So I Tried... Plants vs Zombies

Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I have never tried before. Will I find something new to love? Will I find something new to despise? I'll take a full half hour, no matter how bad it gets or how badly I do, to see if this is the game for me. This time I went for a game that has multiple sequels on consoles, PC, and on mobile devices, Plants vs Zombies.

What I thought it was

When Plants vs Zombies was first released back in 2009, I was one of those gamers who just stuck to playing on consoles as my computer at the time sucked for gaming. It was later released as a mobile game on the iPhone but alas, I didn’t have one of those either. It wasn’t until recently when I got a chance to try out Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville did I get my first taste of the franchise. I figured the original title would have you playing as a plant trying to fight off the zombies that you encountered.

What it actually is

Plants vs Zombies is actually a 2D tower defence game. You place different kinds of plants and fungi in the yard in front of a house. These will be used to stop the horde of zombies that are trying to get to this house. Some of these plants can attack the enemy — like the PeaShooter who shoots right at the zombie until it is defeated, or the plant is destroyed. The yard is divided into five or six horizontal lanes — shown by strips of grass — and most of the attacking plants can only fire in the lane where they are placed. Some objects, like rocks, can be placed to slow the advancing zombies or totally stop them in their tracks. To plant more warriors/plants/helpers, you require Suns, which you can collect by either waiting for them to fall from the sky or planting Sunflowers. Once the horde is defeated, you earn a new type of seed packet that will let you plant a larger variety of “soldiers” with different abilities to use to fight the undying army — though, a lot of them look pretty silly and not too intimidating with the orange pylons on their head!

Will I keep playing

Plants vs Zombies is going to be one of my go-to tiles on my Steam Deck when I need something shorter to play. The characters are all super cute, I love how little plants can fight off the zombie hordes, it’s incredibly addictive to play. I will just have to make sure that I always have my screen cleaning cloth with me since you are always touching the screen to collect falling sun icons and to place your plants. My screen is full of fingerprints!