What is Zombies Aren’t Real?

Zombies Aren’t Real is a city-defense strategy game by Jogamedev. You command a military response to an infection spreading through a real-world city. The view is top-down, with the emphasis on deployment decisions and civilian survival. This is the Steam PC game; this fan site provides reference material and guides.

Think about the challenge as a sequence of decisions: what needs protection, where a failure is likely to happen, and what you will do when the first plan stops working. A useful question before a mission is “what am I trying to learn from this attempt?” It gives a failed run a purpose and makes your next deployment easier to evaluate.

How does the game work?

The official description presents three broad stages: inspect the starting outbreak, deploy with limited resources, then respond as infection spreads. Eliminating the zombies wins the mission; surviving civilians determine the score. The roster includes ground defenses, air support and civilian-protection structures.

Game facts and strategy suggestions

The release and feature summary below comes from Steam. The planning exercises in this guide are editorial suggestions. They are not a tested build order or a guarantee of victory.

A practical way to approach your first mission

1. State one goal before you deploy

For an initial attempt, make your goal specific enough to review afterwards. For example: identify the first place where your defense stops containing the outbreak. That goal is more useful than trying to perfect every part of the city immediately. You can then compare the result against a clear question instead of relying on whether the run felt better.

2. Write down the assumption behind your layout

Before starting, describe why you chose each important position. A short note such as “this is the edge I am most worried about” is sufficient. If the attempt fails, compare the actual failure with that assumption. This avoids changing your entire setup simply because one part went wrong.

3. Separate the first breach from the final collapse

The most dramatic moment is not always the most informative one. Record what failed first, what you noticed next, and how you responded. These are three different observations. Reviewing them separately helps you decide whether to change the opening layout, improve your monitoring, or try a different response.

4. Change one variable on a retry

Keep most of the setup consistent and change one decision you can describe. After another attempt, ask whether that change affected the failure you were investigating. This is a learning method rather than a claim about the game’s hidden mechanics. Avoid treating one successful attempt as proof of a universally best strategy.

5. Review civilian survival alongside victory

Use a simple run log: your goal, the first breach, the intervention you tried, and the final result. If you have the same mission conditions, compare those observations across attempts. A result with a better outcome is worth studying even when the deployment looks less impressive on the map.

For a shorter checklist, continue to the Zombies Aren’t Real beginner guide. For the available defensive tools, see the ground forces and air support overview.

Where can you download Zombies Aren’t Real?

The official release is available through Steam, app 5185890. The store lists Windows, Early Access from November 13, 2026, two-player online co-op and Steam Workshop support. Check Steam for current regional prices, discounts and requirements.

Before purchasing, compare your machine with the PC requirements, check the current feature list and decide whether the available version fits what you want to play. Our guide is not a hardware benchmark or a review based on a completed playthrough.

Which guide should you read next?

Sources: official Steam store page and official Workshop hub. Reviewed November 14, 2026.