Dead Maze is a colorful zombie MMORPG coming in 2018

French indie studio Atelier 801 has just announced the upcoming free-to-play zombie MMORPG Dead Maze. The full launch is scheduled for early 2018 on PC through Steam. Dead Maze comes from the makers of the huge hit game Transformice, which has over 80 million registered players, but keeps a cartoon style that is a throwback to games such as Dofus and Plants Versus Zombies. Dead Maze is presented through an isometric perspective (Dofus comes to mind once again) and the artwork is really crisp and colorful, with smooth 2D animations.

The story tells us about a world where humanity has been devastated by a plague of infected and player cooperation is essential to survive. Set in a Western United States, you can explore, scavenge and work with the other survivors to rebuild society. Ordinary objects such as kitchen knifes can be turned into weapons, with over 500 items to use. However, zombies aren't the only threat, as you need to face hunger, thirst, injuries and disease, as Dead Maze features in-depth survival mechanics. You can choose a class archetype and change at any time, from a healer to a tank or DPS, according to your preferred skills and gear. Developer Atelier 801 promises a vast range of enemies, from exploding infected to different kinds of bosses, and the AI system makes sure that the zombies will gather before attacking – strength in numbers.

Dead Maze includes housing, as you can establish your camp and build your home. There are several items to decorate it with, and you can even plant seeds and grow your vegetables, or breed cattle to get more food resources.

“Who doesn’t love zombies? At Atelier 801 we love them with all our hearts, so we are very excited to reveal our unique take on the apocalypse, Dead Maze,” said Jean-Baptiste Le Marchand, co-founder of Atelier 801. “With Dead Maze we wanted to try and do something different: an MMO where you have to work together in order to survive and restore civilization. Exploring, crafting, fighting; all of this is key, but you won’t last long on your own. We can’t wait for our community and players to get started.”

Dead Maze already has a Steam page, and the official website is here, although empty at the moment.