Review – Ground Zero – Gamerview

Reliving the experience of first contact with Capcom’s survival horror classic, , is something that many horror game producers strive for, but very few actually manage to emulate this recipe or even improve on it. It’s one of those occasions when a new experience proves to be as interesting and competent as the original.

Ground Zero is Malformation Games’ first project, being distributed by Kwalee. This time, the player is taken to South Korea, where the fall of a meteorite caused vast destruction, in addition to isolating the country from any form of contact due to a thick cloud of debris and radiation that covers the entire length of the territory. It’s up to Seo-Yeon to find out what happened at the impact site.

The evil residents

Ground Zero invests heavily in a complex story, where this time the virus is not created in a laboratory, but arrives on Earth through space. The city of Daejeon is the meteor impact site, being the “Ground Zero” where the infection takes place, which puts the eyes of the entire world on the region. Taking charge of the case, the UTC sends the captain of the 13th Special Missions Brigade, Seo-Yeon, to the location.

Accompanied by her partner Evan, a Canadian military expert, both arrive at the location and separate with the aim of meeting at the city’s lighthouse, each covering one of the game’s areas to increase the analyzed area. Upon arrival, Seo-Yeon can choose to go via the pier or the amusement park, which expands the route possibilities, in addition to the replay value.

Initially, I chose to start at the amusement park, a place that is already full of bodies and signs of extreme violence on the part of those infected, which soon appear. The first scenario contains items that will help the player survive this new version of infected, something that will soon prove to be scarce. As you advance, you can see signs of the violence of the infection, with large towers of organic material spread across the park’s pier and huge pools of blood.

Seo-Yeon’s first encounter with an infected person reminded me a lot of the encounter with Robert Kendo in Resident Evil 2, in its original PlayStation 1 version, complete with creatures attacking through the glass in search of yet another victim. After this first meeting, Seo-Yeon discovers that the situation is much worse than she could have imagined and many other horrors await her along the way.

A new look for old ideas

Ground Zero is not a long game, but it manages to be as striking as its inspirations. The game strives to immerse the player in its achievements, challenges and secrets, such as Chinese zodiac talismans, video filters, cheats and a glossary of all thirty-seven weapons in the game. The different routes also add a lot of variety to the game, changing the order in which we encounter some infected, which can also be studied in its own glossary.

After each kill, the player can scan the bodies of those infected, which generates Genome points, which are used when the game is completed to buy cosmetics, filters and cheats. Genome points “vary” depending on how infected are killed. Explosions that destroy the entire body, do not give points, bodies heavily damaged by bullets vary between bad and good, which generate variable points, however, infected people killed with a knife? These are Perfect and generate the highest score!

The combat in Ground Zero is very reminiscent of the original games in the Resident Evil series, with even better aiming control. The player starts with a “Magnum”, the weapon has a laser sight, which makes it easier to see where you are aiming, normal infected people usually die with three shots to the head, while dogs fall with two good shots. Seo-Yeon can also dodge attacks with a dodge, in addition to being able to parry attacks, well-made parries allow her to counterattack powerfully.

The player also has access to concentrated fire. This shot is capable of breaking padlocks on certain parts, in addition to being capable of destroying an enemy’s head in just one shot, but the preparation time leaves Seo-Yeon vulnerable. To use this shot, the player needs to use the aim button and press

Trunk, why do I want you

As it is a survival horror, Ground Zero offers a reduced inventory space, with only eight spaces for items. To avoid having to leave items behind, players can use the chests in the save rooms. To open each chest, you need to solve a simple equation; Furthermore, each hit generates a bonus item, such as ammunition or ampoules.

Ampoules replace classic herbs. The player can load blue, green and red ampoules into a special syringe. The green ampoule restores life, the blue one fights poisons and infections, and the red one reinforces Seo-Yeon’s physical abilities, allowing for better parries and stronger knife attacks for a short time.

Infected infected by the knife or otherwise incapacitated allow Seo-Yeon to eliminate them in a short scene, where the agent uses blades hidden in the legs of her uniform. These blades cut the bodies quickly, giving them no chance to return.

The save system is also similar to the classic mode, but does not use ink ribbons. Through the scenarios, the player will discover radio modulators. These must be used on the portable transmitters found in the safe rooms, making them access a special frequency capable of piercing the cloud of dust and radiation, allowing Seo-Yeon to save her progress.

1998 again in 2026

The great inspiration that Resident Evil 2 was for the team responsible for Ground Zero is undeniable, whether in terms of gameplay, puzzles or interactions with the scenery. The only problem I had with the game was the excess of alien protuberances throughout the scene; I understand that it is a space organism, but the game shines much more in its cleaner environments.

The graphics are excellent, faithfully conveying the aesthetics of old games in pre-rendered environments, which makes the experience a pleasure for those who like this style. Even with this visual focus, the game remains modern, mixing the retro look with quality of life improvements, allowing the player to choose between free movement or tank style.

The sound design is also excellent and works perfectly with the choice of fixed camera, something that I believe is ideal for horror games, as nothing is more terrifying than the distress caused by sounds. An example where the game does this very well is in the Haunted House, where it is not known whether the noises are coming from the infected or the attractions, which is definitely one of the best areas in the game.

Ground Zero is, without a doubt, one of the best spiritual successors to the Capcom franchise, being able to balance all the elements excellently, with a good variety of enemies and a wide amount of secrets to encourage replayability. If you’re looking for something to fill the space left by Requiem, Ground Zero is certainly the right choice.