Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted Review. Return to the Backyard with Fresh Petals and Old Memories
Welcome Back to the Lawn
It’s sunset in the suburbs. The grass looks sharper, the colors brighter, and the air feels charged with something familiar. A Pea Shooter blinks awake, a Sunflower hums in rhythm, and then you hear it , that unmistakable groan of the undead stumbling down the driveway. The battle for your backyard has begun again. But is this more Dawn of the dead or the Teenage zombies of PvZ?
Fans of the Plants vs Zombies franchise have been thirsty for more backyard adventures, the one time king of mobile games that spawned various and sequels has been diminishing for the past few years and many people hope to see the series get some TLC a dose of fertilizer and bring it back to its former glory. After sixteen years, Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted is the latest effort to bring one of the most beloved tower defense experiences back to life. It looks however that they are taking small steps and instead of re-inventing the genre PopCap has opted to go back to its roots. Literally. This remaster of the very first PvZ leans hard into its nostalgia. It’s a celebration of what made the original great, now rebuilt for modern hardware and new audiences alike. The question is, does it blossom into something new or simply replant what we’ve already seen?
A Classic Reborn
It may seem like yesterday but the original Plants vs. Zombies game first hit the Appstore's in 2009, a time when casual strategy games were new, rare, and few gamers expected a lawn full of cartoon plants to be redefining the genre. Soon players across the world were managing sunlight, building tactical gardens, and defending their homes from increasingly odd, wacky zombie invasions. The balance between charm and challenge made the game an instant hit.
Now, Replanted aims to bring that same DNA back with updated HD visuals, sound design, and extra features that enhance the core formula without losing its personality. According to the development team, their goal was simple: “Preserve the magic of the original while making it feel fresh enough to live for another 20 years.”
During our earlier interview with the Replanted team, they emphasized their commitment to honoring the franchise’s roots while modernizing the experience for new platforms and playstyles.
Gameplay and New Features
Let's start with the fact that this is a remaster and not a remake. This means building on top of and re-using upscaled assets and adding quality of life features that have been introduced in later versions of the series. A quick note, because it has been a while since I played the original I decided to dust off my OG iPad copy (which since had a few updates it seems) and bought the xbox360 version of the game to get a true comparison instead of going by memory. Back to the review . At its core, Replanted plays exactly as you remember or the original PvZ, at least if you are a mostly casual player like me. You plant, you defend, and you manage your resources against steady waves of zombies that get tougher, faster, and weirder as the game progresses. As you progress you unlock new plants and features to increase your survivability in each increasingly challenging level .
At any time I was able to go back to any level at any time in the adventure mode, going back and showing these zombies who is boss with new unlocked powers while at the same time farm money is a fun way to get some more funds to get those unlocks from Crazy Dave's trunk.
In many ways the strategy portion still feels tight and rewarding, though there have been some new tweaks that subtly enhance pacing and balance. The game comes with all the levels from the original Day, Night, Pool , Fog and Roof. It also has some secret levels included that were scrapped previously which are a nice add-on but it is also very clear why they were crapped as they did not always feel exiting or tight in their challenges.
I liked the addition of the fast forward option but when testing I noticed that on the Switch the music would speed up as well, I did not notice this initially on the xbox version, but later test I found some levels where this happened to some effect as well. There was no setting to set a preference for this, so is the intended effect and or there be a patch?
There was a second issue with the switch and that was with using the touch screen to place the seed packets/plants. On the original on the iPad there was this highlight that would show you where you were placing the plant, and it would only let you put it on specific spots.
On the Switch this is missing, making it harder to see where you are putting it , especially when you are in a rush. Additionally it let me put plants in squares that were already occupied, they would not do anything and I had to actual tap the correct spot which when dealing with a monster wave in a panic is detrimental to the experience.
What I did enjoy however was the seamlessness in which you can switch between controller, mouse mode and touch screen during gameplay at any time.
New Modes:
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Cloudy Day introduces weather as a factor. When the clouds roll in, sunlight becomes scarce and your Sunflowers go to sleep. A fun sunless variation on the night levels. It forces smarter resource management and ups the tension in later stages.
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Rest in Peace is the hardcore mode for veterans or after you unlocked every other thing in the game and looking for something fresh. Once you beat the campaign, this permadeath option challenges you to survive without mistakes. One wrong move, and it’s back to the start. There is not a lot of pomp and circumstance with the mode, it is barebones. Basically it is what it says on the box.
Secret levels Bonus levels, never before seen levels, puzzles challenges and even a China level. there is a bunch to unlock and mess with outside of the campaign.
Co-op and Competitive play is a win , and a miss.
Replanted lets you share the chaos with friends. You can defend the yard together or face off in head-to-head battles where one controls the plants and the other commands the undead. It’s a simple addition that fits perfectly with the game’s personality. We have seen the coop gameplay before but it is nice to see in this remaster of the original game.
However a big, and frankly inexcusable, mistake is the lack of online multiplayer. I understand that couch co-op is probably the best experience for this mode, but in this day an age there has to be an online option. However on PC, PlayStation and Xbox we are just stuck with the local coop. Exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2, GameShare support even allows two players on different switches to team up using just one copy of the game, making it an easy pick for local fun, but it remains that.. local. Considering EA is the publisher of some of the best ever coop games with "It takes two" and "Split Fiction" which include online play with the need of only one copy for a low entry price they have experience in bringing this sort of option to its player base.
