Ever since Undawn got released last month, the LifeAfter vs Undawn comparison has been the talk of the town.
LifeAfter, created by NetEase Games and launched in December 2018, and Undawn, created by Tencent Games and released in June 2023, are both zombie survival games set in a post-apocalyptic environment.
The games have many common gameplay elements. For instance, in both, the players roam around in the open world, finding resources to make weapons and armor.
Moreover, they have to find shelter, complete missions, and fight hordes of undead creatures to survive.
Having said that, this article will compare these two games based on certain distinctive features and figure out which one comes out on top in this LifeAfter vs Undawn battle.
Table of Contents
Graphics
What’s a good video game with bad graphics? None. So, first up, we’ll see which game is better in this regard!
Undawn
Undawn uses Unreal Engine 4, providing amazing graphics with stunning visuals, a detailed environment, and smooth movements.
However, the color theme is more vibrant and brighter, which contradicts the gloomy environment a post-apocalyptic game is supposed to offer.
It’s still good nonetheless!
LifeAfter
LifeAfter is powered by the Unity Engine, which provides great graphics and darker and gloomier visuals that align with the dreadful feeling of a post-apocalyptic zombie-ridden world.
The game also emphasizes great attention to detail, providing a more realistic effect of water and terrain as compared to Undawn.
Character Appearance and Customization
Both games allow you to choose and customize a character before the start of play. But which one has the better features? Let’s find out!
Undawn
The physical features of your character in Undawn are more detailed and realistic, with better skin detail and hair texture.
Moreover, you get a wide range of customization options; you can select different facial features, hairstyles, and clothes for your character.
LifeAfter
The LifeAfter character looks relatively more unrealistic and outdated with flatter skin and hairstyle. Also, there are limited options for customization as compared to Undawn.
But that doesn’t take anything away from the actual gameplay of LifeAfter.
Storyline
Great Story = Engaging Game. Bad Story = Uninteresting Game. I’m pretty sure you relate to what I mean here.
Undawn
Although the premise of both games is quite similar, Undawn is a lot more story-driven as compared to LifeAfter.
You get backstories for all missions in Undawn.
LifeAfter
LifeAfter focuses somewhat less on the story, and there are fewer story-led missions.
As a result, it is more suited to players who like to skip storylines, in my opinion.
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Animations
Animations aren’t much of a concern on lower-end devices. However, if you’re using a dedicated gaming mobile, you’ll want the best animations possible.
And, that’s the next point in this LifeAfter vs Undawn comparison.
Undawn
Being a newer game, Undawn tends to have better animations, especially in terms of their execution speed.
There can be a slight delay here and there, but it is not frequent by any means.
LifeAfter
In contrast, animations in LifeAfter are smooth but slower in their execution.
This change in animation speed is quite noticeable in the swinging of melee weapons, gun reloading, firing, and swimming. Anyway, I’d rate the overall animations 8/10.
Lag and Network Issues
Lags and network issues are part and parcel of online open-world games. The issue isn’t very frequent in these two games, but it can still occur from time to time.
Undawn
Intermittent lags due to sudden traffic spikes are also very common and so severe in Undawn that they might freeze your game and force you to close it.
However, this will improve shortly as the game completes its first year and incorporates more servers.
LifeAfter
Players in both games experience lag and network issues. You might face lag in LifeAfter especially if a lot of players gather in one region.
Pet Options
Both games offer the option to have a pet as a companion in your survival; they differ in the choice of pet and when you get them.
Undawn
Pets are unlocked in the later stages of the game in Undawn. But if you are a cat person, Undawn has you covered.
You get to choose your pet from various breeds of cats and dogs.
LifeAfter
LifeAfter wholeheartedly believes that a dog is a man’s best friend.
You can choose your companion at the start of the game out of these three breeds: Black Black (German Shepherd), Labrador Retriever, and Doberman.
Related: 10 Best Zombie Survival Games for Android
Performance
Performance stands strong as the most vital paradigm to judge gameplay. If a game can’t run properly, there’s no point in playing it.
Undawn
Without any doubt, Undawn surpasses LifeAfter in performance with flying colors.
It provides smooth-as-butter performance with the highest graphics and also runs smoothly on low-end devices.
LifeAfter
You might face choppy graphics, a severe drop in FPS, and stuttering movements in LifeAfter especially at higher graphics.
But if you’re using a higher-end mobile, this won’t be much of a problem.
Final Verdict
And that’s it for our LifeAfter vs Undawn comparison developed by NetEase Games and Level Infinite, respectively.
After considering all the crucial aspects, Undawn, with its superb performance, stunning graphics, effortless animations, better character detail, and focused storyline, is ultimately a better game.
However, we can’t ignore the fact that LifeAfter has reigned as the best open-world zombie survival game in previous years.
It still has its charm, good graphics, and decent gameplay, but the game has now turned heavily into pay-to-win, which disappointed a lot of players.
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