No More Room in Hell 2

The end of days! What a wonderful scenario for a video game. We don’t know what that’s like, do we? (Nervous laughter)… Well, it’s been a while since the last zombie game, and so we have a new one to play. No More Room in Hell 2 (an inspired quote from Dawn of the Dead… not the 2-bit though) brings players together into a world gone to Hell, where the dead have risen, and humanity is on its last dying thread. But those who are alive are fighting against an enemy that feels no pain, remorse or compassion. And ultimately fighting a losing battle. But it can still be fun, right? And have the voice of Adam Jensen himself, Elias Toufexis! So yeah, the end of the world can be fun indeed!

Another day … of the Dead?

We’ve had Left 4 Dead, DayZ, and Back 4 Blood to name a couple of zombie, run-and-gun experiences, and now No More Room in Hell 2 is another. But with more of a focus on survival and detail, it does cater to a crowd looking for something to scratch that State of Decay itch. We have a world gone to ruin; we have players take on the role of survivors, and they live day by day gathering supplies, helping those in need, and mowing down zombies, before likely meeting a horrible demise.

There is something wonderfully terrifying about being surrounded by zombies with very little idea of what you're doing, even when you've played enough zombie games to know exactly what usually happens next. No More Room in Hell 2 takes that familiar end-of-the-world scenario and leans much harder into the survival side of things. This isn't quite the Left 4 Dead school of zombie killing, where you grab a gun, blast your way through a horde and hear the wisecracks of a group of lovable characters. Here, every bullet you spray, every resource you patch yourself with or burn an undead foe to the ground, and each decision quickly becomes an extremity for life and death.

You need the right ammunition for the right weapon; your inventory is painfully limited; stamina is constantly something to think about, and searching for supplies can be just as important as completing the objective itself, even more so from time to time. I couldn’t tell you the number of times I went and found ammo, and realised it was for a 9mm, and I had a .22 Gruber … story of my life!

You can head straight towards your next task, spend your time rummaging through buildings for useful supplies, or hang back and support the people actually doing the legwork. I was usually in this situation early on, since I had no clue what to do. But being the support, or detouring, is not penalised, thankfully, unlike other games that smash the hammer on you for so much as checking out something away from the group. There is a nice amount of freedom in how you approach each mission, and that creates a thrilling sense of survival.

I'll admit that I personally prefer Left 4 Dead, but that's not really what No More Room in Hell 2 is trying to be. Where Valve's zombie shooter is an exhilarating arcade-like blast, No More Room in Hell 2 is much more concerned with making you feel vulnerable. You simply can’t pick up a Uzi, a samurai sword, and a bunch of med kits and go all in on a group of zombies for the lolz. You have to think, reserve your actions, track your ammo, and not get cocky. It’s pushing you into a ruthless hellscape of survival …
And it does that incredibly well!


You've got red on you…

A big part of the appeal for No More Room in Hell 2 is the atmosphere, which is just immense at times for the visuals and horror vibes. The visuals are nice, the sound design does a great job of making the world feel abandoned, and there is a lovely end-of-the-world atmosphere hanging over everything. Searching through houses, venturing into unfamiliar areas and listening to the noises around you can create a surprising amount of tension. Especially when you can open every drawer, cupboard, and cardboard box!

You never quite know what you're going to find, and more importantly, what your actions might attract.

That makes something as simple as searching for supplies surprisingly engaging, much akin to the great State of Decay, where noise, light, and movement is a massive attraction for the undead. You aren't just wandering around looking for ammunition and health items; you're constantly weighing up whether it is worth venturing further, whether you've got enough room in your inventory and whether making all that noise is going to come back to bite you.

The setting isn't exactly doing anything revolutionary, since we've seen this particular version of the apocalypse many times before, but it is well executed and provides some neat visuals and environmental storytelling. The problem is that the zombies themselves don't quite match the quality of the world around them. They are perfectly serviceable, but I never found them particularly frightening or memorable. Even grounded zombie games have managed to make their undead considerably more disturbing, and I think No More Room in Hell 2 could have pushed this side of things a little further. Even the old Resident Evil games have creepier zombies which stand out from the hordes.

It’s a shame, since the eerie vibes, the clutter, and atmospheric lighting are quite peak, making the world feel lived in, dying, and hostile all in one. Sound design is also excellent, but the underwhelming zombies are a bit of a misfire. And I get it; it wants to have more grounded zombies, but also include some special ones, which are super low-key. Like Left 4 Dead 2’s spitter, but much, much less memorable. They could’ve added distinct zombies which feel grounded. One that came to mind randomly was The Evil Within 2’s Hysteric, which is simple, fairly grounded, but scary as hell!


Bang, smack, splat!

If I’m being honest, combat is serviceable, with the occasional highlight. Guns have a satisfying punch to them, and having to check your ammunition before getting trigger happy adds another little layer of survival to every encounter. Reminded me of the original Condemned games. Finding a weapon is only half the battle when you then need to make sure you have something to load it with. Now finding ammo is nothing new for horror games, but picking out the right ammo from a bunch of ammo in a panicked state can either be frustrating or thrilling. I found it a blast, and the guns overall are great fun, if nothing new or exciting is presented here. There’s no Dead Rising-style mashup of weapons for new ones, or an improvised fight-or-flight style seen in something like the Indiana Jones game. Still satisfying.

