Vultures: Scavengers of Death – Demo Impressions

Turn-based gameplay in a classic setting of survival horror—now that’s an unusual twist. I’m glad to report that Vultures: Scavengers of Death makes it work splendidly. So, prepare yourself to dodge, headshot zombies, look for loot, and read final messages of bite victims’, but all in a turn-based manner from a top-down view.

Zombie outbreak
The story takes place in the 90s, and something horrible has occurred to the city you are in. Being part of the Vulture squad, your mission is to investigate what happened—with the task in the demo consisting of going over the overrun police station for clues. Graphically, and in general visual style, it’s very much PlayStation 1, specifically Resident Evil 2, I would say. It also comes with a VHS overlay to really hammer home that 90s feel. It works well, with the game looking really inviting.

Now to the part that truly differentiates itself from other survival horror games, namely the turn-based gameplay. When no zombies are on the screen, you have infinite action points for movement and action. But when one of these biting fellas shows up, you are restricted to three action points for movement and three for taking actions, like shooting, healing yourself, or reloading your weapon. You can spend these points however you like, which opens up for interesting tactics. My go-to was using one action point to put a bullet in the leg of the zombie to slow it down, and then damage it with a headshot that cost two action points. That way, I would try to keep it out of my reach, to eventually finish it off with the knife to the neck to save ammo.

However, the combat and the situations are very dynamic, depending on room layout, and how many zombies are coming after your juicy and oh so yummy brain. There is also stealth in the game, which lets you bypass the zombies completely if you can avoid their gaze. It works as a great opener too, because if you start combat from stealth, you get a bonus action point by attacking from the shadows. The systems work very well, and being a survival horror game there will be a lack of resources—so you have to make the best of what you have. I found the spin on gameplay very entertaining and intriguing, which puts this game on the list of titles to look forward to for this year! Make sure to check out the demo for yourself here!

Thanks for reading.

– Thomas