Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Zombies Ate My Neighbors was released for the Sega Genesis in 1993 and is a cooperative action game from LucasArts, published for both Sega and Super Nintendo by Konami. A pair of players sets out to rescue neighbors from a horde of monsters inspired by classic horror films – zombies, mummies, giant ants, chainsaw maniacs, and other oversized versions of B-movie ghouls. The goal of each level is to find and lead as many civilians as possible to safety before the monsters get them, with the player using a colorful array of unconventional weapons ranging from a squirt gun to plates and basketballs. Besides offensive items, the player also finds defensive aids such as traps or potions that can briefly immobilize an entire group of enemies at once.

The game excels with its humorous, exaggeratedly grotesque take on horror clichés and colorful, inventive graphics that parody American pop-culture fears from the fifties and eighties. The levels are designed as small sandboxes full of traps, secret passages, and randomly placed enemies, ensuring high replayability, especially with two players. The difficulty is noticeable and the game shows no mercy – losing all the neighbors in a level means game over, making it a tense, if lighthearted, experience. The random placement of enemies and items also means the same level plays out a little differently each time, keeping the game feeling fresh over the long run.

At the time of release the game earned a reputation as an original, witty title that stood out from typical Genesis output, and it's still considered one of the most beloved cooperative titles of the sixteen-bit era. Its influence is visible in modern indie games drawing on a similar mix of horror parody and arcade action, and it's regularly mentioned among the best cooperative games of its generation.

Why play it: Thanks to its original mix of horror parody and arcade action, it's one of the most beloved cooperative titles of the sixteen-bit era, and it's still fun today with a friend on one controller.