How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

Where were you when the zombie apocalypse began? Were you running in circles, panicking, or did you chill out in your favorite jammies with a hot cup of cocoa while the rest of the world burned? With the right steps, you too could be the latter. So, if you’d rather keep your humanity, here’s how to survive a zombie apocalypse, according to video games, movies, and television series.

Create a Plan of Action

A zombie horde definitely fits under the umbrella as an emergency, just like floods, fires, earthquakes, and an alien invasion. Like in any emergency, panicking is the last thing you want to do; mistakes are a one-way ticket to joining the Walking Dead Club, where the food is bad and their uniforms look terrible. To survive, you need contingency plans.

Contingency plans don’t have to be several layers deep; in fact, keeping it simple is ideal as too many details leave more room for mistakes. Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead is a perfect example of this. Shaun’s plan of action is straightforward: Take car, go to mum’s, kill Phil (Sorry, Philip), grab Liz, go to the Winchester, and have a nice cold pint and wait for the whole thing to blow over.

Of course, surviving also means learning how to plan on the fly. Whatever plan you come up with in the moment, never overlook one incredibly important detail: Always have an escape route.

Channel Your Inner MacGyver

If there’s anything zombie games taunt us, it’s that just about any inanimate object has more than one use, and not necessarily as a weapon. To survive, it’s time you start looking at everything in your house in a different light—just look at titles like The Last of Us where you’re grabbing items left and right to craft useful items.

You’d be surprised by how many people aren’t familiar with basic tools like hammers, screwdrivers, or even a saw. It might sound strange, but consider building a chair as it’ll give you a great opportunity to get comfortable with a range of tools. If zombies knock on your door, you’ll have all the knowledge needed to fashion both a weapon and defensive gear.

Dress For the Job You Want

Ever notice that characters wear tighter clothing during a zombie apocalypse? Maybe it’s a coincidence, but baggy and oversize clothing tends to be easier for zombies to grab, not to mention snagging on nearby objects like a doorknob or stray nail. For maximum survivability, take some wardrobe notes from Dying Light, minus the hoods.

When you’re putting together a survival kit, include clothes like comfortable joggers, form fitting tops, and running shoes. Additionally, consider changing up your hairstyle. Your long, luxurious hair you spent weeks conditioning to perfection isn’t worth dying over. It’s practically begging to be grabbed by a flesh-eating zombie.

Pack the Essentials and Then Some

With the collapse of society, there’s a good chance money will lose its value, meaning supplies we take for granted now become even more precious than gold such as water, food, and medicine—just ask the crew of The Walking Dead. What you need is a survival kit; in fact, what you’d bring with you on a camping trip is a good place to start:

• Sleeping bag and a pop-up tent
• Water and food (non-perishable)
• Medication and a first aid kit
• Rechargeable devices (flashlight, radio)
• Tools (Swiss Army knife, hatchet, flint and tinder)
• Camping cookware (portable and space efficient)

You can find all sorts of neat gadgets and gizmos online, like a flashlight with a built-in radio and charging port that recharges via solar panels. A device like that becomes invaluable in a world without power.

Polish Those Survival Skills

In the event that you need to evacuate your home, all you’ll have room for is the essentials. There’s only so much space for food, meaning at some point you’ll need to find more. Bend Studio’s Days Gone taught us that you’ll survive a lot longer if you practice your survival skills.

Even a basic knowledge on fishing, hunting, foraging, and fire making we’ll put you leagues ahead of other survivors, not to mention being an invaluable source of knowledge in a group setting. In fact, if you can spare the room, consider picking up books on those aforementioned subjects, in addition to basic medical care.

There you have it: how to survive a zombie apocalypse in five easy steps. It isn’t at all surprising just how useful video games and media are to creating quite the contingency plan if things go south. Maybe video games aren’t so bad, after all! There’s more related zombie content down below, check it out.