[Unpopular Opinion] This is game hollow and isnt realistic

[Fi9hy]

Project Zomboid is often labeled as one of the most realistic survival games, but honestly, it leans more toward a scavenging and hoarding simulator. The gameplay revolves around endlessly stockpiling supplies, food, weapons, and other items until you die. While this might scratch the itch for players who enjoy meticulous resource management, it falls flat for players like me.

The lack of NPCs is a glaring issue that amplifies this problem. Without other survivors to interact with, the world feels lifeless. like imagine finding a bitten survivor whos asking you to shoot them or a terrified survivor to scared to open the door or going to the Rosewood Police Station and finding a group of survivors guarding the stash of Guns whether there hostile, protective of their resources, or even willing to team up—could add the danger and unpredictability that the game sorely needs. but no you can just stroll in the station and take what you want. This is a major problem for me that i bet most people don't even think about. Everything is untouched, unlooted, as if the world simply froze when the apocalypse began. like on day 100 you could find a grocery store completely untouched?? i know there is a mod that changes this but without NPCs it doesn't fell right.

The game confuses complexity with realism, focusing on mundane tasks like glassmaking and pottery instead of the emotional and human struggles that define an apocalypse.
Without NPCs, the world feels static and lifeless. Survival should be about adapting to danger, making tough decisions, and dealing with the unpredictability of other people, not grinding skills for hours. The lack of human conflict or societal collapse makes the game feel more like a crafting simulator than a true apocalyptic experience. Thats why you see most the player-base being base builders and insane scavengers with those crazy ass outfits (PZs players know what im talking about)

Survival isn’t just about avoiding zombies or managing resources—it’s about navigating a collapsing society, dealing with moral dilemmas, and deciding who you can trust. In Project Zomboid, there’s none of that. The absence of NPCs leaves the world feeling lifeless, as if you’re playing in an abandoned sandbox. Encounters with hostile groups, desperate survivors, or even potential allies could make every decision matter, but the game lacks this essential dynamic. Until NPCs and the chaos of societal collapse are introduced, Project Zomboid will remain a technically impressive but ultimately hollow survival experience.

i think this could explain the feeling of insolation i know a lot of players deal with. anyone else feel this way?

also i know im critical but i do enjoy this game i have almost 500 hours. but i usually leave because of the issues i discussed

[taxhelp_pro]

No programming for NPCs that could run on a home computer will come close to the amount of depth you seem to envision. Computer game NPCs are invariably stupid to the point of comedy. When they arrive in PZ, they will not be any different from other games.

I feel so awfully sorry for all the folks out there who are expecting miracles.

[ne_propheta]

It's not an unpopular intake at all.
In fact, I would say that, especially with B42, this kind of opinion is more popular than ever.

But we're lucky, because OP provided a list of better games that hits the very same soft spot as PZ, so we can have some juicy material to compare

IIRC there were 7DTD and DayZ too.

[Quineloe]

B42 added a feature that would ransack a certain percentage of locations as the world timer progressed. Instead of the regular loot, you'd find very little loot in there and items thrown on the ground.

[Vintorez]

NPCs are a planned feature. Their absence isn't a design choice.

[San]

I can't argue with that. Your vision for NPCs seems very similar to what TIS is working on, and the game was good enough to play it for more than 350 hours. I would celebrate both things.

[1jovemtr00]

I agree with this and Im slightly more harsh than OP. My review on PZ says enough.

[Puppers]

Originally posted by Fi9hy:

The lack of NPCs is a glaring issue that amplifies this problem.

Npcs are not a selling point for me personally, infact i kind of see them as a risk to my character, especially the hostile ones, which i would most certainly avoid.

Although I am curious how human npcs will be implemented and yeah it could be nice to see how they give immersion to our worlds as the apocalypse starting days unfold but if they are anything like the mods or like rimworld pawns where i command them to do tasks, cut corners...honestly I would just kind of let them do their own thing and avoid them. The looting, crafting, farming, etc is one of the best parts of pz for me I like doing that kind of thing myself and I don't want some npc taking my "role" in surviving in my game away from me. I have stated in the past I wouldnt mind a bartering but what could they even offer me that I couldn't get myself? A rare crafting ingredient? A rare quality chicken or cow? I dunno

As far as the crafting for pottery and glass making those were one of the first crafting skills I was eager to try out. Just because its something you may not enjoy doesn't mean others will feel the same that is one of the best things about pz is that there are all kinds of things to do in the game, outside of npcs, looting, etc now.

