State of Decay 2 released on May 22, 2018 for Xbox One and PC, and was in rough shape when it hit. Game Informer’s Jeff Cork gave State of Decay 2 a rating of 6.5 out of 10 and said that it has “a lot to love, but is overwhelmed by legacy issues and a slew of all-new ones that came along for the co-op ride.” The game slowly improved through the various DLC offerings, and is now getting a second chance at life through the massive Juggernaut Edition, which is essentially a complete relaunch of State of Decay 2. It’s free for people who already own the game.
Juggernaut Edition includes all of the previously released DLC (the Independence Pack, Daybreak, and Heartland), and also offers an all-new map called Providence Ridge, which is described by developer Undead Labs as a “rugged logging town.” Providence Ridge features five bases, environmental storytelling, and a Sasquatch named Shaggy Jack. Players who are returning to State of Decay 2 will run into a different tutorial a revised user interface, and improved controls (which assign dodge and stealth to different buttons). Heavy weapons are being added to melee combat. There are 10 different kinds of these slow, but powerful tools, including a double-bit axe, “big ol’ shovel,” and a sledgehammer.
On the gameplay front, all Plague Heart locations are shown to players early on. The safe zone around bases is larger, and the prestige limit has increased dramatically from 9,999 to 99,999. Bug fixes and mission tweaks are said to be in great abundance in this update.
Undead Labs also overhauled the visuals and audio. You’ll hear new tracks and effects as you roam the wasteland, and also see more foliage and dramatically different lighting (as you can see in the video above).
You can learn more about Juggernaut Edition by reading State of Decay 2’s official patch notes.