PAX West 2026 - Lazy River: Zombie Survival that Makes a Splash

Sometimes it's difficult to find innovation within established spaces in the games industry. No matter how much love and passion are poured into a project, some titles end up feeling like "just another insert genre here." Popular titles inspire creators to make something based on what they had experienced, and unfortunately, that experience may not translate to a game that stands out from the crowd. That doesn't necessarily mean these games are bad, but oftentimes they get absorbed by the massive volume of yearly releases.

I think that's the strongest thing Lazy River – the new survival game from developers Mike Boxleiter, Kevan DuPont, Jake Yetter, Joel Corelitz, and Karlee Esmailli – has going for it. At its core, it's an experience you've undoubtedly had before, but with a setting so fun and creative that it will absolutely not get lost in the shuffle.

Lazy River is a 4-player co-op first-person survival game that looks very familiar on paper. You and your team must scavenge supplies, craft weapons, build shelter, and survive as long as possible while being bombarded by waves of zombies. So far, so survival game.

The main difference in Lazy River, and the entire reason we wanted to check it out in the first place, is that it forgoes the usual aesthetic of deep, unexplored wilderness or uncharted planets. Instead, you find yourself at a massive waterpark, drifting down the lazy river running through the middle of the park. Rather than punching trees and picking up stones to make your base, you're tasked with utilizing the different pieces of equipment in the park to create a raft in order to survive the hordes. Your raft becomes your beacon of survival, your mobile fortress to stave off the undead as it drifts down the river. Pool floaties become your wood planks, and oars become your raft's lifeline as you attempt to use them in sync to reach the next destination faster.

On top of zombies, robots fly around the park using machine-gun turrets to pop your raft and riddle you with holes. As you make your way down the river, more and more of these enemies spawn in, forcing you to use your resources and quick thinking as the threat grows. Instead of your standard stone-axe-and-spear fare seen in most survival games, Lazy River's weapon system revolves around - what else - water guns. It's seriously entertaining to experiment with all the different weapons; while they are categorized as shotguns or pistols, they all feel and operate like actual water guns. You also use pool noodles as melee weapons, which can prevent zombies from overwhelming you and, if you're feeling mischievous, let you punt a friend into the river.

The river itself is also a mechanic; it not only propels your raft forward, but also refills your weapons. This presents a dilemma, however; being left behind as the raft careens down the river spells death for anyone unlucky enough to get stranded, watching salvation and their friends drift away. You have to coordinate with your team to keep a rotating watch of gunners, paddlers, and punters, while strategically reloading in the river, stopping at checkpoints to get more equipment, fix your raft, and always moving forward.

It becomes suitably chaotic: our run ended with our raft destroyed and me as the only survivor, making a mad dash down the river on foot, dodging enemy sniper fire (there's sniper zombies because of course there are). Robots were gunning for me, and undead were coming out of the faux woodwork, while I was just trying to get a little further to beat the group who had played before us, all the while being cheered on by the game's devs and my team.

While it may not be the deepest experience in the world, Lazy River is a fantastic, frantic game for those who love the survival game loop but are tired of grinding for more ore and burning through three hours of wood stores in a few minutes. There is no set release date yet, but I recommend you wishlist the game on Steam.