Look further
As if the unforgiving desert climate, abundance of poisonous reptiles, and increasing air pollution weren’t enough to declare Phoenix, Arizona an apocalyptic hellscape, now, some five years after its release, my hometown is being invaded by flesh-eating zombies in a new update to World War Z.
Aside from the well-deserved digs at this rough town, it’s not often that I see my home adapted for video games. While there’s not much to see outside of the new map—an abandoned military museum—there’s no mistaking the non-native palm trees we plant to make us think we live in San Diego or the rugged, cactus-studded mountains that surround the valley.
World War Z: Battle of Arizona is a free update available with the updated Aftermath version of the game, but the new Phoenix XL map in Horde mode is exclusive to PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The update also includes a paid DLC pack with a new Kukri melee weapon and four new weapon skins for the DE50 pistol, 1877 SBL rifle, TMP5 submachine gun, and M500 shotgun.
Everything else is free for all players regardless of platform, such as the new Enhancement Bag power-up that gives you a unique punch boost, more ammo capacity, and an extra gear slot in PvE and Horde modes. Then there are the fancy new customizable player portrait frames that appear on the scoreboard in lobbies to show off your undead personality.
Finally, the update brings a quality of life change that should make it much easier to come back from a fight that goes wrong: you can now change your class once between waves in Horde and Horde XL. This will also make it possible to grind different classes more seamlessly, as you can just switch classes and keep playing the same session until you give up.
Honestly, I’m still a little shocked that Saber is still supporting World War Z five years after its rocky launch. And most of the new additions are completely free! Combine that with the limitless potential for jokes about the city I love to hate, and I think it’s time to give good old World War Z another chance.
I remember at launch I really tried to mold it into the hole in my heart that was the size of Left 4 Dead, but struggled with performance issues and the relative lack of content. So I’m hopeful that’s all sorted out by now. If not, I can at least look around and say “Hey, that’s where I live!” and be thankful that rattlesnakes and bad drivers are still the most dangerous things around for now.
Otherwise, here are the best co-op games we recommend playing with a friend (or arch enemy).
