God Save Birmingham Preview: A Promising Take on Medieval Zombie Horror | PAX East 2025

I’m not usually a fan of horror games—zombie apocalypse games, in particular, scare me pretty badly. So why did I sign up to preview God Save Birmingham? The art and premise caught my attention—and I’m glad they did. It’s a visually striking game with the potential to explore deeper themes like faith and the human psyche, hinting at what it means to be the sole survivor in a world overrun by the undead.

The art is breathtaking. There’s an impressive amount of detail in this game—from the beautiful landscape around me to the terrifying zombies that want to eat me. Set in medieval Europe, I play as a commoner who appears to be the sole survivor in a world overrun by the undead. And if I wasn’t constantly running for my life, I’d probably stop to admire the scenery.

I emerge from my house—waking from what was probably a pleasant dream—only to find the entire town swarming with the undead. And when I say swarming, I mean it. There aren’t many safe places to run or hide. I don’t know what came before, and I don’t know how this happened—but I know I need to survive. Being medieval Europe, my weapon options are limited. I manage to find a pitchfork and hope it’s enough to get the job done.

The physics in the game are well done. I can use barrels and other objects I find to trip up the zombies—they’re dangerous, but they’re not exactly smart. As they stumble over each other trying to reach me, I can stomp on their heads to finish them off. Sometimes, though, I find myself just trying to get away instead of fighting. There are so many of them, I’m not sure taking out a few even makes a difference in the grand scheme of things.

One of the standout features is how the zombies seem to move as a coordinated horde. I brought this up to the creative director, who clarified that they’re not actually working together—they just all share the same individual desire to devour me. Because there are so many, they end up reaching out at once, creating the illusion of a unified force. Horde or not, the mass of clawing hands grasping at my flesh was enough to give me chills.

Right now, God Save Birmingham is a sandbox experience, giving me the freedom to run around and focus purely on survival. I asked if there were plans for story elements, and it was mentioned that the team is currently working on adding missions to the game. When I pressed for more details, it sounded like the narrative will center on what it means to survive. I also asked whether the game might explore themes of faith. While that’s not something currently in the works, I hope it’s a direction they consider—the setting and tone (and title) feel perfectly suited for it.