Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse

Version 1.0.3 on cart. Currently no patch available at the time of testing (April 2024). Complete on cart.

Completed the game from start to finish. Played the game in single player mode, coop was not tested. Two player option is available from the start.

Noticed NPCs getting stuck in random objects. For example, on one occasion, a police officer got stuck in the hood of a police car. On another occasion, a zombie was stuck inside a shelf. This happened a few times during the playthrough.

During a certain boss encounter, a lot of blood was splattered on the ground, and this blood kept popping in and out as we walked near it. This kept happening throughout the entire boss fight. While a bit distracting, it did not cause any issues with gameplay.

The next observation may not be an issue for some, but worth mentioning. The game has set controls and the player is unable to configure the controls within the game. For example, the A button is used for jump, while the tester's preference is the B button for jumping. Another example is driving vehicles. This is set to solely use the analog sticks. Moving the left analog stick up is accelerate and down is reverse. The right analog stick moves the vehicle left and right, but it is also the camera. You can get used to it, but some button set ups were very strange, specifically vehicle configurations.

There are shooting segments within the game that could have benefited from having gyro controls. Unfortunately, gyro is not offered here.

Toward the end of the game, the game did freeze for a few moments to load the final area.

The game crashed twice during the entire playthrough. While this may not seem so bad, it very much can jeopardize the experience, because the game doesn’t offer the player many checkpoints/save points. There are very specific instances where the game will save automatically. No manual saves are offered. Sometimes, a level can go on for quite some time without a save point. If a software error occurs during a lengthy level, and the game doesn’t save, the player will have to start the level all over again. This becomes an even bigger issue as the game progresses, as save points begin to be offered less and less.

The game performed and ran fine. No frame drops or stutter.

This game is certainly janky, but it’s an enjoyable one.

Difficulty options: Easy, Normal, Tough and Insane.

Accessibility options: None

Languages: English only.

No DRM. Played handheld mode.