There’s still a wait ahead before Reclaim The Living arrives in 2027, but developer 2 Nerdy Nerds has given players their first proper look at the zombie-curing roguelite in action with a brand-new gameplay trailer.
It may look like another survivor-style roguelite, but Reclaim The Living has a twist that immediately helps it stand out. Instead of simply mowing down endless zombie hordes, you play as the eccentric scientist Dr. J. Ferret, whose mission is to cure the infected, rather than eliminate them. Every successful run revolves around rescuing survivors, reclaiming areas overrun by zombies, and expanding your secret laboratory to unlock even more gadgets and upgrades.
The gameplay reveal also offers a closer look at the game’s build-crafting systems. Players can customize an arsenal of inventive gadgets, including dart guns, serum bombs, jetpacks, and teleporters, while upgrading the cure itself with new effects that allow it to spread through zombie hordes. Rather than focusing purely on bigger damage numbers, the game appears to encourage experimenting with different combinations to find the most effective way of turning the undead back into ordinary people.
It’s a refreshing premise in a genre that’s rarely short of zombie games. Swapping destruction for restoration gives Reclaim The Living an identity of its own, and if the first gameplay footage is anything to go by, it’s shaping up to be one of the more interesting roguelites currently on the horizon.
The game is currently scheduled to launch on Steam in 2027. If you’d like to keep up with future updates, you can add the game to your Steam wishlist and be notified when more news arrives.