Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse is a bonafide cult classic in the purest of terms. If you grew up around the time of the original Xbox, or were a PC gamer during the same era, chances are you know the name Stubbs the Zombie even if you can’t quite pin down just what the damn thing is. I was in the same boat as the game featured in various magazines of the day and seemed to always be just off on the periphery of gaming culture.

Those who truly remember the game are probably serious Xbox fans as the game saw the most traction on Microsoft’s big black PC in a box before later releasing on PC, and with Steam being only a few years old most people still bought PC games at dedicated stores like heathens. Stubbs the Zombie was ultimately, at least in my opinion, cursed a great deal by its timing. It came before the zombie rebirth that took the world by storm years later and on a console that valued super serious tough-guy action over cartoonish writing and the games with a 1950 atheistic. The Xbox was for serious bro gamers only!

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With all that said, Stubbs the Zombie is a game I never expected to ever see the light of day again but one that I am happy to have picked up to enjoy once again. In fact, we live in a world where something like Stubbs the Zombie has a far better chance of catching on than when it originally released back on the Xbox. So, it’s really unfortunate that Stubbs the Zombie is simply a straightforward port of the original Xbox version with nothing added, fixed, or changed. Stubbs the Zombie may have worked fantastic in the early 2000s, but in 2021 it feels extremely dated and simplistic.

This means the game has to rely more heavily on its comedic narrative which doesn’t quite hold up like it did back way back in the day. You wish it were funnier, wish it was told better, paced better, and so on. The only thing that is as great as I remember is the games unique setting and the music that captures that Fallout-esque vibe at just the right moments. The action is just as satisfying as well, something that really helps suck you in if the setting if your cup of tea, but it simply shows it hand far too early and without the cards to win the pot.

The meat and potatoes of Stubbs the Zombie sees you in control of the titular zombie as he wrecks havoc in the retro-futuristic town of Punchbowl. This town is the pinnacle of 1950s future tech that looks and feels a lot like the Fallout universe just before the bombs fell. Built by some rich guy who doesn’t even seem that bad and alongside the help of a Nazi scientists that defected after. Both seem like stereotypical villains but never really come off that way, something really weird to see today. You have flying hovercars, no silicon chips meaning tubes and switches for everything, chunky laser guns, a Leave it to Beaver culture, robotic patrol/helper bots and so much more. It’s a fun place with a cool character that is just never really developed on.

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Stubbs simply pops up out of the ground during the opening cinematic and you are off running like a classic action game from the days of the SNES and Genesis. You are shunted from stage to stage, usually in a humorous manner, and the story is told out through various short but comedic cut-scenes. That said, those bits are few and far between and never really expand on the why’s and what’s of the game. You get just enough explanation to justify you being in the next area creating new hordes of zombies and eating brains and that’s it. This is barebones design through and through, something that can get you by but really hurts when you have a character and world as unique as this.

Stubbs the Zombie could really have benefited from some stronger writing as the character and world the team created is a lot of fun to control and be a part of. This is where a remaster would have done wonders for the title, even if it just expanded the game through new and/or more fleshed out cut-scenes. This means the game, while cool, will start to feel repetitive quickly as most players won’t get sucked into this one on its gameplay alone. I’m the sort of person this type of game and story was tailored made for and even I had trouble sticking with the game at points. And that’s made worse as the game isn’t even that long, clocking in at around 6 hours if you take your time.

Combat is where the game should shine, especially since Stubbs is such a wickedly cool zombie. He’s this slick dude in a suit and tie, m’lady style hat, and a smoke constantly lit and between his decaying lips. The main bit of the game will see you creating new zombies by killing them with your single attack or by eating their brains. After a quick and messy death they will return and become your mindless drones. You can then direct them and have them do your dirty work with any kills they make creating more zombies. Shamble into an area, eat a bunch or civilians, or attack those who fight back and move on to the next area.

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The objectives are as simple as making it to the next door or scripted event in one piece. No secondary objectives, no map to guide you (it’s pretty linear so it isn’t a huge deal), and no turncoats to help your cause as your control over your self-made horde is limited to whistling them over to you or shoving them in the general direction of enemies. There are so many cool ideas at play and none of them ever go far enough or show enough depth to keep you engaged for long. Luckily, it seems the developers knew this and have broken up the game with mini-games and driving segments.

The driving feels almost identical to how vehicles work in the first Halo game. Everything feels super loose and floaty and only a single vehicle type has any armament of real note, although you do get to shoot balls of manure for one tiny segment of the adventure. And while these bits, the driving especially, break things up they too become boring and especially aggravating toward the end-game where enemies ramp up in numbers and strength. Thankfully, Stubbs has some tricks to deal with enemies that go beyond simply chomping on brains.

Stubbs is not some lame movie zombie, instead having a number of abilities that make him a real threat. You can rip off you hand and toss it creating a secondary character. This Thing-like creature can climb walls and jump onto enemies taking control of their brains. You can then use that character to attacks others, something important in later levels when enemies get guns and lasers that can rip through you quickly. Just remember that if you kill enemies with anyone other than Stubbs, they won’t turn into zombies, something that could bite you in the ass later in the game.

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Other abilities allow you to pull out your guts to use as bombs (with the longest fuses in gaming history), ripping a meaty fart to stun enemies making it easier to comp down on, and finally using your head like a bowling ball to knock down and turn large groups of enemies. It’s these abilities that really make Stubbs the Zombie shine as they keep you on your toes and figuring out your next move. There is a real feel of give and take while playing as you won’t just be rushing into engagement and instead thinking about what your best course of action will be depending on the ability that you have charged.

And while Stubbs the Zombie was a great experience back in the day, it feels lacking in terms of this cleaned up port. The PC edition still has a number of bugs like its original release, a few which crashed the game while trying to save of load a cut-scene. Characters can still clip into the world getting stuck and the enemy A.I. is lacking and can be cheesed pretty easily, something that was already a problem in the original game. The level design is clearly from another age as areas can often times feel haphazard and leave you wondering what to do and where to go next without any help. A save system is also in place but it feels pretty random and I never knew when the auto-save would activate.

Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse is the perfect example of a niche type of game. It’s no wonder why it became a cult classic as it isn’t for everyone, although I do think more people today would enjoy it more than the kids of my generation. That said, I do wish that the game was treated to a full remaster along the lines of the recent Spongebob Squarepants Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated, fixing issues and updating the game to modern standards. Still, Stubbs the Zombie is a real blast from the past and fun for a few laughs, and if you can find a friend the two player mode is a real treat.

If you missed Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse the first time around or if the idea of a slick 1950s zombie ruining peoples day makes you smile then this is one title you should definitely check out. And who knows, maybe if it sells well we could get a modern sequel someday down the road because if any game character and setting deserves a second chance in the modern age its got to be our man Stubbs.

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Final Score:

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