SOD3 Trailer Forensic Analysis: Easter Eggs, Hidden Clues & More!

Beyond the initial WOW factor of a new State of Decay 3 trailer, we dive into it in forensic detail. Based on what we found, the potential future of the game is immense! Undead Labs mix Continuity and Evolution with a stunning insight into the future of the franchise.
State of Decay 3 is an open-world survival game set years after a zombie apocalypse nearly wiped out humankind. An evolving zombie threat is taking over the landscape and you need to carve out a life for your community of survivalist homesteaders.
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Thanks for watching!!
Guru
#stateofdecay3 #latest #undeadlabs
0:00 Intro
0:23 First Impressions
1:53 Trailer Analysis
2:50 Vehicle Upgrades
3:40 Player Narratives & Backstory
5:40 Weapons Crafting
7:00 Multiplayer & Player Map
7:45 Location & Setting
9:15 Climbing on cars & Zombie Devolution
10:06 Gameplay Footage
10:33 Evolution of Freaks
11:04 Deeper Characters
11:23 Blood Plague & Infestations
13:17 Memorial Shrine
13:48 Active Weather Systems
14:03 Old Trailer vs New

[@gurugamingkiwi]

I have spend hours poring through this trailer and surfacing it's secrets! It's been hard work but very enjoyable and I am very excited to bring you my thoughts and speculation! But give me yours - what is the one thing that you really loved or wanted to see? What specifically do you want to know more about - Factions? Cities? Biomes? Survival Mechanics? The mic is YOURS! 👍😎

[@Diarmuhnd]

Haha. Nice. Have fun

[@JonBonZombie]

So a few yeears ago i put on the wish List ( Bigger Juggernauts ) I think the one we see at the end is for sure bigger

[@gurugamingkiwi]

@@JonBonZombie Yeah, taller at least and looks nastier. I think the freaks will be buffed and the zombies nerfed to better balance the source of danger.

[@ashesantics]

Lets go!!❤❤❤

[@druidicnorse9]

Great Work, Mad Max Style Magnum Opus story & progression arc sounds fantastic. Cars in this game can becomes something really special and fun. Mad Max Harpoon to pull vehicules of the road and pull zombies / Juggernauts

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Thank you! I'm not sure though if we harpooned a Jugg whether we would pull a it or it would pull us 😂 But I like your idea of having utility items to...I've always want to be able to tow other vehicles back to base. Thanks for watching and the ideas 👍😎

[@who_likes_chicken6098]

Commenting at the beginning. The trailer didn't have a ton, but what it did have makes me very happy as a fan of SoD2

[@gurugamingkiwi]

It was pretty short and only touched on a few aspects of the game. In this video I talk about Continuity & Evolution. The message I received (right or wrong 😄) was THIS is State of Decay - just BETTER! I don't think they need to add too much more to the game - just make the existing components work better. My original fear was they would try too much and just try and replicate other zombie games...but the dev comments that I read on Sunny Games videos seem to show they are aware of that danger and want to stay true to the franchise. Winning! Thanks for watching Chicken👍😎 (There could be chickens) 😄

[@ACupPlayz]

Great analysis Guru.... !

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Thanks ACup!! You know I like to analyze 😆👍😎

[@sauceomegaming]

Great video! I reposted it

[@gurugamingkiwi]

That's cos you are a freaking legend and a great friend - thank you! ❤ 👍😎

[@raccooncheffgameingboi5431]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it but I believe the the bronto gas the bulk of the trailer takes place in is the one just south of spawn in province ridge

[@gurugamingkiwi]

It could be indeed...but what about the new building in the same area that has a partial sign "River De..." - that's new building entirely. It's an automotive building that makes me think it's a new area. But it could be an expansion on an existing area. So many questions to be answered! Thanks for watching and the comment 👍😎

[@danielmarquez1998]

Editing is in point 👌

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Thanks man! 👍😎

[@SeriouslyWarped]

Excellent. The only question I have is if the game will still be able to played as a single player campaign? The 4 player co-op seems to be the only style that everyone is talking about. I know that UL has often been known to state they are proud of the single player campaign, but can't help but think that things might change in SOD3. Great video Guru. BTW, the early iteration of the original SOD2 the zombies were able to climb cars. I don't know when this changed, but it happened with the very early updates.

