World War Z's unscripted online co-op pits you against 1000 zombies that are like repelling ‘swarms of flesh eating ants’

Fresh insight on World War Z's four-player online co-op carnage via a new Official PlayStation Magazine preview

With PS4's anticipated zombie adventure Days Gone delayed until 2019, World War Z is welcoming comparisons with Sony's single-player game and keen to push its unique four-player online battles against 'swarms' of intelligent AI zombies. “WWZ is the only game to offer an online experience with such massive quantities of fast- moving enemies.”, says developer Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch, in an exclusive interview with Official PlayStation Magazine. Don't take his word for it, here's a quick glimpse at the speed and scale of the threat you'll face below…

World War Z, based on 2013's movie of the same name starring Brad Pitt (and not the superior novel), puts the emphasis on taking the fight to the zombies, rather than the film's emphasis on retreat. The Z's (or zombies) follow unscripted attack patterns, so no skirmish is ever the same. The zombies will react to the terrain and almost 'pour' themselves into areas of weakness like swarms of ants.

You'll be able to destroy scenery and alter their flow, but equally the zombies will overwhelm areas of your defence forcing you to react. Zombies can even swarm over each other to form ladders, as seen in the film's most terrifying scenes in Jerusalem. This pack behavior isn't just convenient for an online horde mode, but based on the 'science' of zombie intelligence, predicated on swarms of ants.

The game will be set in a number of familiar locations from the film, with you fighting to complete objectives – such as protecting people or assets – from a third-person perspective. You can read more about it, and see more screenshots, in the new issue of Official PlayStation Magazine including a huge Kingdom Hearts 3 cover feature, plus a fresh hands-on with Biomutant, the open world RPG from former Just Cause developers.