Dead Age 2: The Zombie Survival RPG
- March 12, 2021
- Silent Dreams
- 60h median play time
Get on Steam"Dead Age 2" is a survival RPG with strategic turn-based combat and a complex story. Explore the open world, manage your base, and increase your reputation with factions through quests and trade. With no requirement to have played the first game, new and returning players can enjoy improved combat and a more in-depth narrative.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Significant improvement over the first game with enhanced graphics and gameplay mechanics.
- Engaging turn-based combat with a variety of enemies and strategic elements.
- The game offers a rich story with multiple factions and choices that impact gameplay.
- Repetitive combat and grinding can become tedious over time.
- Some bugs and performance issues persist, affecting the overall experience.
- The tutorial is lengthy and can feel overwhelming for new players.
- story217 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 80 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its depth and the impact of choices on the narrative, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking clarity in quests. Many find the plot engaging with several twists, but also note that it can feel tedious due to the sheer volume of fetch quests and the linear progression. Overall, while the story has potential and some interesting elements, it suffers from pacing issues and a lack of variety in mission design.
“The story is amazing!!”
“The main story is pretty interesting with quite a few twists and turns.”
“Very enjoyable game about base management, scavenging and tactical combat, with RPG elements, characters and a story to move things forward.”
“The story is pretty bare bones at the moment, but again it is still in early access so more will come, including romance.”
“The story and quests are horribly cringy with stupid and uninteresting dialogues.”
“Ultimately this game is an incoherent pile of medium tropes masquerading as a story, built on a foundation of unoriginal and poorly-communicated mechanics.”
- gameplay72 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Dead Age 2 has received mixed reviews, with players noting a blend of addictive mechanics and repetitive elements. While the combat is generally praised for its variety and engagement, many criticize the game's communication of mechanics and the reliance on familiar tropes from its predecessor. Overall, the game offers a solid foundation with room for improvement in balance and clarity, particularly for new players navigating its complex systems.
“The gameplay loop outside of combat is pretty fun.”
“The different skills you can deploy during combat add a variety to the gameplay and can be the difference between an easy or difficult fight or life and death.”
“The graphics are a huge upgrade, the sound quality is just amazing, and the gameplay mechanics are spot on.”
“The game does an awful job communicating game mechanics and outcomes to the player.”
“Ultimately this game is an incoherent pile of medium tropes masquerading as a story, built on a foundation of unoriginal and poorly-communicated mechanics.”
“I felt uncomfortable with it and would have preferred to have it separate from the main gameplay and just have the option to a) watch the parts I wanted to watch or b) simply learn by playing it.”
- graphics40 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant improvements over its predecessor, particularly in character rendering and environmental detail. While some find the 3D graphics dated and simplistic, others appreciate the charming art style and well-designed HUD. Overall, the graphics are considered acceptable to good, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some repetitive elements and minor performance issues.
“The graphics are very charming actually.”
“The locations are diverse and there is a lot of small detail in the graphical presentation, which liven up the whole experience.”
“The graphics are a huge upgrade; the sound quality is just amazing and the gameplay mechanics are spot on.”
“The only negative I can say about the game is while the in-game graphics are okay, the character portraits look absolutely horrible.”
“The rooms in the base, even on tier 3, seriously lack aesthetics and are boring.”
“The 3D graphics are also very dated, but the 2D aspects such as the HUD and map (which you will spend a lot of time with) look great.”
- grinding34 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 97 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and repetitive, often leading to frustration with fetch quests, combat, and resource farming. While some appreciate the addictive nature of the grind, many feel it detracts from the overall enjoyment, making the gameplay feel slow and monotonous, especially in the mid-game. Despite its decent story and mechanics, the grind can overshadow the fun, particularly for those who prefer a more dynamic experience.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The combat gets tedious after a while.”
“Very grindy and repetitive, not as good as other games like Dead State.”
“You are going to be repeating the same stuff over and over, grinding through boring fights that all look and feel the same.”
- music16 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 19 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its enjoyment and appropriateness, enhancing the overall experience with a captivating soundtrack that fits various scenes. Many players find it to be a standout feature, often describing it as enthralling and a significant improvement over previous installments. While some critiques mention the dialogue and combat, the music consistently receives high marks for its quality and ability to set the mood.
“The game is very fun and enjoyable, the music is awesome, and the developers are very involved!”
“Everything has been improved from the first game and it's got a great soundtrack to boot.”
