When Stubbs the Zombie released on Xbox in 2005, it was surprisingly difficult for me to find a copy of the game. Because of that, it largely flew under my radar, until I saw that it was being remastered for Switch. After playing through Ray’s the Dead, I’ve grown to have an appreciation for goofy zombie-themed games, and Stubbs is no exception.

In Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse, you play as Stubbs, a zombie who rises from the dead to get revenge on the people of the town of Punchbowl, Pennsylvania. As Stubbs, the primary goal of the game is to eat human brains and convert humans into zombies. Stubbs can use various parts of his body, such as his organs, to infect and zombify enemies.

He can also possess humans and get them to do his bidding, drive vehicles, and can do a variety of other things in order to progress. The gameplay is simple. You explore and kill humans, progressing through areas, and experiencing the storyline of the game. There are multiple difficulty levels, and there are a variety of interesting sections, such as a rhythm game boss fight.

Even though Stubbs is a silent protagonist (for the most part), he has a sarcastic wit to him that is amusing. Dialogue from other characters in the game is full of humor, and the game weirdly has a Destroy All Humans! feel to it, though it is more zombie-themed than alien-themed. The tutorials are well done, there are multiple difficulty options, and the controls are smooth.

The music is enjoyable, and overall the game has a very authentic “Zombie Movie” flair to it. Watching humans react to your horde of zombies feels accurate, and though there are multiple difficulty levels, the easiest one is still decently challenging.

A nice touch to the game is also the fact that if you stand still long enough, your health regenerates. On top of that, if you eat a human’s brain you gain a small amount of health. This incentivizes you to convert as many humans as you can, to keep your health topped off.

That isn’t to say that Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse doesn’t have its issues though. For one, there is no map, and objective markers only show up when you get close to your objective. As a result, you are often wandering levels aimlessly, just following unzombified humans and killing them along the way.

Also, some enemies can’t be eaten no matter how hard you try. This makes sense if the enemy has a helmet, but for some reason, even non-helmeted enemies just will not let you eat their brains. It is a strange problem, and I am not sure if it is intentional or not. It should also be noted that the game does get to be a bit repetitive.

Co-Op is an option in Stubbs the Zombie though, and playing through the game with a friend is absolutely ridiculous. I’d dare say that Co-Op breaks certain difficulties, since there isn’t much difference to it, except you have an extra set of hands. On harder difficulties, it might actually be vital, but on the easiest modes, it makes most enemies a joke.

As a remaster for an older game I’d say Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse is a fun game to kill time and just enjoy an older game. As a long-term game though, I think the fun of it wears off after a level or two, so it might be better in short bursts. It is a product of its time, and if I had played it back in the day, I’m sure that I’d have loved it. Without that Nostalgia though, it’s a more lukewarm reception for me.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse was provided by Aspyr Media for this review.

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Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse

$19.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Fun Combat
• Funny Dialog
• Co-Op is Fun

Cons

• Gameplay Gets Repetitive
• Bugs With Eating Brains
• No Map