If you like collecting critters in Palworld, how about collecting zombies in this co-op survival game?

If you can't beat 'em… make 'em join you? That's not quite how the saying goes, but that's how co-op zombie survival game Welcome to Paradize works. The country has been overrun by zombie hordes, but instead of hacking them up with a machete you hack their brains with technology, turning them into loyal companions who can help you fight, gather, build, and survive.

Your mind-controlled zombies aren't as cute and cuddly as Palworld's critters, but they're sort of charming in their own way and they look incredibly useful in the gameplay trailer below. When you capture one of these shambling, rotting former humans, clap a device onto its head and it'll start following you around. Thanks to a little control panel you can assign them different tasks in and out of combat, and load them up with gear like tools and weapons. Each «zombot,» as they're called, can help you build your base, gather resources, and even shuffle around in the garden to plant and harvest crops.

You're gonna need that help because you can't tame every zombie in the world, and there are huge hordes of the undead (and apparently one extremely angry elephant) that want to tear you limb from limb. There are plenty of ways to defend yourself, including traps, mines, and decoys you can scatter around your base. There are also lots of scavenged and crafted weapons like shotguns, rifles, flamethrowers, freeze rays, and more.

It all looks pretty silly, but I do like the idea of having some helpful zombie companions, and one ability you can activate looks like it can set a zombot to explode in combat. That sounds both gross and useful.

You can bring your living buddies along with you for the adventure, because it also supports up to four players in co-op. Welcome to Paradize comes to life next week on February 29, and there's a free demo on Steam you can try in the meantime.