What's The Best Video Game Zombie?

This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.

There's a lot of inspiration behind this week's community question. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 just released, with a new Zombies mode in tow. We're nearing Halloween, the best holiday of the year. It's also been a mind-numbing time in the United States, and I sure feel like a zombie after browsing AP news in the afternoon, I'll tell ya what!

All jokes aside, let's get down to business. What do you think the best video game zombie is? Let us know in the comments, and you can find some of the USgamer team's answers below.

Mike Williams, Reviews Editor

I'm going to extend "zombie" to mean "undead". Given that caveat, I'll say the best video game zombie is Arthas, the Lich King, for Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft. Athras remains one of the best villains in Warcraft lore, especially since players were there to see the beginning of his fall. The culling of the infected city of Stratholme was a logical decision, but it was one that sent Arthas down the path of grabbing more power to protect his people. The sword Frostmourne was a powerful weapon, one that could be used to defeat powerful demons like Mal'Ganis. But it was his ultimate undoing, representing a powerful fall from grace.

In his full saronite armor, with the Helm of Domination on his head and Frostmourne by his side, Arthas is one of the most iconic gaming villain period. And he's still pretty damn zombie.

Nadia Oxford, Staff Writer

Two decayed thumbs-up to Rottytops from Shantae. Rotty and her brothers subvert zombie tropes by being funny and intelligent, and by showing genuine concern for one another (as opposed to being single-minded killing machines whose only concern is where their next meal is from). I suppose Rotty and her bros count as half-reformed zombies; they'd like nothing better than to dig into some flesh, but they drink coffee to keep their urges at bay. That doesn't stop Rotty from lusting after Shantae's brains, though it's become clearer Rotty would never hurt Shantae. Telling the half-Genie "I want to eat your brains" is just Rotty's way of flirting. Cute. Gruesome, but cute.

Matt Kim, News Editor

The best video game zombie is without a doubt the Crimson Head from Resident Evil, but specifically the Resident Evil Remake. Playing REmake for the first time and thinking you're doing a pretty good job killing zombies only for them to come back partway through the game faster and stronger than before is just a brilliant move on the developer's part, and a real good way to ruin a good pair of pants.

Caty McCarthy, Features Editor

Just by saying the word zombie, I imagine someone from Naughty Dog is gonna show up on my front door and wave their finger in my face because these aren't technically zombies. But yeah, the zombies in The Last of Us are pretty memorable. I stand by my assertion that The Last of Us is only good to play on Survival mode, where goods are scarce and the zombies are even more noise sensitive. On Survival mode, that tension is very real, and it makes for a really great experience only marred by the bits of encounter-bloat sprinkled throughout. (If it was about five hours shorter, it'd be a perfect game probably.) Of course, the best zombie of them is the Clicker, who is blind but can hear everything, using a clicking sound like a bat to know their surroundings. That's what makes it the best zombie in video games—they're so scary that you question every movement.

That said, the early Resident Evil games have some pretty killer zombs too.