Publisher: Eden Studios
Author: CJ Carella
Year: 2013 – The latest revised edition
Pages: 256 pages
Retail Price: $30.00 for the physical softcover book; $15.00 in PDF – currently on sale for $10.35
Sure loads of gamers out there believe the whole zombie trope has been beaten like a dead horse (or would that be an undead horse?) and, while that may be becoming the case as far as board games. I don’t believe that’s true when we talk about roleplaying games. Plus, how in the world can I even think about compiling a list of horror RPGs without including one dedicated to surviving the zombie menace?
One of the first roleplaying games to tackle the zombie apocalypse in great detail is All Flesh Must Be Eaten from Eden Studios. While the system has been kicking around for about fifteen years, I believe AFMBE is still the go to game for anyone aiming to play in a world overrun by zeds. One of the great selling points of AFMBE is the sheer number of world settings available for the game. Add the available supplements to the mix and the sheer number of settings becomes pretty stunning. A clever game master can also recreate the realistic action you find in both flavors of The Walking Dead (comic or television show) or films like 28 Days Later just as easily as more campy fare such as Army of Darkness.
Another nice aspect of AFMBE is the Unisystem rules which are crunchy enough to provide option filled survival horror without becoming overwhelmed by a lot of math or tons of dice rolling. In other words, AFMBE hits a sweet spot as far as “crunch.” This makes All Flesh Must Be Eaten a great system to play with friends online through Google Hangouts or Skype. Yes, there really are good reason why this has become the system many gamers turn to when they need to scratch that zombie apocalypse itch.
