How to survive Zombie SF: controls, weapons and wave tips
You start at Eddy & Jones at 2:13 in the morning with a pistol, a fog bank and a city block full of the walking dead. This guide covers everything the title screen doesn't have room for.
Controls on a keyboard and mouse
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| WASD | Move |
| Mouse | Look (first person) or aim (top-down) |
| Click | Shoot |
| Shift | Sprint |
| R | Reload |
| 1 2 3 | Pistol, shotgun, SMG |
| E | Ride a Lime scooter or Bay Wheels e-bike, or hop on the Powell St cable car |
| V | Switch between first person and top-down |
| M | Mute |
| Esc | Pause |
Playing on a phone or tablet? The touch layout is different. See playing Zombie SF on your phone.
First person or top-down?
The game opens in first person, which is the most atmospheric way to see the neon and the fog. Press V at any time to flip to a top-down camera. Top-down shows you everything around you at once, which is a real advantage once fast runners start arriving from side streets. A good habit is to fight in first person and flip to top-down when you get surrounded.
The three weapons
Pistol (slot 1)
12 rounds a magazine and unlimited reserve ammo. It is accurate at long range and it never runs dry, so it is your fallback for the whole game. Use it to pick off walkers before they close in.
Shotgun (slot 2)
Delivered after wave 1. Eight pellets per shot, six shells per load and a short effective range. It knocks zombies back hard, which buys you space when something reaches you. Brutes are the reason to save shells.
SMG (slot 3)
Arrives from wave 3. A 32-round magazine with a very fast fire rate and moderate spread. It chews through groups of runners but eats ammo quickly, so tap rather than hold when you can.
Know your zombies
| Type | How it behaves | How to deal with it |
|---|---|---|
| Walker | Slow, steady, comes in numbers | Pistol headshots from range |
| Runner | Fast and fragile, shows up from wave 2 | SMG or shotgun; keep your back to open street, not a wall |
| Brute | Big, slow, hits very hard, shows up from wave 3 | Shotgun at medium range, then back off; they drop health when they go down |
| The Founder | A boss in a fleece vest and lanyard who arrives every fifth wave | Everything you have. Kite him around a block and keep shooting |
The zombies are classic horror-movie undead: shambling, grey and very persistent. They path around the real city blocks to reach you, so a building between you and them only slows them down.
Ammo, health and supply drops
- Zombies sometimes drop an ammo box or a health pack when they go down.
- Between waves you get supplies, and new weapons are dropped near you when you unlock them.
- Small sidewalk delivery robots roll up to you during the game carrying ammo and a health pack. Let them reach you.
Ten survival tips
- Keep moving. Standing still in an intersection is how runners catch you.
- Use the street grid. The map is the real Tenderloin grid, so long straight streets give you clear lines of fire. Alleys are where you get cornered.
- Reload early. Reload after a group falls, not when the next one arrives.
- Save the shotgun for brutes and emergencies. The pistol handles walkers for free.
- Lure zombies into traffic. Robotaxis stop for you but can't detect zombies. Stand on the far side of a lane and let the cars do the work. More in Waymo vs zombies.
- Ride the cable car. Press E near the Powell St cable car to ride the running board. It flattens zombies in its path.
- Grab a scooter to reposition. A Lime or a Bay Wheels e-bike gets you out of a bad corner fast.
- Watch the minimap. Red dots are zombies; big red dots are brutes.
- Flip to top-down when surrounded. V shows you the gap to run through.
- Know where you are. The green street sign at the top of the screen tells you which real intersection you're at, which helps if you know the neighborhood. If you don't, the field guide to the streets will help.