Dead Effect is a single-player sci-fi first-person shooter built around a zombie-infested starship. The ESS Meridian is bound for Tau Ceti f, a planet intended for human colonization, when an elite Unit 13 member wakes from cryogenic sleep to find the destination missing and the crew hostile. That setup makes exploration part of the mystery: the player is trying to understand what happened as well as survive the attack.
The game pairs its story campaign with Survive and Biohazard modes, and its weapons and abilities give the action a particular sci-fi edge. Players can upgrade fourteen weapons, use explosives such as grenades and trip-mines, and activate Bullet Time to slow the action or Devastation for an area-of-effect attack. The campaign is described as twelve missions, with more rooms open to explore than in the mobile version, while the game also offers achievements and different enemy types.
The available modes and campaign frame the experience as a blend of narrative discovery and repeated fights against aggressive enemies aboard the Meridian.