Presentation, Sound, and Atmosphere
The presentation of PvZ: Replanted is where we going to see some cracks in its shiny veneer. And depending if you are a purist, someone with a keen eye that and ear or perhaps revere the series observing the on screen action in every pixelated detail, there might give you pause.
At first sight the visual overhaul is immediate. Every plant and zombie has been lovingly redrawn in HD, and the environments now pop with detail in 4k and even on my Switch 2 screen the colors are bright and inviting. On every system I played, the game looked crisp empathizing its cartoon charm giving a great plants vs zombies experience. Whether in the rooftop’s evening glow or the backyard’s calm greens and blues, every level felt alive and the UI overlay has been moved around some for greater clarity.
However on closer inspection it appears that this level of detail was not present in every asset of the game, some things felt "off" , blurry even. Things such as the seed packets (see below) The text in the top looks fuzzy and there are artifacts / blur in the back ground grass? And this repeats itself through other areas in the game. Not a game breaker by any means, but definitely sticking out like a sore thumb, making me wonder why some areas were skipped the beauty treatment.
There were also some graphical glitches such as when a zombie entered the house, the scene shifted right and the zombie showed on a green banner left of the house. When shopping from crazy Dave's trunk I could not see how much money I had unless I hit the bumper on the controller to switch between selections, causing a brief pop up of the money graphic. A keen eye will probably find many more of these sloppy details throughout the game. These things are not super offensive, but again stand out more against the other areas that look that much nicer. Almost like some artwork was given a more thorough spruce up then others.
This lack of attention to detail continues with the soundtrack, which overall is just as iconic as ever. If you played PvZ before you will instantly recognize Laura Shigihara’s whimsical music, which still sets the perfect tone for the game but despite sounding excellent, it seems to be missing the dynamic buildup that contributes to a subtle tension as things get more hectic over time. Instead we get the full composition right of the bat, robbing the player of the tension building layers.
Overall though for me these problems are only highlighting the positives of the game and when playing I had a great time and I have gone through the xbox, version, the switch 2 version and an older build of the PC version ( to a point) So I got some good time in across multiple platforms and never got bored, or worse totally stunted by these minor issues. The game comes packaged with a lot of extras to enjoy it for hours. From secret never before seen levels, to coop and vs modes there is a lot to enjoy and I did not feel the team skimped on content, even when there is so much more. There are also some options to set for alternative zombies with crab heads, sunglasses and even a pre-order "8-bit" pixelated retro zombies. Even Crazy Dave’s muffled mumbling is back , reminding you that some things never change.
During our interview back at PAX West this summer, the team indicated they had no plans for DLC. You can view this either as a positive because you will not be milked for content after, or as a negative because there might have been many levels and modes you would have loved to see in this remaster. But I do hope we see a patch or two to address the minor issues and just polish the last few fringes of the product to make it the total package.
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| PvZ:Replanted |
Performance and Platforms
As I mentioned I played a few different versions of the game. Replanted launches across nearly every modern platform, including PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and both Switch systems. The game runs smoothly on all versions I tested so far, with quick load times and seemingly , to the naked eye, consistent frame rates. Portable play on the Switch2 feels especially natural, making it easy to jump in for a few rounds anywhere.
I was not able to test to see if there was proper support of ultrawide screen as the consoles do not support the format and the PC version I had was an older build without the support as well. So I cannot speak for how that will look.
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| Dave has everything! |
Despite its (to me) minor issues Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted proves that some games truly never lose their charm. It’s a faithful, fun, game that is surprisingly still felt fresh to play. The updated visuals look great on the big screen as well as the little one (switch) and extra modes give ample opportunity for veteran players to return to the back yard while offering newcomers a perfect entry point to one of gaming’s most creative strategy experiences and good reason to get the game over older versions on the market place
Some fans of the series will rejoice in seeing some form of life in the PvZ franchise while others might have been hoping for more. But the with the decision to go for a remaster it feels like EA and Pop Cap are dipping a toe in the water to feel the temperature and see if there is still enough love out there for the franchise. Here is hoping it opens the pathway to a brand new garden.
For now PvZ doesn’t reinvent the series, but it doesn’t need to necessary. What it does is remind us why we fell in love with sunflowers, pea shooters, and lawnmowers in the first place. It is up to the players to decide if it is enough to rebuy the game once more and if the asking price of $19.99 is the correct one.
The Sunny Bright Spots
Faithful to the original charm and gameplay
Beautiful HD visuals and remastered soundtrack
Local co-op and versus modes are great additions
No microtransactions
Cloudy areas
No online multiplayer limits its social reach
Some players may wish for more brand-new content
Lack of attention to detail in some of the artwork stands out among the good
A few original artists were reportedly not involved in the remaster, which may concern longtime fans of the series’ art legacy
- Does the remaster do enough to warrant a $20 price tag
- Can we still get an online Multiplayer tacked on? or a few patches.
- Digital only
A fun return to the lawn that modernizes the original’s charm without losing what made it special. It’s packed with content, plays great across platforms, and offers an easy recommendation for both newcomers and nostalgic fans But for hard core PvZ players, Replanted might not dig deep enough to satisfy those long-time fans, craving new mechanics or bold innovation and lack of polish in some areas makes it more a refreshed memory than a full revival.
Developer: PopCap Studios, The Lost Pixels
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: PC (Steam, EA App, Epic Games Store), Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Reviewed on : XBOX Series X and Switch 2 (codes provided by EA/PopCap)
Release Date: October 23, 2025
ESRB: Everyone 10+
Price: $19.99
