Overkill's The Walking Dead

44%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,396 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Overkill's The Walking Dead Game Cover
OVERKILL's The Walking Dead is a fun title that is bogged down by a combination of bugs, lack of sign-posting, and confusing design decisions.
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Overkill's The Walking Dead is a four-player co-op horror shooter set in the post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. of The Walking Dead Universe. Each character has unique abilities, skill trees, and story arcs, with a focus on teamwork and strategic gameplay. The game boasts intense action, detailed graphics, and a wonderful soundtrack, but is marred by grinding, optimization issues, and annoying ads.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Cloud
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

44%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,396 reviews
story118 positive mentions
stability112 negative mentions
  • The game has a fun and challenging gameplay experience, especially when played with friends.
  • The graphics and atmosphere are well-designed, capturing the essence of The Walking Dead universe.
  • The character progression and weapon customization systems add depth and replayability to the game.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, including long loading times and frequent crashes.
  • The AI for both human enemies and zombies is poorly designed, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
  • The matchmaking system is flawed, making it difficult to find players for missions, especially on higher difficulties.
  • story1,107 mentions

    The story in "Overkill's The Walking Dead" is generally viewed as weak and underdeveloped, with many players finding it generic and lacking depth. While the game attempts to incorporate elements from the Walking Dead universe, the narrative often feels overshadowed by repetitive mission structures and gameplay mechanics that prioritize grinding over storytelling. Players have noted that the missions can become tedious, with a reliance on cooperative play making solo experiences frustrating, particularly in the early stages where the story is introduced through poorly executed tutorials and defense missions.

    • “The story is actually pretty good and I feel that there will be a lot of really good content coming to this game in the near and distant future.”
    • “The story material and overall gameplay has the grit and fear of both the comics and TV series to a tee.”
    • “The story is nice, and has a few couple of twists that most people didn't expect because it was helped written by Robert Kirkman, who made the comics.”
    • “The story and lore of the game aren't even that favorable, and can't be used to persuade a purchase.”
    • “The story is terrible.”
    • “The entire game plot amounts to: attacked by the family.”
  • gameplay414 mentions

    The gameplay of "Overkill's The Walking Dead" is a mixed bag, with some players enjoying its cooperative mechanics and tension-filled moments, while others criticize it for being repetitive, clunky, and plagued by bugs. Many reviews highlight the game's reliance on stealth and resource management, akin to "Payday 2," but note that the execution often leads to frustration due to poor AI, unresponsive controls, and a lack of meaningful progression. Overall, while there are elements of fun and potential, the gameplay experience is marred by significant issues that detract from its enjoyment.

    • “The gameplay just feels right and the way the walkers just horde and surround you as you stand on top of a car, desperately looking for a way out of the situation you put yourself in just to save yourself, it's really just an experience to take part in.”
    • “Just played the first 2 missions with a friend, exciting and challenging co-op gameplay, good graphics - I'm really pleasantly surprised.”
    • “The gameplay is fun, and plays much like 'Zombi', which is the closest comparison I've been able to find.”
    • “The bulk of the gameplay sees to it that players make their way through story levels that are a near-even divide between tower defense wave shooters and wannabe Left 4 Dead missions that guide players through linear locations.”
    • “In theory it may sound fun, but in its execution it's a grueling exercise in boring repetition that's further hindered by a plethora of mechanical issues.”
    • “The gameplay is overall more slow-paced, intimate, and threatening than what we are used to from more arcade experiences such as Left 4 Dead and Dying Light.”
  • graphics132 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the visuals and atmosphere as "great" and "beautiful," particularly in terms of lighting and detail. However, many others criticize the graphics as outdated, likening them to early Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 titles, and express disappointment that the final product does not match the quality seen in earlier trailers. Additionally, performance issues such as stuttering and glitches on certain graphic cards have been reported, impacting the overall experience.

    • “The graphics are absolutely great, it makes a perfect TWD mood and I feel like I am inside the universe while playing.”
    • “The graphics and sounds are great, gunplay is good, melee is fun, and you really get the feeling of TWD.”
    • “Graphically it's beautiful, the lighting is absolutely stunning.”
    • “While superficial, the graphics are bad enough to be confused with early Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era games, and the final release has absolutely nothing in common with the earlier trailers when it comes to visuals.”
    • “The graphics are dated and the animations feel like an early access game, definitely not the stuff worth $60.”
    • “I really wanted this game to be good but it's terrible: bad graphics even on ultra, bad animations, and little variety of zombies.”
  • stability113 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. While some users have experienced relatively smooth sessions, the overall consensus is that the game feels unfinished and plagued by performance issues, particularly during multiplayer sessions. Many reviewers express cautious optimism for future patches, but currently, the game's stability is a major drawback.

    • “Runs great, plays smooth, and looks amazing.”
    • “The game maintains a steady frame rate, providing a seamless experience.”
    • “I haven't encountered any crashes or bugs, which makes for a very stable gameplay.”
    • “I have an i7 8700k and 1080ti and the game freezes on me every time I try to play a level.”
    • “The game constantly freezes; most of the time I spend in the lobby waiting for players. You can play solo, but you are on your own, and with no added AI help, it's nearly impossible to win.”
    • “This is a full-priced AAA game, but honestly, I've played less buggy flash games.”
  • optimization81 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including stuttering, frame drops, and crashes, even on high-end systems. While some users experience smooth gameplay, others find the game poorly optimized, particularly in terms of graphics and AI performance, leading to frustration during play. Overall, there is a consensus that the game requires substantial optimization improvements to enhance the overall experience.

