Zombie Survival MMO Persist Online Will Fill the Void That The Day Before Left - But Are Players Ready?

The post-apocalyptic zombie MMORPG The Day Before was a wild rollercoaster of emotions for the thousands of gamers that wishlisted the game and a doozy of a circus for those watching ringside. I’m rarely one to beat a dead (and buried) horse, but the cataclysmic failure of the former most wishlisted game on Steam is still a sore spot, especially for all you zombie-loving gamers like me.

Setting aside the recent failure, the premise of a true zombie apocalypse MMO can often evoke mixed feelings, seeing as how the idea has been dredged through the survival game genre plenty of times with games like DayZ, Project Zomboid, and 7 Days to Die. But the Zombie MMORPG idea never dies, and now Persist Online from CipSoft is shoveling past the dead hopes and dreams The Day Before left in its wake. But are players ready to love a zombie MMO again? Can the developers deliver?

Despite Tibia having been released for almost three decades, it feels like people forget that CipSoft, the development team behind the upcoming game Persist Online, has had such a long and successful history of running an online game. When you compare that with Fntastic’s offerings ahead of their disastrous launch, the team at CipSoft can easily be described as both competent and capable. That doesn’t mean that Persist Online has it made in the shade.

Unlike The Day Before, Persist Online is heavily stylized, with bright colors in a modern day setting that feels as silly as it is serious. I think the premise behind The Day Before resonated with people looking for a jump-scare during their daily gaming sessions. Unfortunately, we now know the scariest part of the game was the inclusion of a hot tub, but the original realistic premise of TDB granted some clout that the world would feel authentic.

That doesn’t mean Persist Online won’t have authenticity. I do feel like there’s a sense that a stylized zombie apocalypse is a hard sell for those expecting a little more realism, but when you put Persist and TDB side-by-side, the features start to take on a similar shape. Both games have a modern setting. Both games have (or were supposed to have) mounts. Both games have crafting, instanced building and PvP. However, Persist goes further than that.

In The Day Before the world wasn’t exceptionally large, and what was available seemed to be some city-like corridors with a few open buildings that were largely devoid of players and enemies. CipSoft has stated that the buildings in Persist are fully furnished and ready for looting. Persist also features 25 different skill trees – a stunning number in comparison to the lack of skills The Day Before had.

Finally, and quite important for an MMORPG, Persist Online intends to house hundreds of players in the world at one time, as opposed to the reported limit of 32 players in The Day Before. In a world that has seen supported server player numbers decline with the rise of MMO-lite games, it’s exciting to hear that CipSoft is looking to bring some ‘massively multiplayer’ to their MMO. You could easily set all these additions aside when talking about Persist and still be left with one glaring distinction between the two games that should never be overlooked. CipSoft stands behind their game.

It's too early to tell when CipSoft will release Persist. But I called Fntastic out nearly a year ahead of launch, denoting how tight-lipped and mismanaged the game was. From the limited outlet exclusive trailers to the lack of widespread media interviews, and even an absence of social media communication, Fntastic was never transparent about what the game was, which carried them towards their inevitable shutdown when the MMO was found to be nothing more than a mere extraction shooter.

CipSoft on the other hand has been quite forthcoming with information and interviews so far. The team has consistently published their patch notes on their blog, Discord and socials. The team has even begun courting players to test the game, and they allow content creators to run periodic livestreams showing off the current build state as well. The clear intention of having players test the game is, in and of itself, something that TDB never achieved. These actions by CipSoft aren’t bizarre, but their consistency and transparency underscores the stark differences between a veteran MMO team and a novice.

It’s still far too early to determine how Persist Online will turn out. However, if I were a betting man, I'd put money on Persist being our best shot at an updated, engrossing Zombie MMORPG. In the very least, as a free to play title with their dedicated team of 14 developers, I don’t see any way that Persist will become an encore of the horror show that was The Day Before. I'm not sure if the broad gamer community ready to resurrect their love of the zombie apocalypse, but I know I'll be here for it.