It took 16 long years, but Plants vs. Zombies is finally coming back. Unveiled during today’s Nintendo Direct showcase (but yes, it’s coming to PC, let’s clear that up straight away), Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted is a full remaster of the original game, “with new levels, fresh twists, and 15 years of never-before-seen franchise history.”
It’s hard to overstate how big Plants vs Zombies was following its debut in 2009, and a big part of that was its universal appeal. At first glance it looks like a silly, casual diversion your early 2000s mom might play, but underneath the cheery cartoonishness of it all lay a pretty damn good strategy game: If you weren’t properly upgrading and deploying your Peashooters, Wall-nuts, Sunflowers, and Squash, you were going to have a very bad time.
It was a massive success, quickly surpassing Bejeweled and Peggle as Popcap’s fastest-selling game ever, leading to console and mobile ports, merchandise of all sorts (I have at least four different physical editions of PvZ), and even a World of Warcraft crossover. It was also undoubtedly a big driver of EA’s decision to acquire the studio for $750 million in 2011.
Ah, but it hasn’t gone especially well since then. EA decided to make Plants vs Zombies 2 a free-to-play mobile game, because of course it did; then came Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, a third-person shooter, and Plants vs. Zombies: Heroes, a digital card game, also mobile only. Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville dropped in 2019—another shooter.
The original Plants vs. Zombies (technically the game of the year edition, but close enough) remains available on Steam and Epic, and lest there be any doubt about how beloved it really is, it’s rocking an “overwhelmingly positive” rating on Steam with more than 130,000 user reviews. It still runs quite well but it’s also pretty long in the tooth at this point, with a 4:3 aspect ratio and no adjustable visual options.
So yeah, this is long overdue. Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted will offer “upscaled HD graphics” with an unspecified range of new visual options, which is definitely a plus. But far more notable is the addition of new modes: Along with the original PvZ gameplay, Replanted will feature local co-play and PvP, a new permadeath Rest in Peace hardcore mode, a Cloudy Day mode with limited sunlight, and updated mini-games.
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All told, it sounds like a pretty major upgrade—and given how long it’s been since we’ve had a proper Plants vs. Zombies game on PC, you better believe I’m excited for it. Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted is set to launch on October 23 and will be available for PC on Steam and the Epic Games Store.
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