[Fi9hy]

Originally posted by Quineloe:

B42 added a feature that would ransack a certain percentage of locations as the world timer progressed. Instead of the regular loot, you'd find very little loot in there and items thrown on the ground.

Thats an awesome feature.

[Zoey]

It is worth noting that this game isn't complete yet and is still far from it. NPCs are planned and they even existed prior in the game. The reason why they aren't is a whole other story but basically the devs were victims of a break in and theft and didn't backup their builds. Basically forcing development backwards to the last build they still had access to at the time.

So while your view is completed valid and I actually agree with it, it is also on the road map to being part of the game. It's important to be patient and remember we are dealing with a very small team with a very ambitious project that has evolved greatly all these years already.

[Fi9hy]

Originally posted by Puppers:

Originally posted by Fi9hy:

The lack of NPCs is a glaring issue that amplifies this problem.

Npcs are not a selling point for me personally, infact i kind of see them as a risk to my character, especially the hostile ones, which i would most certainly avoid.

Although I am curious how human npcs will be implemented and yeah it could be nice to see how they give immersion to our worlds as the apocalypse starting days unfold but if they are anything like the mods or like rimworld pawns where i command them to do tasks, cut corners...honestly I would just kind of let them do their own thing and avoid them. The looting, crafting, farming, etc is one of the best parts of pz for me I like doing that kind of thing myself and I don't want some npc taking my "role" in surviving in my game away from me. I have stated in the past I wouldnt mind a bartering but what could they even offer me that I couldn't get myself? A rare crafting ingredient? A rare quality chicken or cow? I dunno

As far as the crafting for pottery and glass making those were one of the first crafting skills I was eager to try out. Just because its something you may not enjoy doesn't mean others will feel the same that is one of the best things about pz is that there are all kinds of things to do in the game, outside of npcs, looting, etc now.

you seem to enjoy the sandbox aspects of the game. which is totally fine. i just enjoy different parts of the game like lore and apocalyptic storytelling.

[maeharaprojekt]

While I understand your points, I do not feel that one-to-one realism was ever an objective for TIS. In my mind, the devs are hoping to achieve what they believe will be a happy middle-ground between a George Romero zombie apocalypse, concessions to playability for a wider audience, and complexity enough to satisfy gamers that enjoy long-term campaigns if they have the desire to work for it, struggling (or not) against the "This Is How You Died" narrative.

[Fi9hy]

Originally posted by Zoey:

It is worth noting that this game isn't complete yet and is still far from it. NPCs are planned and they even existed prior in the game. The reason why they aren't is a whole other story but basically the devs were victims of a break in and theft and didn't backup their builds. Basically forcing development backwards to the last build they still had access to at the time.

So while your view is completed valid and I actually agree with it, it is also on the road map to being part of the game. It's important to be patient and remember we are dealing with a very small team with a very ambitious project that has evolved greatly all these years already.

ur 100% right

[Puppers]

Originally posted by Fi9hy:

you seem to enjoy the sandbox aspects of the game. which is totally fine. i just enjoy different parts of the game like lore and apocalyptic storytelling.

Well I wouldnt mind more lore building things too thats why i mentioned that it will be interesting to see how npcs are implemented. Like will we see cortman medical npcs? Or npcs from popular places from around the map .. that would be neat i think.

[Shady Allie]

Originally posted by Fi9hy:

....stuff said....snip...
...also i know im critical but i do enjoy this game i have almost 500 hours. but i usually leave because of the issues i discussed

Critical talk about the game is great! You also did it without name calling and baby talk too.
The devs need to hear all sides of the opinions good n bad.

We are witnessing the beginning layers of npc's for the game. It will be layers stacked on layers, and I too am curious how it will unfold into the future of PZ.

[Dark Thoughts]

NPCs are literally part of the next builds and have been discussed to death at this point. Calling the game hollow and unrealistic because it has not yet finished those aspects is just weird. Just read the various Thursdoids on that topic.