Unturned
Unturned is a free-to-play zombie survival game from Smartly Dressed Games, built around scavenging, crafting, and making hard choices in a world where the infected are only one of the threats. Whether you play solo or hop onto a server, the core loop is the same, search for supplies, stay fed and hydrated, and decide how much you trust the next survivor you meet.
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Publisher: Smartly Dressed Games Playerbase: High Type: F2P Survival Game Release Date: July 7, 2014 Pros: +Active, long-running community. +Deep crafting and base building. +Regular updates over time. +Runs well on modest PCs. Cons: -Gameplay loops can feel samey. -Online lag can affect combat. -Infected AI is not very challenging. -Bugs can still appear. |
Unturned Overview
Unturned is a post-apocalyptic survival experience created by Nelson Sexton, the developer behind Smartly Dressed Games. It mixes familiar open-world scavenging ideas popularized by games like DayZ with an intentionally simple, blocky visual style that many players compare to Roblox. The result is a survival sandbox that is easy to read and easy to run, but still capable of being surprisingly tense when resources are scarce and other players are nearby.
The setting places you on Prince Edward Island (PEI), where you can either try to outlast the apocalypse alone or join multiplayer servers to cooperate, compete, or do a bit of both. Zombies are spread across the map, with heavier concentrations in towns and city areas where the best loot is usually found. One or two infected are manageable, but clusters can punish careless looting, especially if you get surrounded or run out of stamina at the wrong moment.
Survival is not only about fighting. You are constantly balancing needs like hunger, thirst, immunity, blood, and stamina, and the environment can be as dangerous as any zombie. The crafting and building systems form the backbone of long-term play, letting you reinforce existing structures or construct your own base, then stockpile supplies and set defenses. On many servers, though, the most unpredictable danger is other survivors, since PvP is often the true endgame.
Unturned Key Features:
- Weapon Variety – pistols, crowbars, rifles, and shotguns work against both zombies and players, with attachments to tailor performance.
- Extensive Crafting System – gather wood and stone to create shelters, traps, attachments, tools, and other essentials.
- Leveling Up System – earn experience through zombie kills and survival activities, then invest points into practical skills.
- PvP – team up as helpful survivors or play as ruthless raiders on servers where supplies and territory are contested.
- Steam Workshop Support – strong mod support for custom maps, weapons, items, and other community content.
- Low System Requirements – designed to be lightweight, making it approachable for a wide range of PCs.
Unturned Screenshots
Unturned Featured Video
Unturned Review
Unturned opens with a simple premise, you arrive in PEI with virtually nothing and are expected to survive a collapsed world through scavenging, crafting, and smart risk management. Early minutes are usually spent checking small settlements, farms, and roadside buildings for food, water, basic clothing, and a first weapon. That routine sounds straightforward until you realize how quickly hunger and thirst can spiral, and how a single mistake can erase progress.
Base building gives the experience a longer-term goal beyond looting. Once you have tools and materials, you can create storage, fortify structures, and establish a safe spot to retreat to after runs into zombie-heavy areas. The game’s intentionally simple art style keeps everything readable at a glance, but it does not make the world feel harmless. In multiplayer, especially, Unturned often feels less like a zombie game and more like a tense social survival sim where the undead are a constant background pressure.
A bright world with a bleak premise
Character customization is quick and mostly cosmetic, letting you tweak your survivor’s look before you spawn. The models are intentionally rough and expressive, and the face options lean into the game’s playful tone. That lighter presentation is part of Unturned’s identity, it looks friendly, even when it is about to punish you for taking a bad fight or ignoring your needs for too long.
Visually, the island is colorful and high-contrast, with simple shapes and strong silhouettes that make buildings, trees, and landmarks easy to parse from a distance. The ambient audio helps sell the outdoor spaces too, with looping nature sounds that create an odd calm between looting runs. It is a style that stands out among gritty survival games, and it makes the game approachable for new players without removing the underlying danger.
First steps: looting, stealth, and basic survival
My first sessions began near Charlottetown, watching groups of zombies linger around streets and buildings like they were on patrol, even when they were not actively reacting. The infected generally do not become a problem until you force an engagement or draw attention, which makes stealth and careful movement valuable tools, especially when you are undergeared.
Basic movement options support that cautious approach. You can crouch to reduce your profile and move with less risk, and going prone is available when you want to stay low. Early on, even a crude melee weapon can be enough to get by, and Unturned makes those first weapons feel meaningful because ammunition is not always abundant. The stamina system also matters immediately, heavy swings and constant sprinting can leave you unable to escape if a fight goes wrong, so pacing your attacks and movement becomes a habit.
Skills that reward more than combat
Progression is tied to experience, and the game gives you reasons to earn XP beyond simply clearing zombies. Opening the skills interface reveals categories that function like lightweight RPG development, with points invested into offense, defense, and support-oriented perks that make your survivor more capable over time.
It is easy to notice the impact of practical upgrades, especially those that improve mobility and survivability. Investing in movement-focused options can turn the environment into an advantage, letting you reposition faster or clear obstacles that would otherwise trap you. The risk is that death carries a meaningful setback, since you lose a portion of your experience and skills. That loss makes a built-up character feel worth protecting, and it adds tension to high-risk loot runs.
