Hands-On Preview: Getting Phyisics-Based with God Save Birmingham at PAX East

2 hours ago 2

Published Apr 3, 2026, 10:49 AM EDT

Shane Limbaugh (He/Him) is a Contributor from the US. While he hasn't been writing about games for very long he has certainly been playing them. His degree in Game Design and Criticism let him better understand the fundamentals of the industry and the games themselves. There aren't many games he hasn't at least put hands on thanks to his time working at GameStop.

God Save Birmingham operates as a Survival game first and foremost. There just happen to be a ton of zombies in your village, and you'll need to learn a lot quickly if you're hoping to survive. I got my hands on this game during PAX East, and I've got to say it was an excellent time once I got the hang of it.

It's a surprisingly complicated game with a lot of moving pieces, but at the core is a survival game where you'll need to keep yourself clothed, fed, and safe from zombies. It's not a genre that hasn't been thought of before, but there is a pretty interesting physics engine to play with, so the game feels much more alive.

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I'll cover what the game is and how some of the systems work, following some impressions about what I experienced in my short time with the game. This one really struck a chord with me because chopping off zombie parts and watching them trip over each other was absolutely hilarious.

What is God Save Birmingham?

It's a weird title if you don't understand the context, but basically, God Save Birmingham is a survival RPG that focuses on Birmingham being overrun by zombies. It takes place during medieval times, so you'll only have simple weapons available to use. Since there is an actual physics system, you can trip zombies up with small objects or aim to chop off their legs to slow them down.

Like most survival games, you'll need to be on the lookout for things like food and water if you're going to last more than one night. There are also plenty of items to scavenge from weapons, like the scythe, to items used for crafting, like nails and wood. It's surprisingly in-depth for a survival game based around zombies.

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The real draw, though, is the incredible physics engine that allows you to chop off specific pieces of zombies or use furniture to block doorways. It seems a little silly to think it could have such a big impact, but it's so integrated into the game that it just feels amazing. You can knock zombies into each other, and they'll just fall right to the ground.

Outside of that, it's a fairly interesting survival game with a lot of the framework completed for some potentially intriguing pieces. Mental state was a big one that came up during my talk with the devs. Since the game revolves around you killing your friends who have now become zombified.

Does Physics Matter All That Much?

Normally, the answer is no, but in God Saves Birmingham, it becomes arguably the most interesting aspect of the whole game. Everything in the game can basically become a makeshift projectile if you use it right. Fling a broken door at a zombie and watch them tumble as you stomp on its face.

The best part is how it makes each weapon work just a bit differently. If a few zombies are chasing you, and you have a scythe, you can turn around and aim at their legs, then potentially take out the knees of all of them. It'll even chop off at different lengths based on where you cut, which was pretty interesting to see when the parts started flying.

The incredible physics engine [...] allows you to chop off specific pieces of zombies or use furniture to block doorways.

This kind of gore has been done before, but it felt extra crunchy while playing God Save Birmingham. It was a nice addition, especially given that weapons have different attack patterns. Swinging each weapon was a little different, and you had to aim a little differently, too. Slicing off arms to prevent grabs or slicing their feet to cause a few to tumble over one another just felt so good.

It doesn't just work for attacking, as I said earlier, you can use furniture to barricade up doors so you can sleep soundly in the night knowing you won't become zombie food. It also meant you could sort of set up your place with relative ease, which is great for a survival game.

A Difficult but Interesting Game

From my limited time with God Save Birmingham, it's clear that this is incredibly complex and has a lot of systems that govern how things work. Want to use a bandage? You need to select the wound you want to use it on before you bleed out. Want to break something down? You'll have to use a weapon or item to break it down.

That's not necessarily a bad thing when you have oodles of time, but when the clock is running, it becomes a bit overwhelming. I'm sure if I had an unlimited amount of time to play and explore, I would've been able to understand things to a much greater extent, but as it was, I would've been incredibly lost if not for the expert help of the gentleman walking me through the demo.

That depth and complexity are great, and will serve the game well as more and more players manage to get their hands on it when it releases. It can be a lot, and it's certainly a lot for the developers to manage, but for what it is right now, it feels pretty solid and like a relatively enjoyable time.

There's a lot more to come for the game before it launches, such as multiplayer, but what will be really interesting is how the game handles storytelling. These zombies aren't just zombies; they're your friends from the town, and there are a lot of thoughts running through the protagonist's head when you chop one down.

All in all, this is a game to keep an eye on. It's fun, it's intense, and it looks great. The designs are cohesive, and the animations feel amazing, especially the scythe. While there's no release date for Early Access yet, we should hopefully be seeing something from the devs over at Ocean Drive Studios soon.