“Plenty of tension done just right with resource gathering, base building, making sure there is food and water, base defenses are built and maintained etc. The music is also great with a gothic cowboy quality to its sound.”
“The dialogue is a snoozefest and the music about put me to sleep.”
“I mean, the only thing I do differently is put relaxing music while I'm playing it and the depressive ambience settles in.”
“Combat strategy isn't very deep but has turned out to be a great background game while listening to new music.”
- stability9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with users reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that can severely disrupt gameplay. While some improvements have been noted since earlier versions, many players still experience frustrating issues, particularly in early access. Overall, the game remains in a "janky alpha" state, with a mix of minor visual glitches and more severe performance problems.
“Game is unfortunately still too buggy to date.”
“The game is currently very buggy with numerous crashes, but the dev team seems to be responsive on the forums.”
“1) 'janky alpha (tm)' state - a galore of bugs, glitches, crashes will make your experience frustrating to outright impossible due to interface disappearing, quests glitching out, memory leaks occurring all of a sudden, reducing performance to a slide show even on a top rig.”
- replayability9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers a moderate level of replayability, primarily due to its learning process, procedural generation, and the impact of player decisions on the storyline. Players can enjoy multiple playthroughs by exploring different factions and difficulty settings, with many noting that the experience remains engaging for around 60 hours. However, some feel that replay value diminishes after a successful run, suggesting that while there are incentives to replay, it may not be limitless.
“The learning process ensures some degree of replayability.”
“Procedural generation and randomness add to the replayability.”
“Replayability: I say you can do it 3-4 times again, joining different factions and playing hardcore.”
“Replay value: none”
“- not a huge replay value after a successful run but 60 hours of entertainment is definitely worth the price!”
“Replayability: I say you can do it 3-4 times again, joining different factions, and playing hardcore.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is currently a significant issue, with many players reporting performance problems, bugs, and glitches that hinder gameplay, especially at higher graphics settings. While some users find the game stable and enjoyable, the overall experience is marred by lag and resolution limitations, leading to frustration. As it is still in early access, there is hope for future improvements from the developers.
“The game is stable, optimized, and oh did I mention fun.”
“I will recommend this game in the future once the bugs and optimizations are done.”
“I need to spend more time with the game, but I think that with some time, the developers will be able to boost performance and make the game more enjoyable.”
“Game performance and optimization are bad (but this is common to most Unity games).”
“At this stage, it's really early access. It has a bunch of performance issues such as lagging, and the max resolution isn't the best in this day and age. Most screens are at least 1440p. The story is decent, and the gameplay is okay. I do like the whole base building. Keep up the good work, devs; I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys will add in the future.”
“The 'janky alpha' state is filled with a galore of bugs, glitches, and crashes that will make your experience frustrating to outright impossible due to interface disappearing, quests glitching out, and memory leaks occurring all of a sudden, reducing performance to a slideshow even on a top rig.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is a mixed bag, eliciting both frustration and laughter from players due to its quirky writing and amusing animations. While some moments, like a punk sending his wives into battle, are genuinely funny, the overall execution leaves players feeling conflicted about the comedic elements.
“From the very start of the game, it will have your eyes rolling, with frustration and laughing in pity at the direction the writing/story took, instead of having a well-stocked base and/or several members who know what they are doing.”
“The animations are not great, although some of them are incredibly funny, so this is somewhere in between a pro and a con.”
“There is even a really funny one where a punk sends all his wives at you.”
- character development3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is limited due to a small cast, but players appreciate the unique and distinct artwork of each character. Overall, the game successfully integrates character design with its open-world and choice-driven elements, enhancing the overall experience.
“Factions, base, open-world, choices, character development... all going great.”
“Character development: there aren't many characters in this game, but I do love the artwork and I think they all look unique and different from one another.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its immersive qualities, although some feel that other artistic elements are compromised to prioritize gameplay.
“I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the game.”
“This is a video game that prioritizes gameplay over all other artistic elements, resulting in a crude distortion of the plot, dialogue, player interaction, and atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere feels lifeless and uninspired, failing to immerse players in the game world.”
“Despite the potential for a rich environment, the atmosphere is flat and lacks any real sense of tension or engagement.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the game lacks emotional depth, with many players finding the story to be unengaging and boring.
“The story was incredibly boring and failed to evoke any emotional response.”
“I found the narrative to be dull, lacking the depth needed to connect with the characters.”
“The emotional impact was nonexistent; I felt detached from the entire experience.”