[@gurugamingkiwi]

I don't think UL will turn away from what is the strongest proposition for a zombie survival experience in the franchise. I think they focus on MP here as it was a big weakness in SOD2 - basically just a tag-on. I think what they are doing is bringing those single player strengths into MP. My question is how would recruitment, switching characters etc work in MP. We might find out more soon hopefully. Thanks for the comment!! 👍😎

[@TacticalVodkaOperator69]

Thanks GURU!! For your insight and I see that UL address how cars can travel through low lake waters ( at least with upgrade vehicles) by also adding a roof level air intake for the engine on the driver side, that I didn't notice before Thanks to your vehicle breakdown 🏆 am looking forward to SOD3 but not the longer arm jugs and probably the ninjas quick stealth ferals that are sure to be next level nightmares to deal with 🎭

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Oh I didn't see that! Good spotting - that could be an upgrade choice too! Thanks Vodka 👍😎

[@phillipcatron5391]

can't wait to play this game Thank you Guru

[@gurugamingkiwi]

You and me both buddy!! Thanks for watching and the comment 👍😎

[@siburnett]

Awesome analysis, Guru! I loved the new trailer, but also love in hope that some of the implied themes from the ‘loner on the woods’ original make it through (hunting, makeshift camping/bases, weather) - but think I’ll have to leave those in the wish list

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Si!! Yeah, I really like the new trailer too. Originally I thought it would be cool if you could wear a "camp kit" as a ruck sack so you can set up a local "base" to operate from. I'm pretty sure we'll get weather based on the trailer, just how realistic etc remains to be seen. I like the game going a little deeper into crafting etc but for me SOD was never a 'crafting game' like 7D2D and other survival games. I didn't mind that it was simplified to a large degree - I am happy with counting materials rather than nails 😂 Great to hear from you man - hope all is well 👍😎

[@Jfromtexas]

Great video Guru! So excited for this game!

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Thanks J! I really appreciate that. I am very excited from what I've seen so far - I'm really hoping we'll get more trailers and updates soon 👍😎

[@chromakey8321]

We learned a good start to the narrative. They also stated that you saved them for a life beyond the wall and stating living within the wall was terrible. Curious if Red Talon is finally what we all expected.

[@gurugamingkiwi]

I'm very interested as to where they will go with factions. Will the Network and Red Talon have expanded? Will there be a new faction? In every State of Decay game the overall global situation is worse game to game so they may not even be around anymore...or on their last legs unless the players save them. Thanks for watching and the comment👍😎

[@rossfree796]

Got burned out on SoD2 after getting all the boons. Looking forward to a refreshing SoD3 experience.

[@gurugamingkiwi]

That's a great point actually. What will SOD3 deliver in terms of a forever community experience? You have got me thinking! Thanks Ross - awesome mate 👍😎

[@BibithePing]

Great vid guru, well worth the wait… i would say yes sure, maybe and yes again in no certain order👍

[@gurugamingkiwi]

You are a mystery wrapped up in an enigma Bibi 😄- and I'm glad you're my friend. Thanks for your kind words and long time support 👍😎

[@Diarmuhnd]

- sings- Give me a Home where the Feral Clowns roam ...

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Perhaps singing will be a trait manifested with banjo 😆👍😎

[@Diarmuhnd]

@@gurugamingkiwi I just keep dreaming of players hiding on the roofs of cars getting tackled to the ground ^^ Cheers Guru, have fun

[@rodickscott27]

!!!!what if when a character dies u can watch a replay of ur chatacters death but more of like an added sad music amv type of style when u press view memorial

[@koolzonegaming]

🍻🍻👀

[@gurugamingkiwi]

👍😎

[@who_likes_chicken6098]

Geoffrey (on a stream) has said they UL actually explored the idea of adding rain/snow to SoD2 like two years ago. One of the main reasons they didn't do it, was because they would have had to add a "weathered version" of nearly every AUDIO asset in the game. It would have been too complex to add in as an update. But he also said that if they were designing something new, they'd probably be able to address those design concerns up front. So I'm really hoping we get weather 😀

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Thanks for that information! Yeah, we all wanted weather in SOD2 but there was no way. WIth SOD3 however, and new tech, I believe it will be easier to add "properties" to audio outputs. Honestly, I can't seem them NOT adding some weather but it's about making it feel natural and believable and having purpose for game mechanics (fog restricting vision, rain dampening the sound of movement etc). Nice one Chicken! 👍😎

[@knightswhosayni]

I don’t see the questions of ‘who were you, who did you love, what did you believe’ are nothing more than retrospective on what the person used to be before they were infected and became a zombie and not story relevant. But the game looks awesome anyway.

