• Ed-0: Zombie Uprising possesses deep rogue-like elements, exhilarating action created by unique build-making, and addictive gameplay with unlimited replayability.

In Ed-0: Zombie Uprising, an army of one million zombies invades Japan during the Edo Period, the time between 1603 and 1868 when the Tokugawa family ruled, and the country was isolated from the rest of the world. Play as a Samurai, Sumo Wrestler, or Ninja, and fight off overwhelming numbers of zombies in this “Oedo Panic Rogue Action” game coming to Xbox Series X|S on July 13, 2023. Learn more about the game from the team below.

What kind of game is Ed-0: Zombie Uprising? Toshi Otsuka, the game’s producer from D3PUBLISHER, explains, “This game is an indie game that combines the tension of extreme challenges characteristic of classic turn-based roguelike games with realistic graphics typical of flashy 3D action games.” At the beginning of the stage, you are so weak that even a single zombie is too much for you to handle, and you often have to use stealth to avoid confrontation. As the game progresses through the middle and end stages, the gameplay totally changes so you will be strengthened at an accelerated rate and can enjoy combat more easily.

“Because of the randomly changing maps and other factors, there is no set strategy or situation, and the best build must be inspired by the items available on the spot. The player will feel a strong sense of accomplishment and exhilaration when a build that he or she has improvised meshes well and yields powerful results,” explains Masaru Oochi, Game Director from LANCARSE, the studio developing the game. “Even though the overall difficulty level of the game is somewhat high, players with less rogue experience can still enjoy and progress through the stages if they take their time, because they receive permanent reinforcements by using Virtues and Money that can be brought back home when they die or finish a dungeon at their base.”

There are countless builds in this game, and Toshi says, “From the beginning to the end, we were always particular about build-making. Although this game is not a competitive game, we wanted to create an addictive atmosphere that will keep you playing the same game or turns repeatedly, just like Mahjong and Poker, without ever getting tired of it.”

The various builds not only include the royal Full-Vitality build (the more Vitality you have, the stronger you become) and the Backwater build (the less Vitality you have, the stronger you become), but also the unique Hunger build (the less Fullness you have, the stronger you become) and the Poison build (you get stronger when poisoned) and other high-risk, high-reward type builds. Masaru adds, “The zombie hordes are designed to prevent action skilled players from getting through harsh situations with just their player skills. We hope that players will be able to use their characters’ extraordinary abilities by creating astonishing builds to fend off the hordes of zombies.”

The team is very pleased with the game’s unique EDO Shader. Since the theme of the game is set in Japan during the Edo period, this feature allows players to fully experience a beautifully crafted Japanese world that has never been seen before. “Originally, we did not have this feature at all,” explains Toshi, “we implemented this shader later in development, so it was more of an added bonus.” Masaru follows up with a comment. “The EDO Shader was actually implemented by a programmer with a penchant for Edo taste without telling the art team, who are very particular about the visuals. Since the secret is now revealed, I hope everyone really enjoys the vivid Ukiyo-e (a genre of Japanese art) style of survival.”

Finally, one of the details in the worldview is the miraculous fusion of Edo and zombies. One of the things that struggled to come into focus early in the project was the crazy idea of a zombie game in Edo period which was brought to us by D3PUBLISHER. Since we thought it wouldn’t be much fun if Commodore Perry brought just zombies over, we introduced the Zombie Industrial Revolution, a ridiculous but extreme attack by modified zombies instead. We hear that people other than Japanese are not so familiar with seclusion and Commodore Perry, but it is a historical fact that Japan was indeed closed to the outside world during the Edo period. It is also a historical fact that Commodore Perry forced Japan to open its borders to the outside world. “The reason behind Japan’s isolation at that time was different from the reason in the game, which was because of the spread of the zombie virus,” explains Toshi, “but now a days, I think everyone can relate to the game’s goal of overcoming the deadly and unwanted virus!”

“This title is both a rogue-like and an action game. If you can beat the game with your action skills alone, you can do just that without thinking about any details. Of course, you can play as a runaway, returning to your base each time and continuing to strengthen yourself permanently until you become too strong. You can work on your build-making slowly, or you can play for fun, or you can play to win!” says Masaru. “We wanted to express a once-in-a-lifetime gameplay experience, so we hope you will find and enjoy your own style of game play as much as possible,” continued Toshi.

Ed-0: Zombie Uprising is available for pre-order now and coming to Xbox Series X|S on July 13, 2023. Learn more about the game and start strategizing ahead of its release by checking out the official website.