Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 424 sampled Steam reviews (337 positive / 87 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Multiplayer & servers13% mention it
- Progression & loot5% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Multiplayer & servers26% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
57%
42 reviews
5-15h
74%
54 reviews
15-40h
78%
69 reviews
40-100h
79%
58 reviews
100h+
86%
201 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 41 | 8 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 78% | 72 | 1671 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 48 | 43 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 86% | 79 | 3000 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Jul 15, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 4309 total reviews in window · weighted 193.2 up / 45 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (19)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 75
“DayZ is an interesting PvP/PvE survival game that, compared to the competition these days, doesn’t offer anything particularly exceptional. The game’s outdated graphics and certain mechanics are clearly evident. However, what definitely keeps it in the spotlight is its active player community and modders. If you’re looking for an online game where you’ll battle other players who might be lurking in any building, big or small, and you enjoy survival games regardless of the visuals, you’ll have fun with DayZ.”
read full review ↗ - 20
“DayZ is a complete and utter disaster on PS4. Not only is it profoundly outdated in 2019, it’s also technically inept. A horrendous frame rate brings the experience to a standstill on a worryingly consistent basis, while numerous bugs and glitches are a bewilderment. After taking five years to release, we can’t help but feel like this was an outright waste of everyone’s time.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“DayZ Xbox One delivers the full niche zombie survival experience, but with that comes a number of problems and performance issues.”
read full review ↗ - 54
“DayZ drops players into a zombie-infested former Soviet territory. Explore a desolate wasteland with virtually no human presence. But beware, enemies both living and dead may lurk around every corner.”
read full review ↗ - 55
“Boring post-apoacalyptic zombie world, which is after 5 years of circuitous development not very attractive for players.”
read full review ↗ - 20
“DayZ has a rich history, a long lineage of war stories and strange survivor tales that have drawn thousands down its rabbit hole, but its reality is very different. There’s nothing here but a dull, vacuous wasteland, devoid of character and relying solely on players to make their own fun. ”
read full review ↗ - 20
“I really can’t say enough about how disappointed I was with my time playing DayZ. ”
read full review ↗ - 30
“The great shame here is that there are a lot of good ideas in DayZ, it’s just that they are poorly executed. The immense open world and survival mechanics all read really cool on paper, and at the start of one’s journey come off intriguing. As one dives deeper into DayZ, however, the realization washes over them regarding just how empty the experience feels. What could change this is if the developer decides to add more to DayZ, opening up the accessibility of the game. For now, DayZ is more of a disappointment in what could have been a great survival title.”
read full review ↗ - 69
“DayZ has the power to create incredible stories, but the twitchy, weightless combat and buggy zombies let it down.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“DayZ is far less a game and more an open toolkit to make a unique but unpredictable adventure. Some might find an extremely intense survival adventure. Others may feel the mixed excitement, terror, and loneliness of relying on strangers.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“A bad adaptation that stills looks as an early access game.”
read full review ↗ - 10
“It's unbelievable that this broken mess of a game appears on the PlayStation Network in this basically unplayable state. It's worse if you consider the steep asking price. Steer clear. ”
read full review ↗
Gaming Professors
Push Square
Gamerheadquarters
GamesCreed
SECTOR.sk
TheSixthAxis
ThisGenGaming
Bloody Disgusting
PC Gamer
NoobFeed
IGN…and 7 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- DayZ | 1.29 Road to Badlands Stable Update - Out NowJul 15, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- 1.29 Road to Badlands Experimental ReleaseJul 1, 2026
- DayZ | 1.29 Stable Update - Out Now & DayZ in 2026Apr 8, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- 1.29 Experimental Release (2026)Feb 19, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- 1.29 Update Status Report | DayZ Badlands NewsOct 27, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 1.29 Experimental ReleaseAug 14, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- DayZ | 1.28 Stable Update - Out Now!Jun 3, 2025
- 1.28 Experimental ReleaseApr 15, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- DayZ | 1.27 Stable Update - Out Now & DayZ in 2025Feb 25, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- 1.27 Experimental ReleaseJan 16, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- DayZ Frostline Expansion ReleaseOct 15, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- DayZ Frostline Expansion Progress Report (Week 36)Sep 6, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- 1.26 Experimental ReleaseAug 6, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- DayZ | 1.25 Stable Redux Update - Out NowMay 27, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Experimental update 1.25 - New Rifle - New Sounds and moreApr 23, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- DayZ | 1.24 Stable Update - Out Now & DayZ in 2024Feb 20, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Experimental update 1.24. - New Rifle - New Cosmetics and moreJan 16, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- DayZ | 1.23 Stable Update - Out NowNov 7, 2023
- DayZ | 1.23 Experimental Update - Out NowOct 5, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- DayZ Update 1.22 - Out NowAug 29, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- DayZ | 1.22 Experimental Update - Out NowJul 27, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- DayZ Update 1.21 - Out NowMay 23, 2023