You've spent 20 days checking eyes, confiscating contraband, and feeding zombies. Now Day 26 approaches, and you're wondering if your choices actually mattered. They did. Every quota you hit, every zombie you caged, and every survivor you misclassified adds up to determine whether humanity gets another chance or the operation collapses into chaos.
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check forces you to juggle multiple systems simultaneously, and the ending you receive reflects how well you maintained that balance. This guide breaks down exactly what triggers each outcome, with specific numbers and thresholds so you can plan your run accordingly.
What Actually Determines Your Ending?
Your final outcome depends on three interconnected performance metrics tracked throughout the 26-day Campaign. The game doesn't display a morality meter or give you obvious warnings. Instead, it silently evaluates your efficiency across evacuation success, containment protocols, and facility stability.
Performance Categories That Matter:
- Evacuation Quotas: Five checkpoints requiring specific survivor counts
- Zombie Containment: Cage presence during four late-game evacuations
- Facility Control: Deaths inside the Survivor Block and wall integrity
- Task Completion: Mission objectives from the bulletin board
The Campaign ends on Day 26 regardless of performance. Success leads to credits and completion. Failure transitions you into Endless Mode starting Day 27, where quotas no longer exist and survival becomes the only goal.
Important
The game calculates your ending before the final evacuation begins. You cannot change the outcome during Day 26 itself.
Evacuation quota requirements
How to Unlock "Good Work, Son" (Good Ending)
The good ending requires consistent performance without demanding perfection. You can afford mistakes if you maintain control over the core systems. Focus on hitting most quotas while keeping your containment protocols active.
Evacuation Quota Requirements
Quotas appear at the end of Days 5, 10, 15, 21, and 26. Each requires a minimum number of uninfected survivors plus additional conditions for later evacuations. Our Quarantine Zone: The Last Check Beginners Guide covers the inspection fundamentals you'll need to identify infected individuals accurately.
Critical Rule: You must successfully complete 4 out of 5 quotas to remain eligible for the good ending. Missing two quotas pushes you toward failure regardless of other factors.
Understanding the Uninfected Count
The quota measures uninfected survivors only. If you send 20 people to evacuation but 3 are secretly infected, your actual count is 17. Hidden infections are the most common reason quotas fail despite sending enough bodies.
Always send 2-3 extra survivors beyond the requirement. This buffer accounts for infections you might miss during inspection. Better to have overflow than fall short by one person.
Tip
Use all inspection tools thoroughly. A single missed symptom can reduce your uninfected count and silently fail the quota.
Zombie cage containment system
Zombie Cage Management (Mandatory After Day 10)
The zombie cage becomes a hard requirement starting with the Day 10 evacuation. You unlock this system through the "Hi Doggy" taskline, which introduces the laboratory containment protocols. Missing the cage requirement causes instant evacuation failure even if your survivor numbers are perfect.
Cage Operation Rules
One Zombie Maximum: The cage holds a single zombie at any time. You must manually transfer an infected individual from the Quarantine cell to the laboratory cage using the tablet interface.
Daily Feeding Requirement: Feed one corpse per day to maintain containment. The zombie will escape if you forget to provide food, destroying your cage and failing future quotas.
Yellow Indicator Confirmation: A yellow status light on the cage interface confirms readiness for evacuation. Check this before every quota day to avoid last-second failures.
Post-Evacuation Flexibility: You can liquidate the caged zombie after an evacuation completes, but you must capture and cage a new one before the next quota deadline.
Common Cage Mistakes
Players frequently fail quotas by forgetting the cage exists. Set a mental reminder to check the laboratory interface every few days. The game won't warn you if the cage is empty until evacuation begins, at which point it's too late to fix.
Survivor Block Deaths and Facility Stability
Deaths inside the Survivor Block heavily influence your ending calculation. A single death won't automatically trigger the bad ending, but multiple casualties create mounting pressure that combines with other failures.
High-Risk Scenarios:
- Sending infected survivors into The Block (they turn and attack)
- Ignoring riot warnings from overcrowding
- Failing to upgrade buildings through the tablet
- Letting the perimeter wall fall during drone defense sequences
The game tracks these incidents cumulatively. Three Block deaths combined with one missed quota might still allow the good ending, but five deaths with two missed quotas guarantees failure.
Warning
Misclassifying healthy survivors as infected and sending them to liquidation also counts against you, though less severely than Block deaths.
