No More Room in Hell 2 puts a zombie horde between you and your co-op pals

Being left alone in the middle of a zombie horde is usually where most multiplayer zombie shooters end—with no friends, no help, and no hope. But that’s exactly how cooperative FPS No More Room in Hell 2 begins: dropping you in a remote area filled with zombies but none of your pals, forcing you to work together to find each other if you want to have a realistic chance at making it out alive. It’s a great twist on the co-op zombie shooter format. 

“Players will start separated in the ghostly dark of our first early access map set in rural Pennsylvania, unarmed, forced to scavenge for equipment, striving to survive the threat of even just small numbers of zombies,” said Alex Hayter, brand director at developer Torn Banner Studios. “The act of finding friends is akin to powering yourself up through the course of the match. As you find better gear and more allies, you’ll go from that vulnerable, scared, lonely person at the start of the round to a fully kitted out and capable squad by the match’s conclusion.” 

By dropping you in unique situations with different objectives and no guarantee that you’ll ever cross paths with someone else before your untimely demise, NMRIH 2 is hoping you’ll be able to play for hours on end without ever having two similar experiences. There is, of course, a limit to the spawn points they can create and how big the map can be, but with somewhat of a reliance on other players and a lot of available possibilities, the idea is that every run will feel like its own zombie movie experience that you can play out. 

You will also be given missions to complete on the massive map. Doing that on your own will be difficult, so you’ll need to search for fellow survivors, your co-op teammates, by scanning for lights, movement, and any sounds across the map that sound more human than zombie.  

“The endless replayability of the game is really built on the crucial element of discovering your allies organically and in different ways each time you play,” said Hayter. “It’s the ever-changing path of social convergence that brings a unique flavor and depth to the experience. It becomes a bit like an inverse battle royale, where you actually run into allies instead of enemies. Those clutch moments in the game—where you realize you’re outnumbered and on death’s door, but then a group of friends shows up to save you—are really exciting and special.” 

Anyone hoping to run through the horde solo will be disappointed, as teamwork and cooperation are the keys to success. There will be times when a lone survivor completes the mission, but this will usually come after the rest of the group has helped get them most of the way before falling at the last hurdle. NMRIH 2 is a true co-op game where you will have to work together if you want any real shot at winning. 

Although “winning” may not be the right word, as this will not necessarily be something to celebrate. The universe may be experiencing a zombie apocalypse, but it is still grounded in reality, with the foes you face having a much more humanlike feel than a lot of the zombies we see in popular culture. These creatures were once humans, just like us, and that adds some emotional complexity to both their unfortunate circumstance and your need to make them get out of the way.  

“Many games in the zombie genre stray towards more fantasy sci-fi and monstrous, almost alien-like appearances for the zombies themselves,” said Hayter. “Going back to the first game, No More Room in Hell is meant to remind you of classic zombie cinema and specifically the works of George A. Romero and those that he inspired. The zombies feel like they were at one time real people with awful, sad faces that show their loss of humanity, and perhaps some shreds of it [are] still there deep down inside somewhere. It’s a lot more grounded, a lot more relatable, and we think the result makes it more emotionally powerful and therefore more terrifying.” 

When it comes to taking down members of the horde, the development team is sure that you will be satisfied—if a little uncomfortable. After the makers of the original NMRIH were scooped up by Chivalry 2 studio Torn Banner, the focus has been on making the game feel good to play. Anyone who has played Chivalry 2 will understand this, with combat feeling incredibly satisfying, even if you suck at it. The team brought this ethos to NMRIH 2 with the hopes that taking down zombies will never get tiresome, no matter if you’re smashing them in the head or unloading a flurry of bullets into them. 

“When it comes down to it, we know that we at Torn Banner excel at making games simply feel good to play,” said Hayter. “We think we’ll have some of the best feeling zombie-killing in any game you've ever played. It’s going to feel so real at times, you might even feel bad about what you’re doing to those poor souls!” 

No More Room in Hell 2 is available to wishlist on the Epic Games Store right now. Tell your friends.