Indie devs answer back to CoD Zombies downfall with new title

Amid the downfall of Call of Duty Zombies, in which there have been no fully-fledged round-based maps released in three years, an indie dev studio has capitalised and launched its answer to the genre's problems.

For years, Call of Duty fans have begged for a standalone Zombies game, and even once got close as recent findings have shown one was made and scrapped in 2012, in a bid to keep the sub-category of the franchise alive. Well, undead...

But in the midst of a three-year hiatus from proper Zombies, and no standalone title planned for the future, Wales Interactive has entered the scene with its own game of round-based undead action with Sker Ritual.

Call of Duty Zombies has a new standalone rival: Sker Ritual

Click to enlarge

Sker Ritual has launched on Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam, and has already attracted Zombies gurus like Jon "MrDalekJD" Hutchinson with its "old school" feel. 

With four maps to play on, as of its launch on April 18, Sker Ritual has all of the CoD Zombies swagger, by adding perks, pack-a-punch, a main Easter egg quest per map, and all of the standard gunslinging action that players are used too.

The title is also set in WWI times, leaving the weaponry and appearance to be that style which the Call of Duty community loves, and can be played solo or with a squad of up to four players. 

Stellar Call of Duty Zombies rival Sker Ritual launches with rave reviews on Steam

Developed by five people, Sker Ritual costs $19.99 on Steam and has seen rave reviews fly in, despite some slight teething issues.

One fan review lauded the game, saying "This is literally the Old black ops zombies formula done better. Also feels super refreshing with a universe and enemies the COD zombies community can use to really scratch their itch for a great round-based zombies experience."

Another reviewer on Steam added, "If Treyarch isn't gonna make a good round-based zombies game for almost a decade, then I'll gladly give my support for a company that will."

Some early problems include a lack of FOV slider, laggy online servers, and inconsistent hit registration, but it's nothing that can't be improved with a few early updates.

So, if you're sick and tired of waiting to see what Treyarch is cooking up, then here's your answer.