It has been a little over a month since the first pre-alpha test for God Save Birmingham, and developer Ocean Drive Studio has shared what they learned. The weekend test focused on the core gameplay loop and used the same short build players saw at Gamescom and PAX West. The goal was simple: check direction, see what works, and find clear problems to fix.

Roughly 1,500 players took part of this test and shared their feedback. Most testers stayed past the intended session limit, which hinted the game held players’ interest. A clear portion of testers expressed confidence that the project is heading in the right direction.

The developer’s collected survey results showed both strengths and weak points in the systems. Visuals and animations scored well, while physics, survival systems, and combat received lower scores and are areas the studio plans to improve. Players also confirmed they understood the game’s concept as a medieval zombie survival title focused on physics.

Feedback gave the team a short list of priorities. Co-op was the most requested feature and the studio says it is now planned for Early Access, though it may not appear in upcoming alpha or beta tests because it is a big addition. Base building will be present but focused on fortifying existing structures rather than full freeform building. Players also asked for more things to do in the world, and the team plans to add more craftable items, more cooking recipes, item repair, and more harvesting.

Other requests include tighter hitboxes in combat, deeper use of physics in gameplay, and hotkeys to improve inventory management.

The pre-alpha helped narrow priorities and gave the team concrete next steps. The developers plan to report progress through dev blogs and will announce more details about the upcoming God Save Birmingham test in the near future.