Oh my gosh, what a blast from the past. Hello ZomBAE’s. How long has it been? Diving back into Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted was like being dragged through the garden hedge backwards – in a good way, where you can style it out, not in a zombie invasion way!
I played the original religiously back in the day, and let me tell you, ‘that day’ was back in 2009! Just think about what on earth you may have been doing back then. I was fresh into my second year of secondary school, and I fully remember PopCap being all over the IT suite computers.
YES, the start of this wonderful franchise, which has evolved over the years, to the point it’s now time to start remasters, and let me say what I have seen so far with this remaster hits that same sweet spot of charm and addiction.
Let’s dive into first impressions…
A Welcome Return to Nostalgia
It’s not a flashy reinvention; instead, it feels like the original game has simply been re-released for today, with a fresh coat of paint and a smoother finish. The first thing that stood out was just how crisp everything looks.
The art has been sharpened, animations are smoother, and nothing feels blurry or outdated. Yet, it hasn’t lost its heart, the plants still ooze character, zombies still stumble in with that goofy menace, and the lawns, pools, and nightscapes look just as I remember them.
It’s like they’ve upgraded the visuals to modern standards without ever tampering with the soul of the game. Something you may know about me is that I literally BANG on all the time when it comes to remasters. We are not trying to fix what isn’t broken here, pals.
The audio is exactly what I hoped it would be: instantly recognisable and filled with nostalgia. Each audio splice and tune pulls me right back to those hours I spent lining up pea shooters against incoming hordes. Little sound cues, like the thunk of a walnut landing and the shuffle and groans of the zombies, are preserved beautifully. It’s comfortingly familiar, yet clean and refreshed.
Wal-Nutty About You
I’ve played through the first three worlds as a bit of a taster of what’s to come, which you may remember as the front lawn, night mode, and backyard pool. The Almanac returns, showing off plants and zombies in that same quirky style, and the strategy layer remains addictive, balancing sun collection, plant choice, and frantic lane defence. So far, I’ve had zero technical difficulties: no bugs, no glitches, no crashes. It feels polished and reliable.
There are so many things I had forgotten about this game, so many different plants to mix up your arsenal, as well as Crazy Dave’s Twiddydinkies shop, allowing you to buy upgrades and time-limited items to make the following few levels a bit more of a breeze.
Listen, if you are here because you once played Plants Vs. Zombies, what can I tell you? We know this franchise, it’s looking so good as far as remasters go. If you are here because 2009 means you were very small, and you’re looking for ‘retro’. Please give it a try, and if you don’t love it, that’s fine. It’s okay to be wrong, y’know?
I’ve Got a Pocketful of Sunshine
Whilst I jest, I do think that Plants vs Zombies was a ‘gateway drug’ to the RTS Tower Defence genre. Prior games would likely have you shouting ‘NERD’ at whoever played them. However, PvZ inspired a wave of mobile and casual tower defence titles that we see today, such as Kingdom Rush, Bloons TDs, and it showed publishers that this kind of genre isn’t niche and can be a lot of fun.
Whilst it didn’t ‘pave the way’, it’s reshaped tower defence for a broader audience, proving strategic gameplay could be charming and mainstream. So if you’ve not played this, it’s worth a check out simply for that alone in my opinion. I can see the intention here to remaster, and as we are in a bit of the era of remastering older titles. This solidly earns its place with what I have seen so far.
The original Plants vs. Zombies wasn’t just about the Adventure mode. It is packed in plenty of extras, and those have been carried over here in Replanted. The 20 mini-games have collectable trophies. Playing them again was another welcome dose of nostalgia and a good dopamine hit when getting the gold.
Blame It On The Zombie
Puzzle mode includes the return of Vasebreaker and Survival mode, when you want an endless horde to see how long you can truly last in the garden. On top of these, Replanted adds Versus mode and co-op play. These weren’t in the original PC release (though they did show up in ports later). Couch co-op, with one player on a controller, is a neat way to share the chaos.
What’s most exciting for me is how this remake shows respect for the original. It doesn’t feel gimmicky or hollow—it feels like PvZ reborn, the way you remember it, just cleaner and sharper. If this is the model for future remakes, then I’d happily see more classics revisited this way.
I, for one, was absolutely obsessed with the mobile version of PvZ 2. The latter, more open world series (Battle for Neighborville, etc.) never hooked me the same way, but this return to basics has reminded me why the original remains the best. I look forward to revisiting this chapter of 2009 many more times.
Plants Vs. Zombies: Replanted will release on 23rd October 2025 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.
Disclaimer: In order to complete this preview, we played a promotional build of the game.
If you enjoyed this article or any more of our content, please consider our Patreon.
Make sure to follow Finger Guns on our social channels –Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, Spotify or Apple Podcasts – to keep up to date on our news, reviews and features