Ebbtide is a real-time zombie survival strategy game for PC that places players in command of TF-1 Ark, humanity's final carrier task force, as they fight to hold ground against a massive undead outbreak that begins in Los Angeles and spreads outward.
Gameplay
The core loop revolves around a seamless operations map that serves as the persistent battlefield. Players scroll into any street on the map to enter live 3D combat without loading screens, issue orders to units, or take direct control of individual soldiers, tanks, or helicopters before zooming back out to continue managing the larger picture. Every loss, kill, and destroyed structure carries forward with no hidden resolution systems.
Los Angeles is divided into fifteen districts that progress from Hold to Crisis to Lost status. Time can be paused or accelerated up to four times normal speed while directing National Guard, LAPD, and sheriff units alongside reinforcements from Camp Pendleton. Convoys of trucks and helicopters move supplies, troops, and refugees, but the Nexus hive mind actively ambushes these routes and besieges positions.
Forward operating bases can be constructed at chosen sites with HESCO barriers, concrete walls, gates, scaffolding, gun nests, CIWS emplacements, mortar pits, ammo depots, fuel points, and lighting. Supply lines must remain open because vehicles and aircraft consume ammunition and fuel that can only be replenished at controlled bases. Fire support options include M777 howitzers, HIMARS rockets, naval guns, Tomahawk missiles, carrier-based F/A-18 strikes, F-15E and F-35B missions, A-10 runs, AC-130J gunships, and MQ-9 drones, though ship magazines are limited and heavy ordnance can collapse buildings.
On the ground, zombies climb by piling onto walls and rooftops or cling to low-hovering helicopters. Fallen soldiers reanimate as part of the horde. Squad formations and combat stances can be set in advance, while direct control via the TAB key allows precise handling of specific assets during critical moments.
Game Modes
Ebbtide operates as a single-player experience centered on a continuous campaign. The initial phase unfolds across Los Angeles districts in a fighting withdrawal toward the Port of LA, where surviving personnel, equipment, and supplies transfer to the Ark for subsequent operations.
After the Los Angeles chapter, the design expands into a world-map sandbox that lets players choose regions to support, bring naval and air assets into range, resupply at friendly ports, and pursue the Nexus through its hidden command nodes. There are no discrete mission structures or separate skirmish modes confirmed at this stage.
The Enemy and Persistent Consequences
Los Angeles begins overrun by at least a million zombies under Nexus control. The hive mind coordinates ambushes, road cuts, base sieges, and targeted hunts against isolated units, always providing advance warnings that allow rerouting or defensive responses. Visibility is restricted to line-of-sight from friendly forces, so unseen hordes can appear suddenly once contact is made.
Strategic decisions carry lasting weight because the state of every district, convoy, and base persists across the entire campaign. Choosing which units or survivors to extract first directly shapes the forces available for later stages of the global effort.
Is It Worth Playing?
Ebbtide appeals to players who enjoy real-time strategy combined with survival elements and meaningful logistical trade-offs. The seamless transition between strategic oversight and tactical control, along with the requirement to manage finite supplies and make hard choices about what to defend or abandon, creates a focused experience distinct from typical mission-based RTS titles.
The game remains in active development with a Steam page live and substantial wishlist interest already demonstrated. A playtest followed by a public demo is planned, though no release date or pricing has been set. Those drawn to persistent-world strategy, base defense, and combined-arms command against overwhelming odds will find the announced systems align closely with that preference. Following official development updates provides the clearest path to assessing fit once playable builds become available.