Keep 7 Days to Die Scary: My Suggestions

[ChrisGoodson1]

First off love this game and how far it’s come. But once you hit mid-to-late game, the survival edge starts to fade. Bases feel safe, zombies become manageable, and the apocalypse doesn’t feel as terrifying as it did on day one.





Here are some ideas that could keep the tension alive and make the world deadlier:

• Harder, scarier zombies → Late-game enemies that move unpredictably, attack in packs, disable lights, or scale walls. Enemies that bring back that “first-night fear.”
• Bandits with raids → Human NPCs who roam, ambush, or even raid bases with guns, melee, and explosives. Fighting humans would add unpredictability and PvP-style tension.
• Deadlier storms → Weather that actually hurts: lightning striking bases, sandstorms that blind, blizzards that drain stamina, high winds that push vehicles. Storms should force players indoors.
• More vehicles → ATVs, dirt bikes, armored haulers, maybe even a helicopter or ultralight. Each with pros/cons so progression feels meaningful beyond the 4x4.
• Overall difficulty scaling → Scarcer resources, bigger hordes, and harsher environments as players progress, so the apocalypse stays brutal from start to finish.

7 Days to Die is at its best when it’s scary and unforgiving. Making the world harder not just with zombies, but with humans, storms, and survival pressure would keep players on edge no matter how long they’ve been in the wasteland.

P.s
I’ve been here since the very beginning, and as one of your biggest fans, I just want to thank you. This game has been part of my life for years, and I’ve loved watching it evolve. No matter what comes next, I’ll always be here supporting 7 Days to Die.

 

[SabinSnake]

I'd be more open to adding monsters from other games or things from real folklore. Like that deathclaw from Fallout, or beings like skinwalkers, the wendigo or even goatman (imagine those fk'n things chasing you at night!)

 

[InfiniteWarrior]

I'd be more open to adding monsters from other games or things from real folklore. Like that deathclaw from Fallout, or beings like skinwalkers, the wendigo or even goatman (imagine those fk'n things chasing you at night!)

Not sure about the folklore thing. I have very mixed feelings about the cryptids in FO76, for example. All the more iconic creatures in the Fallout series are grounded in something halfway believable, i.e. they're mutations either from radiation exposure or FEV. Nothing fantasy-oriented until Beth got a hold of the IP and couldn't decide if they wanted to make an Elder Scrolls or Fallout game.

As for the cryptids.... Who doesn't love cryptids? And Smoky Mountain folklore is full of them. Cryptids are fun! But...do they really belong in a Fallout game?

It's something similar that caused such an adverse reaction to the mummies and yetis introduced in 7DTD's 2.0.

 

[theFlu]

"Scarier zombies" would be nice; I'd love to hear a squeal and honestly think to myself "oh crap, it's actually time to Hide". It's in part a horror game, after all. The closest thing is a screamer, but hiding doesn't really do much; it's not like she's a great threat, nor you know, going away when you hide. You "can" flee and hope she'll time out while you're gone, but that tends to be more of a "can't be bothered to deal with this right now" than "omg, I'm about to die!".

Something like a stupidly powerful version of a wight, shows up, makes a lot of noise; but follows a different search logic.
- walks slowly when it doesn't see anyone, slowly approaching any sound source
- shrieks upon seeing a player and starts dashing towards quickly
- slows down (almost) instantly when losing line of sight to target
- loses interest after ~30 secs of not seeing anyone and dashes onwards, despawning once somewhat far
- actually deals massive damage rapidly
- (perhaps) doesn't really attack blocks, so you could actually hop into a nearby zombie cupboard for those 30 secs and be fine (much like "plain" horror games tend to)

 

[InfiniteWarrior]

"Scarier zombies" would be nice; I'd love to hear a squeal and honestly think to myself "oh crap, it's actually time to Hide". It's in part a horror game, after all. The closest thing is a screamer, but hiding doesn't really do much; it's not like she's a great threat, nor you know, going away when you hide. You "can" flee and hope she'll time out while you're gone, but that tends to be more of a "can't be bothered to deal with this right now" than "omg, I'm about to die!".

Something like a stupidly powerful version of a wight, shows up, makes a lot of noise; but follows a different search logic.
- walks slowly when it doesn't see anyone, slowly approaching any sound source
- shrieks upon seeing a player and starts dashing towards quickly
- slows down (almost) instantly when losing line of sight to target
- loses interest after ~30 secs of not seeing anyone and dashes onwards, despawning once somewhat far
- actually deals massive damage rapidly
- (perhaps) doesn't really attack blocks, so you could actually hop into a nearby zombie cupboard for those 30 secs and be fine (much like "plain" horror games tend to)

Screamer, Wight I consider "special" zombies that have lost their special status by treating them as just more zombie variants in the pool and, in Screamer's case, as nothing but an overused trigger when everything from tripwires to alarms could serve just as well. Would love to see them get their special status back. All good suggestions for Wight.

 

[SabinSnake]

Not sure about the folklore thing. I have very mixed feelings about the cryptids in FO76, for example. All the more iconic creatures in the Fallout series are grounded in something halfway believable, i.e. they're mutations either from radiation exposure or FEV. Nothing fantasy-oriented until Beth got a hold of the IP and couldn't decide if they wanted to make an Elder Scrolls or Fallout game.