[@gurugamingkiwi]

You may well be right! 👍I just got a hunch that instead of having "leader types" drive missions and narrative we will have something more complex in SOD3. I'm hoping the devs drop some more information or trailers in the near future to give us some more angle. Thanks for watching and the comment 👍😎

[@briangray8770]

Great video Guru. I just hope single player is still the main draw. I don't care one bit about multi player.

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Hey Brian - yeah for sure. Single player is SODs core strength and I think they are looking to bring those strengths to MP rather than replace it. For me, I'm a single player guy in SOD2 but I do enjoy playing with friends so I'm hoping the issues we all know SOD2 MP has can be resolved. Thanks for the comment 👍😎

[@Ser-Lusacan]

From what I've seen and heard undead labs have hired weather and animal animation experts or whatever you call them

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Yeah, Sunny Games did some great detective work and found job advertisements for wildlife animations. I'm pretty confident we will see weather, it's just will there be ambient weather with soft breeze blowing across long grass etc or just rain over the top of landscape. There still could be animals, but that would be something new in the franchise and not sure whether it will be a big part of the game. Hopefully we''ll see some more info from Undead Labs. Thanks for watching and the comment 👍😎

[@methatguy5996]

I really hope the map or maps are a lot bigger than SOD2, and i hope theres a city.

[@gurugamingkiwi]

The map will certainly be much bigger with one question being will it be one big map or multiple smaller maps. Either way, the scale will be bigger for sure. Thanks for watching and the comment 👍 😎

[@4slottoaster18]

I doubt they would ever do it but I would love to see a more urban environment instead of the rural areas we got. Maybe even a modern city. I think it would add to the horror element and it would be interesting to see.

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Hey Toaster! Yeah, urban environments are tricky. Ask any player and they would want a fully mapped out city which means thousands, tens of thousands of locations across multiple floors etc. That's a huge ask and if they give less than that then people get critical. I'm hoping for variation in the environment but not holding out for a city. Thanks for watching and the comment - I think this will be a big question for the devs 👍😎

[@4slottoaster18]

@@gurugamingkiwi I agree, it would be a daunting task for sure. I don't expect it at all I just think it would be a cool environment to experience in their game. I'm definitely looking forward to it regardless

[@F_Y_F_T_Y]

Im ready for a release date 🎉🎉

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Haha - you and the world mate! 😂 As for me, I don't have a clue when it might be released. Thanks for watching and the comment 👍😎

[@JonBonZombie]

i have a theory about trailer 1 and 2... They are going on at the same time and the group in Trailer 2 are going to find the girl in Trailer 1

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Oh that's an interesting theory - that could happen. Thanks for watching BonZombie! 👍😎

[@bladeshifter]

My biggest concern and gripe towards State of decay 2 was mostly the map size being so small and needing to sort of switch over to a new map to experience more rather than grow, it felt more like, grow, learn conquer, start again in a different area to get the benefits of this area. Not a ton I would recommend they do besides size up the maps but even that makes it complicated with the new infestation system and how intensely hordes will spread. It felt like that permadeath factor took a lot away from the game and turned it into somewhat of a Rogue-like rather than a zombie game or even a zombie survival type game. It's a hybrid sort of game and I'll admit I will not always be satisfied with everything every game has to offer. I just have concerns about that about the game and I enjoyed 1 and 2 without even caring about the criticisms and even enjoyed it with my S/O who wasn't even a gamer before meeting me.

[@bladeshifter]

Let me add.. I do want it to feel more like a survival and not an arcade feeling game. Even the plague heart creating exponentially crazy spread of the zombie infestation. Sure I'll probably be playing on the easier difficulty so my partner can enjoy the game more but even the hardest difficulties were so aids and very "well wtf do we do, we're sort of f*cked now".

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Originally, the SOD2 was planned to have an end - once you destroyed all the plague hearts and completed the leader legacy. You only got to retain communities after completing a legacy after an update so the "forever" experience was designed to be in the game from the beginning. I think SOD3 will be designed so that forever communities are pretty core. But I do think Permandeath was what made the whole franchise special. It wasn't truly game-level permadeath unless you wiped your community but even so, knowing the risks and experiencing those knock backs made the highs of the game more enjoyable for me. Thanks for watching and the comment! 👍😎

[@gurugamingkiwi]

If they evolve infestations and blood plague into a single environmental mechanic like I talk about in the video then I believe that would be a much more survival experience than arcade-like. 👍😎

[@rossfree796]

I learned that trailer #1 was made by another studio and may have zero relevance to the real Undead Labs SoD3 trailer.

