When Plants vs. Zombies released in 2009, it was a continuation of what PopCap had proven itself to be so good at with games like Bejeweled and Peggle: mechanically simple games with inviting visuals that appealed to everyone. Plants vs. Zombies was arguably its biggest swing by exploring tower defense, a niche genre typically played by strategy fans. The gamble paid off, however, and Plants vs. Zombies was successfully ported to many platforms and remains the developer’s most popular franchise. It may be known as a multiplayer shooter by younger fans today, but the original strategy game has always (easily) been my favorite use of the Plants and Zombie characters. And the remake is faithful to that original game, sometimes to a fault.
If you only know the shooter, the original Plants vs. Zombies is a simplified tower defense game where the player defends against encroaching zombies on the right side of the screen by placing a series of offensive and defensive plants on the left. The grid is small, the choices are limited but impactful, and the tone is comedic. For Replanted, the game hasn’t been radically redesigned, and I appreciate that. The original game has always been smart, simple, and well-balanced, and that remains true here.
In fact, the biggest and most welcome gameplay change is the ability to hasten the action up to 2.5x speed with the press of a button at any time. I love this option and now can’t imagine playing Plants vs. Zombies without it. It makes the waiting in the early part of each match move much faster, and when you hit the late-game of each level, where you have a dozen or more plants firing off at full power, it is incredibly satisfying to sit back and watch the action ramp up at high speed. I also appreciate how the speed can be adjusted with ease. I would usually start at a high pace, slow things down to normal in the middle, and then bump it back up near the end. It makes an already smooth game even smoother.
Replanted’s deference to the original, however, occasionally reminds us that it is based on a game that is more than 15 years old and was originally designed for mobile devices. Many elements of the UI are outdated and look a little cheap. Selecting units doesn’t feel great, and sometimes I would lose sight of what I was selecting. I also hit some visual bugs, like my wallet not being displayed when shopping in Dave’s store or misaligned layers during gameplay. They’re the kind of bugs that do not ultimately interfere with action, but they are distracting.
I had fun playing through the core campaign again, but there is also an impressive number of new, very challenging modes available for those who have mastered the game. Lots of the minigames and puzzle modes from the various versions of the game through the years are also present here, leading to a full suite of offerings if you make it through the main game quickly (which you probably will because it’s good and hard to put down).
Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted is a great and faithful remake of an excellent, simple, and now classic game. The new animations and character designs are also wonderful, without changing what made them so memorable to begin with. It’s all a pleasant reminder of a different era for PopCap Games and mobile games in general, where monetization rarely extended beyond the premium price of purchasing a game, which allowed the creators to focus on the core experience while keeping it light and simple. Replanted makes me pine for that era, but also grateful that this revisitation of the original game has been handled with such reverence and care.
The Switch 2 Edge
Playing Plants vs. Zombies with a controller works just fine (though I highly recommend turning up the cursor speed), but it’s hard not to recognize that the game was originally built with mouse or touch controls in mind. Along with the game finally being available on a Switch platform, the Switch 2 version offers you all three control options without ever having to enter a menu. You can play with a controller, use the touch-screen in handheld mode, or use a Joy-Con 2 as a mouse. And it looks and runs great, making the Switch 2 version, arguably, the definitive version of the game.
