 release in 2011. It's such an amazing experience, so when I heard it was getting a sequel and they were pushing the experience much further than the original, I was sold.

Recently, I had the chance to try No More Room in Hell 2 and try out the new open-world gameplay, and try to find and work with a bunch of other survivors. It was one of the best hardcore online zombie survival experiences I have had in recent years. I enjoyed it so much that I have every intention of getting it on my ROG Ally X to play since it may be a little hard for the Steam Deck to run. But that won't stop me because I want to play more no matter what.

After a brief overview of the game's features, I spawned into a dark field, alone and armed only with a flashlight and pistol. Hearing the eerie sounds of the forest around me, I slowly started walking forward to start looking for materials and weapons to scavenge. Over the course of the next 5 minutes, I would end up sneaking by singular zombies here and there, while receiving my first mission to go towards the center of the island to start power back up.

As I ran through the forest, accidentally attracting zombies from time to time, I would use the melee weapon I picked up to whack zombies down so I could get past them without making too much noise. I passed by tons of different locations I tried to find supplies in, like gas stations and checkpoints around batches of abandoned cars. I ended up finding a house where the first objective was and proceeded to put coordinates into a radio to establish a connection before heading to the power plant in the middle of the map. I was able to find someone who joined me at the house, and together, we unlocked a room that was filled with tons of ammo, assault rifles, shotguns, and med packs.

Without talking, we coordinated and stuck together, dispatching zombies as we headed to the plant. There were times we had to crouch down and sneak past, while others had us jumping up on higher ground to take out a group of zombies before jumping over and making a run for it. When we got to the plant, we found another group of 4 people, and together, we worked to try fixing up the plant and get the power running.

Again, without talking, we fought together to dispatch the endless amounts of zombies coming at us. It was intense, and sometimes scary, trying to stick together and complete tasks while taking out all the enemies. We survived for awhile, but ultimately, I wasn't able to make it. While I really wish I did, the ride getting to that point was some of the most enjoyably intense moments I have had in recent times.

Every single aspect of the experience felt refined and gave me nostalgic moments from the original game. The move towards an open world was a great idea, and just bringing over some of the aspects that made the original so special just enhanced it altogether. The shooting combat is one of my favorite elements of the first game, with headshots being instant kills and body shots not being that effective. No More Room in Hell 2 feels especially satisfying when getting those shots, not only because they go down immediately but because chunks of flesh can come off and visibly change how the zombie looks.

The way I played without talking to my team wasn't the best, but I can see why working with friends and coordinating will be so essential to surviving. Luckily, the others I met up with were able to coordinate regardless, but it would be so much fun to play with a group of friends. You do still have to find them, since you spawn alone, but with how hardcore the overall game is and permadeath being active, strategizing and priority to find each other will be essential.

There is so much more to enjoy with the game, like getting supplies to upgrade your character if you don't die, but I can say with glee that the actual gameplay is just so much fun. The focus is on hardcore realism, starting alone to find others and permadeath up the stakes in ways I don't usually feel in games like this nowadays. And with how faithful the game feels to the original, I can see myself playing this for a long time.

No More Room in Hell 2 will be released in Early Access on October 22nd and can be wishlisted on Steam.

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