Melee combat is a little less so, however. The limited stamina can make swinging away at zombies feel rather clumsy, and some of the lower-end weapons quickly become fairly pointless as you progress, especially in the harder scenarios. Even something as reliable as a beefy machete, which you think would make light work of a zombie’s head, can feel super underwhelming, weirdly enough.

Thankfully, the trusty baseball bat is still reliable. And we get several reliable throwables, which helps out in a pinch. But again, there’s nothing special overall.

It's not bad, but there is a slightly janky feeling to some of the combat that stops it from being the game's strongest feature. And the grounded, but limited nature to roaster means there’s nothing truly exciting about picking up a weapon or setting up your loadout.


Back from the Dead

Missions themselves can be surprisingly enjoyable, particularly because of the different ways you can approach them. Some are huge journeys across multiple locations, while others are smaller and more focused. You can be the person pushing towards the objective, the person wandering around looking for resources, or the one hanging back and supporting everyone else.

There is a nice sense that everyone has a role to play.

The problem is that there isn't quite as much variety underneath this as I would have liked. There are essentially two main types of missions, survival and objectives, and while the scale and locations can change, the fundamental structure doesn't change all that much.

This is where I found myself thinking about something like Back 4 Blood. There, you have different zombie types, big bosses, multiple modes and plenty of other systems constantly throwing something new at you. No More Room in Hell 2 has a strong survival foundation, one which I grew to love, but this approach to realism means fantastical elements are absent, and creative freedom is restricted.

But the big appeal here in No More Room in Hell 2 is the progression system, and this helps to keep things moving along, with plenty of unlockables and things to work towards. There is a satisfying sense of expanding your options for survival in interesting ways. However, some of the unlock placements feel a little strange.

For example, 9mm ammunition becomes available relatively early, but your first 9mm pistol doesn't arrive until level 15, while the shotgun can be unlocked at level 3. It feels a little backwards, especially when you're sitting there looking at ammunition for a weapon you can't actually use yet. Remember: pistol, and then the shotgun!

Some UI and general interaction issues can make the experience more frustrating than it needs to be. One particularly nasty example is quitting a match and losing your character without, as far as I could tell, the game making that consequence particularly clear.

Considering how important your character and progression are, that's the sort of thing that really needs to be communicated. Now I may have missed something, but from doing this again, I was told my progress would be lost, not my character. Luckily, you can get new characters, but as a clean slate.


You ain't getting extracted first, friend! ...I’m not your friend, buddy!

But when No More Room in Hell 2 gets it right, it can be fantastic.

The extraction sequences are a great example of all the build-up of tension, the stress, and the exhilaration just exploding within a small moment that feels like it goes on forever (in the best way possible). You've survived the mission, you've gathered your supplies, and you've finally made it to safety. Except the extraction doesn't necessarily mean everyone gets out at once. In most games, one person is pulled up at a time, and suddenly the situation becomes considerably more tense. And, naturally, this also reveals the very best and worst of humanity, just like any good zombie media should.

You can have a team that has spent an entire mission working together, only for everyone to suddenly realise that there is a time limit for extraction, and that rope can hold only one person at a time. And zombies seem to be keen on seeing the helicopter. So, at the worst possible time, that friendly stranger isn't quite as friendly anymore.

It's moments like these that I enjoyed the most. The game doesn't always need to throw a massive boss or a special zombie at you to create tension. Sometimes all it needs to do is put a group of players in a difficult situation and see what happens. And this is the heart of No More Room in Hell 2.


Overall?

No More Room in Hell 2 is a solid survival-focused zombie experience with a genuinely impressive sense of tension. The atmosphere is great, the sound design works wonderfully, and the depth of its survival mechanics makes every journey feel considerably more dangerous than the usual run-and-gun zombie shooter.

While plenty of the limitations were jarring at times, and the clunky nature of the UI, and combat could be refined for sure, I still enjoyed that ruthless, yet hopeful end-of-world journey. There are also some fantastic emergent moments, particularly during extraction, where the game's survival mechanics can bring out the absolute worst in people. Yay, people rule.

But I can't shake the feeling that there is a bigger game hiding underneath all of this. The foundation is strong, but the mission types are limited, the zombies aren't particularly memorable, some of the combat is a little janky and certain progression choices feel strange. There isn't quite the same sense of constant escalation and variety that made something like Left 4 Dead.

Still, if you're looking for a zombie game that puts survival before slaughter, No More Room in Hell 2 does a damn good job of it. It may not be my preferred way to spend an evening with the undead, but I can absolutely see the appeal.
Just make sure you're on the helicopter before your mate decides to leave you behind as zombie chow.

+++ Fantastic survival mechanics and tension
++ Great atmosphere and sound design
++ Plenty of exploration and co-op freedom

- Limited mission and enemy variety
- Melee combat can feel janky
- Some progression and UI decisions are questionable


PS5 review keys for No More Room in Hell 2 were kindly provided by the publisher.