Zombie Waves is a zombie shooting game centered on surviving enemy waves while continuously moving across the map. Weapons fire automatically and an auto-aiming function supports one-handed play, so the main documented control task is positioning your character to avoid being surrounded and touched by zombies.
Move to survive while weapons fire automatically
Each level requires you to survive for a stated period while dodging zombie attacks. The first level is described as lasting 12 minutes, and the broader feature description characterizes individual sessions as lasting about 6 to 12 minutes. Because your weapons fire automatically, movement is the key action during the described combat sequence: you travel across the map, avoid contact, and allow the weapon system to attack nearby targets.
Contact with a zombie removes one life. After losing a life, the game gives you a few seconds to escape and avoid another hit. If all lives are lost, the level must be restarted. The source states that additional lives can be obtained through one of the available upgrade choices, making life recovery part of the level upgrade system rather than a separate control action.
Collect green orbs to open combat upgrades
Every defeated zombie drops a small green orb. These orbs fill the progress bar displayed at the top of the screen. When the bar is full, you choose one of four combat upgrade options. This creates a direct link between defeating enemies and selecting improvements during a level.
The documented examples include gaining an extra life, increasing shooting damage, extending bullet range, and adding lightning assistance in combat. The source also describes more than 100 roguelite skills and powerful ultimate abilities, although it does not specify the exact rules for combining every skill or how each selection changes damage and survival outcomes.
Build a broader combat setup
Outside the immediate wave encounter, Zombie Waves is described as having a role-playing progression system. Players can choose from multiple heroes with unique skills, combine weapons and skills, collect different equipment, and use customizable robot companions to strengthen their combat setup. These systems are presented as ways to develop the character and arsenal, but the supplied description does not define equipment statistics, upgrade costs, or specific hero differences.
The game also lists special abilities such as freezing zombies or temporarily slowing them down. Terrain can be used during survival challenges, and the description refers to large-scale battles, full-screen kills, and varied visual effects. These details expand the combat presentation without establishing hidden rules for enemy behavior, damage, or physics.
Choose from several documented modes
Zombie Waves includes Survival, Boss, Endless, and Rescue modes. Boss encounters feature unusual enemies described as having distinct tactical challenges, while Endless mode focuses on continuing wave battles. The source also mentions roguelike tower climbing, vehicle racing, and other sub-game activities, as well as a camp-building feature for constructing and customizing a base camp.
The feature list additionally describes competitive combat, cooperative gameplay, and single-player play. It does not explain matchmaking, team objectives, competitive scoring, or the exact conditions for cooperative progression, so these modes are best understood from the supplied information as additional ways to play rather than as fully documented rule sets.
Other documented play considerations
The source describes the game as free to download and play, with advertisements in the free version and optional upgrades available through in-app purchases. It also states that the game requires a constant internet connection for progressing through levels and notes a reported AFK mechanism that can provide rewards while away from the game. Since these statements describe different parts of the experience, the exact conditions for AFK rewards are not specified.
The listing further notes that the game can be power-intensive, that some users have reported lag, and that there are no graphics-setting options described for adjusting visual preferences. These are source-reported considerations rather than independently verified test results.