Crafting and construction as the long game
Once you have stabilized your basic needs, Unturned naturally pushes you toward crafting and building. Gathering resources teaches you quickly that tools matter, the right equipment is required for specific tasks, and efficient harvesting saves time and inventory space. The loop of collecting, refining, and assembling materials is straightforward, but it supports a wide range of player goals, from making storage and walls to preparing equipment for longer expeditions.
The building pipeline is familiar to anyone who has played crafting-heavy survival games. Raw resources are turned into intermediate materials, then combined into structures and components. The interface helps by showing what you can craft with your current inventory and what you are missing, which keeps the process accessible even when the crafting list becomes large. Placement is simple once items are made, you equip the structure piece and set it in the world.
Defenses expand the system further. Traps such as spikes, barbed wire, and mines can be used to deter threats and protect entrances. Crafting also extends to clothing and utility items, which matters because gear can affect how long you last during extended looting runs. Even food management has depth, as unsafe items can lead to infection, while certain combinations allow you to salvage supplies you would otherwise throw away.
Multiplayer trust is fragile
On PvP servers, Unturned often plays by a harsh social rule set. New spawns are frequently treated as potential threats, and many encounters begin and end before either side has time to negotiate. Voice chat can sometimes defuse situations, and communication does occasionally lead to alliances, but the default assumption on many servers is that anyone you meet might shoot first.
That intensity can be exciting for experienced players who enjoy high-stakes survival, but it can also be discouraging for newcomers who are still learning the map and systems. The good news is that server variety helps, and players who want a more cooperative pace can seek out PvE-focused communities where the group problem is the environment rather than other survivors. Even there, though, the tension of losing gear and progress keeps the moment-to-moment gameplay engaging.
Gunplay, loot routes, and attachments
Unturned offers a satisfying spread of weapon types, ranging from practical melee tools to a variety of firearms. Guns differ in recoil, damage, and effective range, and the map encourages loot planning, civilian areas tend to offer basic gear, while more dangerous locations can provide better weapons and equipment.
Attachments add another layer, letting you tune firearms with items like suppressors, grips, lasers, scopes, and sights. Swapping and equipping attachments is quick, and experimenting with loadouts becomes part of the appeal once you know where to look for specific parts.
Exploring off the beaten path can also pay off. The game includes unusual loot finds that feel memorable because they break up the typical scavenging routine. Discovering something rare after a long run through hostile territory is one of the best moments Unturned can deliver, and it is a big reason players keep returning to new servers and fresh starts.
Gold mode and the F2P model
Although Unturned is free-to-play, there is an optional paid upgrade to Gold mode for five dollars. Gold mode changes loot behavior to increase spawns, provides access to special cosmetic items, and doubles experience gain. Importantly, Gold mode players are separated from standard servers, since Gold mode has its own server pool. That separation keeps the upgrade from functioning like direct pay-to-win in normal play, because the benefits are contained within Gold mode environments.
Final Verdict: Great
Unturned succeeds as an approachable survival sandbox that still has teeth when you treat it casually. Its clean interface, readable visuals, and low system requirements make it easy to recommend to players who want to try the genre without committing to a heavier, more demanding game. The map design gives PEI a good sense of variety, and the crafting and building systems provide plenty to work toward, whether you enjoy fortifying a home base or optimizing your supply runs.
Its weaknesses are noticeable. Zombies can be too easy to avoid once you understand their behavior, and multiplayer performance issues can sometimes undermine PvP, especially when lag affects hit registration. Bugs also remain part of the experience from time to time. Still, when servers are running well, Unturned is consistently entertaining, particularly with friends, and it offers a strong mix of scavenging, progression, and player-driven stories. The music also stands out, with the title and death screen themes helping give the game a surprisingly dramatic mood for such a minimalist presentation. If you want a quirky, accessible zombie survival game with lots of community activity, Unturned remains an easy recommendation.
Unturned Links
Unturned Official Site
Unturned Steam Page
Unturned Wikipedia
Unturned Wikia [Database / Guides]
Unturned Subreddit
Unturned Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows XP or Mac OS X
CPU: 2GHz
RAM: 4 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 256 MB available space
Unturned is Mac OS X compatible
Unturned Music & Soundtrack
Unturned Additional Information
Developer: Smartly Dressed Games
Publisher: Smartly Dressed Games
Game Engine: Unity
Game Director: Nelson Sexton
Composer: John 00 Fleming
Launch Date: July 7, 2014
Steam Greenlight Date: May 28, 2014
Steam Release Date: July 7, 2014
Development History / Background:
Unturned was created by Canadian developer Nelson Sexton when he was seventeen years old. Before Unturned, he learned game development through Roblox, an MMO platform centered on building and sharing player-made worlds. His first Steam Greenlight attempt did not make it through, but a later submission, presented as Unturned 2, gained traction and reached #3 among Greenlight titles. Sexton went on to establish Smartly Dressed Games, a studio focused on supporting Unturned, and the game has seen frequent updates as systems and content were refined. Since August 1, 2014, Unturned has remained a consistent presence among Steam’s most played games.