As for the cryptids.... Who doesn't love cryptids? And Smoky Mountain folklore is full of them. Cryptids are fun! But...do they really belong in a Fallout game?

It's something similar that caused such an adverse reaction to the mummies and yetis introduced in 7DTD's 2.0.

Yeah, the yeti was a bad idea. They should of been like a rare encounter, but they made em so common, to the point where they're annoying and a menace. Especially when doing a mission, when they hear me walking around in a building, they bust through doors like they're nothing and more persistent even if you run far away.

 

[InfiniteWarrior]

Yeah, the yeti was a bad idea. They should of been like a rare encounter, but they made em so common, to the point where they're annoying and a menace. Especially when doing a mission, when they hear me walking around in a building, they bust through doors like they're nothing and more persistent even if you run far away.

I was referring more to the enemy types. New types are being remodeled to better fit the setting and apparently having their spawn frequency cut in half, though I think they would work better as specials as opposed to being dumped in the pool of zombie types. Nothing stands out from the crowd.

 

[grz__]

I think that the sounds of terror are something fundamental to create a feeling of fear, I think that they could start there, also with zombie models, the dire wolf is one of the ones that gives the most feeling of terror, in my opinion, it would only need to sound something less like a dog and more like a beast, ambient sounds like iron bars twisting in a storm, doors that move with the wind causing them to close and open, with the sound of rusty hinges, some car alarms could be activated in a storm by the wind too, the sleepers could be awake, making zombie noises, new type of zombie that screams but does not attract more zombies like the current screamer, some examples.

 

[InfiniteWarrior]

I think that the sounds of terror are something fundamental to create a feeling of fear, I think that they could start there, also with zombie models, the dire wolf is one of the ones that gives the most feeling of terror, in my opinion, it would only need to sound something less like a dog and more like a beast, ambient sounds like iron bars twisting in a storm, doors that move with the wind causing them to close and open, with the sound of rusty hinges, some car alarms could be activated in a storm by the wind too, the sleepers could be awake, making zombie noises, new type of zombie that screams but does not attract more zombies like the current screamer, some examples.

Sound design has been sorely neglected in the process of updating the game, imo. I wouldn't expect it to sound like an old haunted house effect record as the wasteland largely does now, but it could use some (subdued) sounds of buildings "breathing," metal groaning in the cities and occasional unexpected sounds in the wilderness to intensify the sense of isolation and loneliness of an implacable wasteland if nothing else.

I don't particularly care if the game feels "scary, " i.e. the sense of the horror genre, or more tongue in cheek, i.e. dystopian science fiction with a sense of irony, myself. I do think it would be nice if TFP would decide on an aesthetic identity for the game, which sounds can go just as far as visuals to suggest. The rural/country tone now in the process of being reduced or eliminated was on its way to being as distinctive as any other, so I'm not sure what they're thinking there.

 

[grz__]

Sound design has been sorely neglected in the process of updating the game, imo. I wouldn't expect it to sound like an old haunted house effect record as the wasteland largely does now, but it could use some (subdued) sounds of buildings "breathing," metal groaning in the cities and occasional unexpected sounds in the wilderness to intensify the sense of isolation and loneliness of an implacable wasteland if nothing else.

I don't particularly care if the game feels "scary, " i.e. the sense of the horror genre, or more tongue in cheek, i.e. dystopian science fiction with a sense of irony, myself. I do think it would be nice if TFP would decide on an aesthetic identity for the game, which sounds can go just as far as visuals to suggest. The rural/country tone now in the process of being reduced or eliminated was on its way to being as distinctive as any other, so I'm not sure what they're thinking there.

Yes, I think the sound has potential to explore, I don't think 7dtd has to have Silent Hill style sounds or anything, it's not a horror game per se, but there are subtle details that would make it interesting, for example you are in the forest at night there are zombies nearby, and you hear how dry branches crack, when you step on them or the zombies moaning, in the houses the wooden floor creaks, those types of details could be expanded.

 

[EvilPolygons]

Sound design has been sorely neglected in the process of updating the game, imo. I wouldn't expect it to sound like an old haunted house effect record as the wasteland largely does now, but it could use some (subdued) sounds of buildings "breathing," metal groaning in the cities and occasional unexpected sounds in the wilderness to intensify the sense of isolation and loneliness of an implacable wasteland if nothing else.

I don't particularly care if the game feels "scary, " i.e. the sense of the horror genre, or more tongue in cheek, i.e. dystopian science fiction with a sense of irony, myself. I do think it would be nice if TFP would decide on an aesthetic identity for the game, which sounds can go just as far as visuals to suggest. The rural/country tone now in the process of being reduced or eliminated was on its way to being as distinctive as any other, so I'm not sure what they're thinking there.

The new min scripts support for sound effects allows all sorts of environmental audio to be added. Basically anywhere a sleeper volume can be placed in the editor, you can trigger audio files to play. So POIs, tiles, parts, and possibly even terrain decorations can be given custom sounds.