The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival review

Outside of the Telltale series, The Walking Dead hasn’t had the best history when it comes to video games. Some have been decent, but most have just been downright bad. When I say that The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is one of the better games set in The Walking Dead universe, then, that doesn’t mean it’s a masterpiece. But if you are a fan of the show in particular, you’ll likely get some enjoyment out of it.

Developed by Odaclick Game Studio and published by Trailmark Games, The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is a side-scrolling beat ’em up focused on one specific part of the series’ long-running narrative: the all-out war between Rick Grimes and his friends, and the Saviors led by the charismatic Negan. Being based on the AMC version of events rather then the comic book, Daryl Dixon is present here, too.

It’s a strange choice, making a side-scrolling beat ’em up set in The Walking Dead universe, but it kind of works. As you’d expect, there are multiple stages for you to work your way through here, though you access them via a map, with you occasionally able to complete a small number of them in any order you wish. But still, it’s not a massive game; many missions here consist of just one stage, and so you’ll likely be watching the credits roll in a matter of hours.

The gameplay is largely what you’d expect. As Rick, Daryl or Michonne, you’ll generally move from left to right, hacking away at enemies with melee attacks with basic combos. With Saviors among the adversaries you’ll frequently face-off against, though, you’ll be glad of the added movement options. With the push of a button you can adopt a crouched position, handy for sneaking up on certain enemies or hiding behind cover. And you’ll need to use cover at times to avoid enemy fire. Either that, or quickly get up close to the enemies shooting at you, perhaps by running and vaulting over cover to deliver a swift kick in their face.

It’s the prevalence of firearms that primarily sets The Walking Dead: Street of Survival apart from from other games in the genre. Play as either Rick or Daryl and you’ll find yourself starting each stage with a ranged option, though ammo is limited. And half of the Saviors you encounter typically carry a gun of some kind.

It adds a unique element to the game, with you able to pop out behind cover and engage enemies in a firefight if you wish. But it can be frustrating dealing with multiple enemies eager to shoot you when you’ve run out of bullets and all you’ve got are your melee attacks to defend yourself with. Sometimes it can lead to the action feeling a bit unbalanced and messy.

There are other things in The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival that can be a little annoying, too, such as the fact that there’s no specific attack to use when you’ve knocked enemies to the floor. But as a counter-balance, there are little touches that make this one of the more interesting entries in the side-scrolling beat ’em up genre. There are adventure game elements here, for example, with optional objectives to complete in come missions as well as collectibles to find.

Add in RPG elements, with you able to develop Rick, Daryl and Michonne over time via skill trees, and you have a game that has some mechanics and ideas that might actually surprise you. Upon completing the game for the first time you unlock the ability to play as Negan, too, who comes with his very own skill tree, and you’ll be able to play all of the game’s missions with whichever character you wish. It’s just a bit silly that one of the game’s most attractive features, an endless survival mode, is locked behind DLC.

The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival isn’t a complete disaster like many other games based on the popular franchise, then. At the same time, however, there are some issues here than can suck the fun out of the experience. If you happen to love both The Walking Dead and side-scrolling beat ’em ups, it’s probably worth picking up. Otherwise, you might get some fun out of it, but you’ll certainly not be amazed.