Deadly 30 is a survival action game where you must gather resources during the day, then defend your base at night. It often has the feel of a web game, although definitely on the higher end of the spectrum when it comes to quality.
Deadly 30’s art is low quality in a technical sense, but it has a consistent style that makes it look better than it really is. The animations are rudimentary, but they reinforce the web game art style. Different enemy types are easy to distinguish thanks to the high contrast and distinct enemy design. Some of the enemy visuals are little awkward, most notably the exploding zombie that gives your screen a weird green effect. It tries to emulate the Boomer effect from Left 4 Dead, but it looks like a cheap knockoff.
The gameplay is Deadly 30’s most notable aspect, and it’s a mixed bag. The side scrolling combat is fairly solid, although it doesn’t bring anything new to the genre. There are also some minor annoyances such as the lack of a melee attack button. Instead, when a zombie is close to you, your character automatically stops shooting and uses a melee attack, which is usually far worse than shooting. The day and night cycle gives the game a nice split between low risk resource gathering and high risk base defense. Upgrading your base is fun and gives a good sense of progression. The biggest issue with the gameplay is the performance, combined with the combat already being a bit clunky. The game periodically lags and it can happen at inopportune times that might get you killed. The game also has some unusual hit detection when it comes to zombies attacking you. Sometimes melee attacks kill them before you get hit, other times they swing first. It seems almost arbitrary, and if you lag while close to a group of zombies, you can easily wind up dead.
Deadly 30 doesn’t have a story, aside from a vague premise. You are defending your base from zombies, and that’s it. For a game like this, a lack of story has little to no impact on your enjoyment. The game has some decent sound design, but nothing to write home about. The zombie sound effects are fine, albeit generic. It all sounds fairly amateur, but again, it fits with the web game aesthetic. Overall, Deadly 30 is a decent game that has some glaring problems, but will be enjoyable for most players, provided you like the genre.
