Genre: Simulator. Publisher: Devolver Digital. Developer: Brigada Games. Platforms: PC. Release date: January 12, 2026. Age rating: 18+. Localization: text and voice. Minimum system requirements: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3 GHz or AMD FX-8370 4.0 GHz, 8 GB RAM, DirectX 12 GPU with 4 GB (for example NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 or AMD Radeon RX 470), 12 GB storage, internet connection, Windows 10/11. Recommended: Intel Core i7-10700 2.9 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz, 16 GB RAM, DirectX 12 GPU with 8 GB (for example NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 or AMD Radeon RX 5700).
The premise is simple and immediately grim: the zombie apocalypse has already happened, civilization has collapsed, and the remaining organized military pockets are trying to hold out. You play as a recruit assigned to a checkpoint — the last barrier between the base and people who may be infected but appear human. Your core duty is to inspect arrivals and decide who can enter, who needs quarantine, and who must be executed to prevent the spread of the virus.
The central gameplay loop of Quarantine Zone: The Last Check is the inspection. At first glance it sounds straightforward: look for visible signs such as bites, necrosis, rashes, or open wounds. A digital dossier inside the game lists known symptoms and helps you classify what you see. Certain signs — a bite or necrotic tissue — are immediate red flags and mean the person cannot be saved. Other symptoms, like minor rashes or superficial scratches, are ambiguous and require further tests.
Eye condition is another clear indicator: bloodshot sclera or other ocular anomalies are treated as definitive signs of infection. When a person shows an unambiguous symptom, the only option left is euthanasia — a harsh mechanic that the game frames as mercy. When symptoms are intermediate, the correct procedure is to send people to quarantine rather than vermin-like immediacy.
When a visual check yields nothing conclusive, the game opens up a toolbox of diagnostic instruments. You can measure temperature and heart rate with a thermopulse device; a heart pounding near 190 beats per minute or a temperature above 42 °C puts a candidate into the kill queue. Neurological reflex tests — a tap of a hammer on a limb — reveal abnormal contralateral reactions that are suspicious. Physical aggression in response to a light provocation is concerning but not definitive, and those people are often routed to quarantine for observation.
Other inspections include stethoscope auscultation, scanning hidden body areas under clothing, and a close look inside the eye with a matiascope to search for viral cells. There is also an X-ray scanner that can reveal internal anomalies, or fields of contraband: in one memorable example, an X-ray might turn up a hidden grenade instead of anatomical damage. When all other checks are inconclusive, a diagnostic syringe can give a decisive result, but its uses are limited.
Part of your duty is searching for contraband — from harmless medications to an arsenal of weapons. Cultural easter eggs and trinkets sometimes appear in luggage; weapons, of course, are confiscated. Remains of infected victims carried as trophies are classified as high biohazard, and anyone transporting severed infected parts is treated as infected and handled accordingly.
Beyond routine inspections the game assigns daily optional tasks. One shift might require you to confiscate a police baton that means a lot to a grieving family; another asks you to sift through incoming baggage to identify a would-be arsonist carrying Molotov cocktails. Completing these side objectives nets small cash rewards that you can spend on base improvements and residents' needs.
Evacuations take place every few days and require meeting a quota of healthy people gathered for extraction. The number of successful evacuations influences the game's ending, so those quotas add a strategic dimension to your checkpoint work.
You also have management responsibilities for the base: monitor generators and buy fuel, ensure the mess hall has food, and keep the infirmary stocked with medicines. In practice this part of the game feels underbaked — funds are readily available and there is little pressure to juggle priorities. The base-management systems read more like a perfunctory layer than a meaningful strategic challenge.
Turret segments — small defensive sequences where you pilot a drone to fend off zombie waves — are another example of tacked-on content. They appear sporadically and lack tension; neither the challenge nor the threat level escalates in a way that feels engaging. These sections interrupt the inspection routine without adding much to the experience.
This mixture of mechanics produces an emotional mismatch. The inspection sequences are the game’s strongest concept — situations in which you decide who lives and who dies — but Quarantine Zone often strips those moments of weight. Characters arriving at the gate are too often shallow: repeating lines, predictable behavior, and little sense of individuality mean the stakes feel statistical rather than human.
Unlike Papers, Please, where the applicants felt like people with urgent priorities and the protagonist’s choices carried clear social and personal consequences, Quarantine Zone rarely generates that moral friction. The act of executing an infected person does not land as a heavy decision; the game records it in a log and moves on. The emotional resonance the premise promises is therefore mostly lost.
The game is also saturated with crossovers and pop-culture cameos. While cameo appearances and collaborations can be clever marketing, here they frequently break immersion: instead of confronting the bleakness of an apocalypse, the checkpoint sometimes reads like a fan-service zone. One particularly jarring inclusion is a recognizable character drawn from another franchise, which undercuts the world-building rather than enriching it.
There are occasional moments that attempt to add real pathos. For example, a young man with obvious infection signs pleads to wait for his father; you can quarantine him, and later his father arrives looking for his son. The setup suggests a deeply human reunion, but the payoff is muted: the encounter plays out without meaningful emotion or cinematic charge. The scene is logged as a completed quest, yet it delivers little of the narrative punch it could have.
Overall, Quarantine Zone: The Last Check feels more like a collection of gameplay ideas than a cohesive, emotionally engaging experience. It contains intriguing mechanics — a layered inspection system and varied side tasks — but the game fails to convert those systems into sustained dramatic tension or moral weight. When emotional opportunities arise, the game too often prefers empty references and surface-level mechanics.
Pros: an interesting and fairly complex inspection system; engaging additional tasks that vary the routine. Cons: tedious drone-defence segments; base-management feels like an unnecessary add-on; frequent references and collaborations damage immersion and reduce the game’s emotional impact.
Graphics: The game’s visuals are competent but not groundbreaking — a standard Unreal Engine look with solid character work, especially on licensed or recognizable faces. Sound: Audio design is serviceable; there are no standout or particularly atmospheric sound choices, and lip-sync sometimes does not match voice lines. The soundtrack exists but is forgettable.
Single-player: An intriguing checkpoint simulator that ultimately squanders its potential. Estimated playtime: roughly seven hours for the campaign, with an optional endless mode for players who want to continue. Multiplayer: not supported.
Final impression: Quarantine Zone: The Last Check has a striking premise and interesting systems, but it fails to deliver the emotional depth expected from its moral premise. The game is uneven: it draws you in with inspection mechanics but dissipates tension with clumsy side content, shallow characters, and too many distracting references. Score: 6.0/10.