New World War Z trailer shows Moscow overrun by zombies

We haven't heard a peep out of World War Z, the four-player co-op zombie shooter inspired by the novel and film of the same name, since it was announced in December. Until yesterday, that is, when Paramount Pictures released a new trailer showcasing some gameplay in Moscow, one of many locations you'll travel to in the game.

The first thing that strikes me is just how many zombies, or 'zekes', are on screen at any one time. There's hundreds of them pouring towards you, a wave of infected that looks almost impossible to hold back. For that reason, I assume it'll need a beefy PC to run at highest settings.

To cut through the infected you'll man turrets, blast rifles (there's a good shot of that at 0:48), and slash with melee weapons—one of the characters in the video is swinging an axe. Given how many enemies you're facing, I'm not sure how sustainable melee will be long-term, but it could be fun while it lasts.

We also get a quick peek at a zeke wearing full SWAT gear, so expect some enemy variety, or perhaps some mini boss battles.

Some of the animations are a bit stiff, particularly when enemies drop dead. But if it can really deliver as many zombies on screen at one time as is promises to, then I'm all ears.

It's expected to release later this year.

Samuel is a freelance journalist and editor who first wrote for PC Gamer nearly a decade ago. Since then he's had stints as a VR specialist, mouse reviewer, and previewer of promising indie games, and is now regularly writing about Fortnite. What he loves most is longer form, interview-led reporting, whether that's Ken Levine on the one phone call that saved his studio, Tim Schafer on a milkman joke that inspired Psychonauts' best level, or historians on what Anno 1800 gets wrong about colonialism. He's based in London.