[@gurugamingkiwi]

I feel the same way. In some way, I think the new trailer is a "Reset" on what people should expect from the new game. I'm happy with that as I wasn't that excited to have undead animals just for the sake of it. 👍😎

[@Carlin2810]

I just hope they put more focus & effort into base facilities because I feel if they had just dedicated one update for SoD2 that added new base facilities & mods it would have added much more reply value than all of the current updates such as plague clouds that just add frustration & more screen particles we didnt need especially at night when you cant see anything anyway. I had like 1800 hours in SoD2 but I was just so bored of building the same base layouts & they patched after 5 years the facilty dupe bug that let us use more mods on a facilty than we should have been able to but it meant I could use a kitchen to make food instead of building a Garned or something it just let you build your base out a bit different,as it stands now I havnt turned the game on since Curve Ball was released for console & after a weekend playing I was bored of building the same base layout again. Although anytime Ive ever mentioned new base facilities im told in no uncertain terms how wrong I am to want this & if I want that I should just not build certain facilities & hobble myself asthough its more of a challenge im looking for as oppose to just new facilities to use,im not interested in making things harder & as challenging as possible I have that in real life I just want more options to build my base.

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Yeah Carlin. I'm with you on that one. There's a ton of stuff they can do to improve base building, through functionality and design and personal choice. Will there be fixed base sites? What new facilities will there be? What resources will be required to build and have them function? Some of the facilities in Heartland were just plain cool (if OP) and so I think there will be a new approach to base building in SOD3 and I got some ideas on it. Don't pay attention to people who shout you down for calling out what you would like to see. They don't own the game - we all do. Thanks for watching and the comment 👍😎

[@Carlin2810]

@@gurugamingkiwi Mate that bugged the shit outa me how they didnt even import Heartland base stuff into the main game no character skills either even after adding the new map it was played on,no plague busters either I just dont understand their thinking on SoD2 mate they could have got so much more milage out of it if they had imported the Heartland stuff over. I dunno mate its mind boggling sometimes the things Devs put their time into (Im looking at you Plague Territory) when theres such low hanging fruit that would give so much more juice with less effort needed for the squeeze....😤...Mate..😆

[@gurugamingkiwi]

@@Carlin2810 Yeah, I don't know the reasons why they didn't bring some of that across. Maybe balancing? Maybe technical? But we saw them used to good effect in some mods. There could've got mileage for sure.

[@ForrestFox]

I would be sad if PETA stoped Undead Labs from adding animals to the game. (Even more sad if Sweet Baby Inc is involved)

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Haha - I don't think it would be PETA, the devs themselves decided not to put animals in SOD2. If they do add animals, it's got to make sense. If I see a Jugg, 2 screamers, 6 zombies and 4 zombie badgers I would consider that an immersion breaker. Thanks for watching and the comment👍😎

[@ForrestFox]

@@gurugamingkiwi to be honest, a zombie badger would probably be the most terrifying thing I could ever imagine to see o_O I fear those animals more than anything

[@gurugamingkiwi]

@@ForrestFox LOL. Sorry, but LOL 😆

[@emorsi]

I don't know... I am still disappointed here. The gameplay will be fantastic for sure but the visuals? I expected a lot more, tbh, like a real next generation step as we see in Unrecord, which is very close to fotorealistic. And I did want that for SOD 3 too. Maybe I expected too much here. Ah, anyway, I am still hyped. And I would love to see a "Lone Wolf" type character as a possible option to roam the world, without a home base but with the option to make a wooden house in the forest, maybe in the trees even. Something like that...

[@gurugamingkiwi]

Going photo realistic for a police shooter is one thing but an open world zombie shooter is another. Done properly it could look great, done badly it could look like your cousins live-action role play group. I guess they chose whichever they felt would be most immersive (among other considerations). They could add something to support solo play. After all, you could end up being the last one left in the game and if the game mechanics break down that would be an issue. Thanks for watching and the comment 👍😎

[@MythronVET63]

I'll give you 60 bucks right now for an hour's worth of gameplay kind of a tutorial

[@MythronVET63]

And another 60 when the game is finished

[@gurugamingkiwi]

You mean for SOD3? I would give you 60 bucks right now if you could give me a playable version of the game! 😂👍😎

[@MythronVET63]

With the new drivers like unreal 5 and 6 grafting new content onto games is pretty easy if you know what you're doing unlike other games and since Undead labs Works directly for Microsoft they have both the money and the facility to do the work they may be further along than most people think if it was a tutorial on Base building it would be awesome