How to Get "SNAFU" (Bad Ending)
The bad ending triggers when your operation deteriorates beyond recovery. This isn't about a single catastrophic failure but accumulated breakdowns across multiple systems over 26 days.
Primary Failure Triggers
Missing 3+ Evacuation Quotas: Two failed quotas keep you on track for success if everything else works. Three failures lock you into the bad ending regardless of other performance.
Zombie Cage Violations: Failing to maintain the cage for multiple evacuations (Days 10, 15, 21, 26) creates compounding failures that push you toward SNAFU.
Perimeter Wall Collapse: Letting the wall fall during drone defense sequences ends your run immediately or forces you into Endless Mode early.
Consistent Misclassification: Repeatedly sending infected into The Block or healthy survivors to liquidation demonstrates operational incompetence the game punishes.
Task Failures and Secondary Factors
Major tasks from the bulletin board carry weight in the ending calculation. Ignoring contract targets, research objectives, or critical maintenance requests adds negative points behind the scenes. While you can skip minor tasks, completing zero objectives throughout the Campaign significantly increases bad ending probability.
Survivor Block upgrade interface
Practical Strategies for Consistent Success
Day-by-Day Preparation
Days 1-5: Focus on learning inspection tools and building cash reserves. The first quota is easy, giving you time to practice symptom identification.
Days 6-10: Unlock and cage your first zombie before Day 10. Start feeding it immediately to establish the routine.
Days 11-20: Maintain steady survivor flow and upgrade Block buildings to prevent riots. This middle period tests your resource management.
Days 21-26: Final push requires maximum efficiency. Double-check every inspection and confirm cage status daily.
Inspection Efficiency Tips
Use the X-Ray scanner liberally to catch internally hidden contraband and skeletal deformities. Many infections present subtle bone changes that visual inspection misses.
The medical hammer reveals neurological symptoms through reflex testing. Don't skip this step, especially on survivors who seem healthy otherwise.
Blood tests provide definitive infection confirmation but cost resources. Use them when visual symptoms are ambiguous rather than on every survivor.
Resource Management Balance
You need cash for fuel, tool upgrades, and emergency situations. Aim for $50,000 accumulated by Day 20 to handle late-game expenses without stress. Confiscating contraband provides bonus income, so search thoroughly.
Fuel shortages can prevent evacuations even if you hit survivor quotas. Always keep 2-3 days of fuel in reserve by purchasing extra whenever you have surplus cash.
What Happens After Each Ending?
Good Ending (Good Work, Son): Credits roll and the Campaign completes successfully. You've saved humanity, at least temporarily. The game tracks this completion for achievement purposes.
Bad Ending (SNAFU): The operation collapses and you transition into Endless Mode starting Day 27. Quotas disappear, replaced by pure survival against increasing zombie waves. This mode continues indefinitely until you die.
Both endings unlock specific achievements. "Good Work, Son" requires the successful completion path, while "SNAFU" unlocks through failure. You can replay the Campaign to experience both outcomes.
Achievement Hunting Considerations
Several achievements tie directly to ending requirements. Master Evacuator requires hitting all five quotas in a single run, which guarantees the good ending if you maintain the zombie cage.
Perfect Day (perfect inspection scores for all survivors in one day) and Jackpot! ($50,000 accumulated) both support good ending strategies through careful play.
The hidden achievements like Can't Touch This (confiscate severed zombie parts) and Brain Slam (basketball shot with a brain) can be completed during any run without affecting your ending outcome.
Tip
Focus on ending requirements first, then pursue weird achievements during a second playthrough when you understand the systems better.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover from two failed quotas? Yes, if you hit the remaining three quotas and maintain all other systems perfectly. Two failures is the maximum allowable for the good ending.
Does liquidating healthy survivors matter? It counts against you but less severely than Block deaths. Avoid it when possible, but occasional mistakes won't automatically trigger the bad ending.
What if my zombie escapes the cage? Recapture and cage a new zombie immediately. As long as the cage shows yellow (ready) status before evacuation begins, you're fine.
Do I need to complete every bulletin board task? No, but completing zero tasks increases bad ending risk. Aim for at least 50% task completion throughout the Campaign.
Can I change my ending during Day 26? No. The ending calculates before Day 26 evacuation begins based on your accumulated performance. Day 26 itself cannot alter the outcome.