Combat Update — Better Hit Feedback
Highlights
Melee combat got a full feedback overhaul: every hit now looks and feels like it lands. Zombies react to where you hit them, flinch when you interrupt them, and fall in the direction of your killing blow.
Gameplay Changes
Melee Combat Feel
Impact camera punch — landing a melee hit now gives a quick FOV kick; heavy attacks hit noticeably harder than light ones.
Hitstop — your swing and the enemy you strike both freeze for a split second on impact, giving every hit real weight. Works seamlessly in multiplayer.
Swing trail effect — melee weapons now leave a slash effect through the air as you swing.
Impact shockwave — striking flesh with certain weapons triggers a shockwave burst at the point of impact.
Zombie Hit Reactions
Locational damage reactions — zombies now respond to where you hit them: headshots and body shots each play their own reaction animations.
Directional reactions — zombies react differently depending on whether you strike them from the front or from behind.
Reactions are synced in multiplayer — everyone in the session sees the same flinch at the same moment.
Staggering Attacks
Interrupting a zombie now actually saves you — if your hit staggers a zombie mid-swing, its attack is cancelled and deals no damage. What you see is what you get: a flinching zombie can no longer hit you through its own stagger animation.
Deaths
Directional death animations — zombies now fall according to the direction of the killing blow: struck from the front they collapse backwards, struck from behind they fall forwards. Big thanks to everyone who's been sending us feedback since Next Fest — a lot of what's in this update came straight from you. Keep it coming, we're listening! ❤️