Written and directed by Andy Thompson. Story by Tyler Clarke, Sarah Mercedes Ghosh, and Andy Thompson. Writing assisted by Tyler Clarke. Produced by the Virtual Stage at an undisclosed location on Thursday, October 9. Continues until November 2

It’s getting to be a familiar game, but it’s still a pretty good one.

If you’ve been to either of the Virtual Stage’s previous participatory zombie shows, you know the drill. You show up at a secret location that’s been emailed to you the day before. There, you’re told that you’re part of a highly trained team that’s been called together to save the world from the zombie threat. And you get a specific role: communications expert, head of logistics, ninja, accountant, and so on. Then you and your team—there were 12 in our group on opening night—have to complete your task by collecting clues, figuring out codes, and, of course, fending off zombies. It’s an urban scavenger hunt, but the undead up the ante.

Surprise is a big part of the fun, so I won’t give away anything crucial, but I will say that this year’s show unfolds in one of the grittier parts of town and the central conceit is that being a zombie is a lot like being addicted.

This metaphor looks good on paper: when we’re actively addicted, our inflamed appetites can make us appear possessed. But in practice, the metaphor slides off base. Given this year’s location, it’s inevitable that you’re going to run into real-life folks who are addicted, and the immediacy of their distress makes an uncomfortable fit with the ironic absurdity of the trope. I found myself asking, “What am I doing playing a game that’s a metaphor for this person’s suffering?” Zombies are soulless, while junkies clearly aren’t.

And zombies aren’t popular because they embody cultural fears about addiction; they’re popular because they allow us to safely address our terror of rampant alienation. That’s why, two years ago, in the Virtual Stage’s first zombie project, it worked so well when the audience took the SkyTrain: we were on the lookout for the undead and everybody who was glued to a screen or plugged in to ear buds became a suspect.

There are a couple of other problems with this year’s project: to pass the final test, the team has to come up with a piece of trivia that’s unrelated to zombiedom, and the show never really scared me.

Still, some of this year’s interior spaces are cool. There are some strong players in the cast, especially Jacob Woike, Stuart Barkley, and Bill Croft as… Well, I can’t tell you who. And it’s fun to play downtown with a bunch of adults. It’s great to commit to the game, despite its problems, get into character, and watch others do the same. In the end, playing together may be the best inoculation we all have, our best protection from turning into zombies.