By Chris Tresson

Well, this is a first for me. I’ve chosen to review a choose your own adventure game this week, so not only is it my first time reviewing this type of thing, it’s also my first time playing! Huzzah! This CYOA (abbreviation game on point) is Zombie! The Adventure is Yours!, written by Walch, drawn by Jon Lankry and released by IDW. Apparently, it has been translated (by Ivanka Hahnenberger) from another language, too… Seems like they done did a good job of that. Enough of that anyways, let’s get into it.

At the beginning of this book, we’re dropped into the world right before a zombie outbreak happens and the world goes to shit. After a short introduction, we’re given a choice of characters. Naturally, I chose the dude because his story seemed like it would be more interesting to play… That’s not sexism. His story appealed to me more because of how it begins. If you want to know why, you’ll have to get the book, haha!

After going through all the rules and stuff and sorting out my sheets (it has sheets) I was off to the races and to be completely honest with you, using the PDF review copy of this was a pain in the arse… but also a lot of fun (once I got my head around it.)

I became completely absorbed in it for about an hour and I was having a great time until something happened to me and ended my jolly romp through the zombie infested hellhole. I don’t want to talk about it here.

Having played the game once, I decided to have a look through this book and some of the scenarios look quite fun. It’s hard for me to judge how well this is written compared to other adventure games because this is my first experience with one of these types of books. From what I’ve read, it seems like a lot of effort has gone into it and my hat’s off to Walch for what he’s done here. I have absolutely no idea how I’d go about creating this sort of book, so fair play to him for his ability to do so. If I’m taking anything away from this, it’s an interest in finding a few more books like this because I did have a lot of fun whilst trying to navigate the world.

The art by Jon Lankry isn’t of the best quality, but it does what it needs to make the book work. By saying that, I’m not trying to take anything away from Lankry here, and I’m not saying his art is terrible either. It works, but it could be better is all. He’s had a lot to draw in this book and I think he should be commended for his efforts.

Overall, Zombie! The Adventure is Yours! is really fun to play and clearly, super easy for complete novices to pick up and play. I’ve proven that. I had a good time doing it, too. The only thing I will say and I’ll leave you with this: you’re going to want to buy a physical copy of it from your local comic book shop because if you buy it digitally, you’re going to have a bad time. Heed these words and get out there into the zombie apocalypse!

Score: 4/5

Zombie! The Adventure is Yours!
Writer: Walch
Artist: Jon Lankry
Publisher: IDW Publishing