You take on the role of Frank West, a freelance photojournalist on the quest for the scoop of a lifetime. Following a lead to the town of Willamette, he discovers that zombies have virtually overrun it. Frank tries to flee to the Willamette shopping mall, hoping to get assistance there.
Gameplay takes 72 hours, with one hour of real-time equaling twelve hours in the game. Frank is free to roam the entire mall, albeit some places are initially inaccessible. Most of it is overrun with zombies, but he has a haven in a security room. Players can either follow the main plot, in which they must be in the right place at the right time and complete missions to advance, or do side tasks, such as wandering around killing zombies and dressing up in clothes from mall stores, or simply staying on the roof and waiting for the helicopter to return to pick him up. The aircraft arrives at the end of the three days, and the game is over whether or not Frank is on the roof waiting to be rescued.
By taking pictures, saving survivors, and eliminating zombies, Frank accumulates experience. He levels up as he collects experience, which grants him additional moves, a more extensive inventory, and more health.
The number of survivors or zombies in the picture, their proximity to the camera, and the emotional content, such as fear, hilarity, or sexuality, all contribute to the picture’s score.
Survivors can be found throughout the mall, and Frank must arrive at the correct time to save them. If you arrive too early, they may not be at their destination yet; if you arrive too late, they may be dead. Frank can take survivors back to the security room, where they can be saved. He can do this by arming and commanding them to follow him or wait in a specific spot.
The large hordes of zombies swarming throughout the mall hamper the rescue of survivors. Up to a thousand objects can be displayed on the screen at any given time. As he leads them, Frank must avoid being bitten and ensure the survivor survives. In addition to the zombies, Frank must contend with psychopaths, ordinary beings who become deranged killers after witnessing the undead.
Almost everything in the mall can be taken and utilized. Food products help to restore health. Everything else can also be used as a weapon. It’s evident that killing zombies with submachine guns or chainsaws is far more effective than throwing CDs at them or hitting them with a dummy. Still, you do have options, and you may have to kill zombies with a bowling ball or your bare hands because all weapons have limited ammunition or durability and will eventually run out. Books can be purchased at bookstores. While in your inventory, these provide benefits such as improved durability for a weapon. You can also use a variety of vehicles.
You are only permitted one save slot per the real-time premise. Frank can stay in the bathrooms and the security room. However, this will overwrite any previous saves. If you make a mistake, you must either repeat the game while keeping your existing levels or accept it and move on. This means that your choices have consequences.
When you finish the main plotline, you enter overtime mode, and Frank, instead of taking the helicopter, has additional twenty-four hours to end the plot. If you beat overtime mode, you unlock infinite mode, in which the aircraft never returns, Frank loses health over time, and all the survivors strive to murder him. The goal here is to live as long as possible.
