Talking about Overkill's The Walking Dead is a tricky conversation. One one hand when it works, the game is superb! The terror of the horde, the needed cooperation and the combat all are pretty solid. On the other side of the equation, there is so much that throws the game out of balance at any given moment.
Traversing the world of Overkill's The Walking Dead was no easy task, but despite the scrapes and bruises and the random disconnections from servers, there is still a ton to see and do in the game that I think players can enjoy. So how's the state of the game now? Let's get to it.
The biggest grievance that surfaced while playing was the fact that when wanting to run solo through the game, players still have to face the entire amount of undead and A.I. humans that they would face if they were a full squad. It's damn near impossible. As someone who prefers to run through games solo, it is a huge turn off to the game to be forced to play with random people when friends aren't available. I understand that this is meant to be a cooperative experience, but so was Left 4 Dead and Earthfall and at least they both give players a fair shot if they're stuck without any friends on that run through.
There are a ton of technical issues that surfaced when running through what I could play of the game. During an off-stream game, John and I were in a house and the door was closed on my screen but the dead were just walking through it as if it weren't even there. I found out a few minutes later that on John's screen the door was broken down and gone entirely. Sometime after that John got disconnected and the server shut down. While that only happened the times I was playing with him as a teammate it was wildly inconveniencing. It did offer some mild entertainment when I was the only one moving freely and able to destroy a ton of zombies without fear of actually dying from them.
The game feels oddly restrictive at certain points. It might just be an immersion break but during certain sieges, by walkers, a red wall appears in certain areas showing players they can not go into where the walkers are coming out of. It's just an odd thing to see appear, an invisible wall I can walk into is enough of an indication.
It's not all doom and gloom though. There is a lot to enjoy, that creates a solid foundation for Overkill's The Walking Dead. Each class feels like a welcome addition to the game and each is noticeably missed when they aren't chosen for a game. The actual combat is wonderfully crafted. Trying to hit headshots on a closing in the horde is terrifying. When that horde closes in and gets its' hands on you and you are looking around at all the soulless husks closing in it is a truly stand out moment of horror for 2018.
In addition to the actual gameplay being solid, there is a crafting system that works pretty well. During the game, the player finds materials that can be used to make character specific items such as lock picks/ explosives and even more health kits. The problem in that system, and it's not a huge problem, is that you can only craft at your base. So if you run out of health kits and don't have the support character in your squad you are S.O.L. Like I said that isn't a huge problem, the system still works and in an arguably way brings even more of a desolate feeling to the game.
Overkill's The Walking Dead captures that desolate feeling really well. The only inhabitants of the streets are the roaming husks of former humans, flipped over and burning cars abandoned homes. Couple that with the low amounts of ammo, traps, the only other humans in the world trying to kill you on site and it adds up to a fantastically crafted universe that, not for nothing, is graphically impressive. Speaking of the traps, some players have voiced the opinion that they are a nuisance to the game. I can't identify with that. The handful of traps make players slow down and be more vigilant so as to not draw attention to themselves.
That being said, they also add to the chaos when it comes to everyone panicking because the dead are closing in. Imagine the horde coming closer, you and your team are running up an alleyway and trip over a wire holding glass bottles making a ton of noise drawing even more attention to you. Worse yet, someone gets stuck in a bear trap, or a Molotov falls from the ceiling. That's the kind of chaos that makes this game a stand out title. Speaking of chaos there is a great mechanic in place where the more noise a player makes the more walkers will be drawn to the area. The meter at the top of the screen indicates how many are being drawn to the area. Fill that and prepare for one of the hardest escape acts you will ever have to perform.
Getting down to the bottom line, Overkill's The Walking Dead has a really well-constructed foundation but needs work put into it. The biggest thing that needs to be implemented is scaling the game better for players who don't want to or can't enjoy the game with a lobby full of randoms. They don't have to do a straight-up solo mode, just find a way to scale it properly for the number of players in the lobby. The core gameplay works well overall. The intensity of surviving a horde is there, the gunplay is well constructed. Skills offer up new ways to play that make the game enjoyable.
It is hard to say how great the flaws outweigh the good that this game does. As stated earlier when the game clicks with a group it is fantastic and even in defeat it's still enjoyable, but when it fails it is about as fun as rolling around in concrete as it hardens. That being said, I look forward to seeing the game evolve and work towards making an even better experience for players moving forward.