Overkill's The Walking Dead Beta Review

So, this weekend I got the chance to play the beta of Overkill's The Walking Dead. Unfortunately, since this is my first time doing this, my gameplay footage had no game volume! So I decided to write something up for you guys and let you know if I recommend you pick up the game. 

So first off, I was pretty impressed with the graphics and how little lagging there was. I was a little worried those two things would be bad, and those are my biggest concerns with new video games. After buying Friday the 13th for Xbox One, I've been pretty paranoid.

Luckily, matchmaking was extremely efficient and easy. It took me less than five seconds to get connected with my friend and to start a search to fill up the rest of the party. We were able to find other players easily and the game got started quickly. For some reason, none of us could figure out how to voice chat in the game, so my friend and I were disconnected from the rest of the party. This certainly made things difficult.

There are several different layouts and weapons that you can choose from before you start a mission. Since I had just started playing the game, I didn't have many options. However, there was still plenty to explore. The first mission consisted of herds of walkers overrunning your camp. 

This is the first mission?!

You and four players have to each fight off the zombies with limited ammo and stamina, as well as repair the walls to stop the walkers from coming in.

Although the game is really fun, it does take some getting used to. My friend and I died a lot and we would have to redo the mission. There is no tutorial and you are literally thrown into the game, so expect to die a lot at first. It doesn't help that you can't skip the introduction to each mission. It's only twenty seconds, but it is just narration and gets boring after the first time. 

As for the missions, there are a variety of them that consist of you surviving against either horde of walkers, enemy groups, or both. There isn't too much content, but this is only the beta. It also can get repetitive (especially if you are still learning and end up dying a lot), but once you get the hang of it you will have a lot of fun.

This game is meant to play with your friends. If you aren't working together, you aren't going to win. These are my favorite types of games. 

The only loading screen. Get used to it!

My favorite part of Overkill's The Walking Dead is the realism of it. You have limited stamina and ammo and it doesn't take one melee to kill a walker. It is also hard to aim without a cursor and you need to use your ammo wisely. If you end up shooting too much, you will either run out of ammo, alert zombies to your position, bring a brand new herd to you, or all three! 

 Stealth and decision making is important and you have to decide when you need to use your guns and when you don't. This becomes increasingly difficult when enemy groups are in the mix. Just like real life, you can't take down someone with a swing of a bat. They fight back!

Checking out enemy groups

So basically, the action is great. This is definitely an action-oriented game. It actually involves strategy and if you set out to just kill every zombie in sight, you are going to lose. The enemy humans in the game are pretty easy to kill and they don't move around much, but they add an interesting mix. 

As for the story, there isn't much to tell. The story is very jumbled and doesn't matter at all. You're going to have fun playing the game and the story isn't going to change that. There are short bursts of narration before each mission and that is all you're going to get. You can explore your base camp and listen to pre-recorded lines from other survivors, but I'm sure you'd rather be playing an actual mission. 

Exploring the residents of your base camp

If you are a fan of AMC's The Walking Dead, I definitely recommend picking up a copy. It is not extremely fast-paced and you will have to strategize much like the characters do in the show. At one point in the game, I was being too loud and alerted a herd, which caused myself to be separated from my group. I had to run through an enemy group's house and lure the zombies in to kill the humans. I then had to climb out to the roof and slowly kill zombies one by one as they entered through the doorway. I was eventually overpowered, but it reminded me of the TV show and I loved it.

However, I would wait until future content is released. There may be more content with the full release of the game, and if so, buy it! You're going to want to wait until your friends can play with you though. This game is not meant to play alone. 

For a beta, I was really impressed. It ran well and was easy to find a game and play with friends. The action was great, you can't beat it in one sitting, and it didn't feel incomplete. The gameplay may get repetitive but there also might be future content once the full game releases. Either way, the missions are pretty long (other than the first one). The Walking Dead is slapped onto the game, but in reality, it is just a normal zombie game. I'm still debating if it will be worth $60 upon release, but I'm totally considering buying it.

Will you be buying the game? Let me know in the comments below!