Pico der Untoten is a first person shooter and a Call of Duty’s classic zombie mode demake by Ross McCormick, released in September, 2026.
Call of Duty: World at War’s zombie mode has been adapted to fit a more Pico-8 appropriate Wolfenstein 3D type of action where you survive against countless waves of the undead, earn points, buy new weapons, and see how long you can last on Nacht der Untoten.
Let’s begin with the fact that the only Call of Duty games I’ve ever played were the very first World War II ones, so this zombie mode doesn’t give me a nostalgic blast, which in turn means I’m only judging it at its face value.
The technical side of the demake is almost perfect. Zombie-smashing gameplay is very smooth, not-quite-alive enemy forces never glitch out even when their number rises in the later rounds. Unfortunately, there’s no mouse support, but the keyboard controls work well enough.
You start in a relatively small room with a few tiny corridors, zombie spawns and weapon options and then, in just a few seconds, the nightmare begins to unfold. The undead you kill come wave after wave, giving you only a few seconds of respite to fix up spawn barriers and refill the ammo.
Bullets don’t come for free and money for these restocks comes from taking down the undead. Your zombie annihilation efficiency rises with every weapon. Every gun has its own character — a pistol, a carbine, and a shotgun all feel very different. Punchy sound effects make every shot special. And if you get bored with single-shot weapons, eventually you can save up for something a lot more fun — a Thompson machine gun.
Let me tell you, mowing down this deadly horde with it makes you feel truly unstoppable!
Every now and then you get bonus drop that would refill your ammo, make every shot an insta-kill or double the money you get from tearing apart zombies and rebuilding barriers.
Pico der Untoten has happened to be a fun pocket-size zombie shooter that doesn’t outlast its welcome. I’m not gonna tell you how close it is to the original classic Call of Duty zombie mode. What I can tell for sure is that it’s addicting and fun to play on it’s own and this is a lot more important.
No wonder it gets an Avarian Thumb’s Up!
Play the game on Lexaloffle Pico-8 BBS.
Developer’s Pico-8 BBS profile | Itch.io page | YouTube channel | X/Twitter.