Unturned PS4 Review

Unturned has mostly left me unturned in my opinion of this game. What does that mean exactly? I don’t entirely know where I stand with it. It’s one of those games that is best with pals. Only recently, I’ve rejoined the ranks of Fortnite (not that I was in the gang, to begin with), and honestly have had a lot of fun with it, playing in squads with my daughter and her friends and pretending that I’m new to gaming as they’re all pretty ace at it.

The other bonus other than playing with my daughter is that it’s not a toxic environment (possibly because all her friends are local and know that they’ll be in trouble if they misbehave – I know their parents). That’s a rarity to have the control, and one of the many reasons I don’t play online. The err, lack of control other than mute.

Unturned PS4 Review

Bear with me; I’m following on from the above. It might make sense in a minute, but I doubt it. Using my daughter as an example again, she used to hound me to play Roblox online but having monitored it, it was a dreadful free-for-all playground-like chaos, as if it were Lord of the Flies rules without any grown-ups about.

This was one of the main reasons why I wouldn’t let her play, but also, I didn’t get why she’d want to. It looked like a flaky lawn cigar and smelt worse. I hated it. So, when I arrived at the Unturned menu and character creation, I immediately had my doubts.

Have a look at the screenshots and Unturned, from Smartly Dressed Games, looks quite nice. Sure, it’s blocky, but that didn’t stop Minecraft from selling 37 copies of the game on the Amstrad 800, and has as many as 200 players, sworn to its on-the-line community. I rarely play Minecraft, but I get the lure. We’ll get back to the customisation section in a minute (maybe), so I can make my point that it’s not all about visuals. I know that.

After spending a laughable amount of time I do with customisation options, making an avatar for each member of the household, I entered a game and was unimpressed. The animation of the character was clunky, they’d hover mid-air, and the speed at which this all happened was abysmal. Engaging in my first contact with a zombie, I was already dismissive of the game and thought I’d come back to it when in a different frame of mind.

I’m Back, Mostly With The Same Mindset

Taking off the judgement goggles for a moment, I went back in, a little fresh-faced and allowed myself to die a few more times. Not for the sake of it, but purely because the movement wasn’t very responsive and I was learning the ropes. Punching zombies with your bare hands aren’t as useful as a hammer.

This aimless wandering was only scratching the surface as once you allow yourself to indulge a little, time begins to seem like a concept, and the hours start to clock up. What is it that makes this game indulgent? Freedom, choice, a minimalist approach, crafting and the fact that it’s a unique experience every single time.

Unturned is a survival game, there’s no question about it, but how you go about it is entirely up to you. Choose from an extensive range of classes from ninjas to nurses, each with their suitable perks and apparel, and ‘charm’ if you’re a Roblox fan. I’m not, so I didn’t like the models at all. The scenery was lovely though. Come see Germany, Hawaii and the kitchen of a Pizza Express. The last one is made up.

Each dedicated class has a list of skills that can be upgraded such as my chosen special op chap has a high sharpshooter stat, but the shared stats of cardio and dexterity are vital for survival and crafting. The surviving element translates into the real world as I was struggling to stay invested with the initial speed at which you move, frequently running out of stamina.

PC Gamers Have More Friends?

Does this port well over to the PS4? I haven’t played the Steam version, but if you take a look around on the store, you’ll see that Unturned is pretty high in the rankings. That might be because it’s free, with a token payment for the better servers, but take a look at the feedback and see how many are still playing it after all these years and you might surmise that this game has something to offer.

Playing online is the key to enjoyment with this game

The defining part of Unturned on the PS4 is the multiplayer aspect. Playing online is the key to enjoyment with this game, and I have to say that the servers for the PS4 were lacking the times I played this. I don’t believe this is cross-platform, and as it’s a new game, not surprised to see low numbers at first (I’d put money on it that the servers will boom in the coming weeks).

Based in the UK, I tried to connect with local servers which were predominantly in Frankfurt, but zero players. Instead, I took flight across to the land of Hawaii during this pandemic and teamed up with another three players. Unfortunately, the level was huge, and by the time I could find them, they’d left. Or maybe they saw me coming?

Then again, look at the figures on YouTube, and you’ll see that the most popular videos are often watched by a select demographic that may or may not be part of the TikTok fanbase. With all that in mind, and concluding that I’m an old git and out of touch with online gaming, given my position, Unturned is an interesting game and will be worth a look for Minecraft or Roblox fans. I do believe the latter is mostly mini-games, while Unturned is a bona fide survival game that is huge.

What it all boils down to is what I mentioned in the opener that it’s down to who you play with. The PS4 servers weren’t exactly electrifying, but it’s early days. As a fan of playing solo or with friends locally, the lonesome option wasn’t so great, and I grew bored.

Unturned Review Summary

Don’t judge a book by its cover like I did with Unturned. Get past the ugly character models and clunky animations, and there is a vast world out there to explore with plenty of things to collect, craft, battle, with more than enough content for you to stream on the YouTubes if you’re that way inclined.