    • “The game has not run into any noticeable performance issues for me.”
    • “Overall, even majorly I complained about how poor things are, I'd still recommend this game if you're willing to wait for heavy optimization by the developer.”
    • “As far as optimization goes, I have no problems running it at 70-90 fps (1080p).”
    • “Ah...btw...worst optimization I ever saw.......”
    • “The game is poorly optimized compared to other games, and the bandit AI is really bad.”
    • “You will get frustrated more times than you will find yourself having fun and while I have had some fun playing this game, the constant crashes, the lag spikes, the game-breaking bugs and glitches as well as the poor optimization have left a bad taste in my mouth.”
  • grinding57 mentions

    The reviews indicate that the game features a significant amount of grinding, particularly in character leveling and loot acquisition, which many players find tedious and repetitive. While some appreciate the grind as a means to enhance gameplay and enjoy cooperative play, others criticize it for lacking meaningful content and variety, leading to boredom. Overall, the grinding aspect is a divisive feature, appealing to those who enjoy extended play sessions but frustrating for players seeking a more dynamic experience.

    • “It really does get grindy quickly and frankly, I'm bored of waiting for the storyline to progress.”
    • “40 hours of being bored and doing the same missions over and over again, grinding for no potential.”
    • “It's a mindless, meaningless grinding of a small amount of missions for the sake of grinding.”
  • replayability27 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players praising its potential for varied playthroughs and engaging mechanics, while others criticize it for a lack of meaningful content after the main story and excessive grinding. Many highlight the randomness of item placement and mission variations as factors that enhance replayability, but technical issues and a limited number of missions detract from the overall experience. Overall, while there are elements that can lead to enjoyable replay sessions, significant flaws hinder its long-term appeal.

    • “The replayability potential of this game is huge.”
    • “The thing is, they've made sure that every mission is highly replayable through making sure that each playthrough can be completely different.”
    • “You can develop your base and level up other survivors that can give you certain passive in-game bonuses, and you can upgrade your weapons. The different difficulties and the RNG-created parts of all missions really add to the replayability.”
    • “Its replay value is extremely lacking; I got bored fast, and now I see why.”
    • “There is no replayability; after you spend 10-12 hours beating the main game, it's time for you to grind.”
    • “> Lacks replayability; once you finish the story and max your first character, it just becomes grinding repeating missions for slightly better gear.”
  • music26 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its high production quality and memorable soundtrack, while others find it repetitive and lacking in variety. Many players appreciate the atmospheric score that enhances gameplay, but some express disappointment over the limited number of tracks and issues with accessing deluxe edition content. Overall, while the music is noted as a strong point by some, it fails to impress others who compare it unfavorably to soundtracks from other games.

    • “The music is great and catchy.”
    • “The soundtrack and cinematics are one of the greatest things about this game.”
    • “The music at all times, calm, walker fight, firefight, and menus is all A+.”
    • “The music in this game is going to make me sleep compared to KF music that is so heavy.”
    • “The musical score was repetitive and uninteresting.”
    • “And to top it off, I paid for the deluxe edition and can't access the artwork or soundtrack; I feel robbed.”
  • atmosphere18 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its strong alignment with the Walking Dead universe, featuring impressive graphics, effective lighting, and immersive sound design that enhances the overall experience. While some players noted inconsistencies in mission design and sound effects, the general consensus is that the game successfully captures the tension and excitement characteristic of the franchise. Overall, it offers a visually stunning and atmospheric environment that resonates well with fans of the series.

    • “And about the graphics... if anything is fantastic and completely finished in this game, then it is the atmosphere.”
    • “It is exciting, it shows us how it would feel to be in The Walking Dead, and it has the atmosphere, identical to the TV show or the comics.”
    • “The atmosphere in the game is beautiful and very much like The Walking Dead.”
    • “The second mission has tons of zombies and bad guys, yet it manages to feel empty, dull, and void of any atmosphere.”
    • “The first mission was so trash it gave me a bad first impression, but later in the game the missions feel so good. The map design is dope and gives me the TWD atmosphere; too bad they didn’t make an open-world type game.”
    • “But at first, it wasn't as easy to find what suited the atmosphere of the game rather well.”
  • humor17 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as inconsistent, with some players finding it amusing due to bugs and glitches, while others feel that the attempts at humor fall flat amidst gameplay frustrations. Many reviews highlight moments of unintentional comedy, such as absurd mechanics and player mishaps, but overall, the humor does not resonate as strongly as in similar titles like Payday. The game's serious tone contrasts with its comedic potential, leaving some players wishing for a more lighthearted experience.

    • “Here's a funny story, I shot one of the bad guys right next to his friend and this is how the reaction went down.”
    • “I find this game really funny!”
    • “Hilarious in its own way though.”
    • “Overkill has done a decent job on Payday 2, but this is no Payday. It's horribly broken, unfunny (when it tries to be funny), and is a broken, horrible mess. Wait until the devs update and fix the game or just don't play it at all.”
  • monetization15 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has drawn significant criticism, with many users labeling it a "cash grab" that exploits the franchise's name. Players express frustration over excessive advertising, deceptive marketing practices, and the presence of in-game purchases that hinder progression. Overall, the sentiment reflects disappointment in the game's value compared to its promotional materials.

    • “There are surely tons of similar games that are cheaper, but each one of those games has in-game purchases that force you to buy boxes and items if you really want to progress through levels.”
    • “While a lot of people are complaining about the price, I'd argue there's a lot of content here with no annoying microtransactions.”
    • “The advertisement videos are better than the actual gameplay.”
    • “All this game is, is a cash grab to exploit the name of the franchise.”
    • “I do not like deceptive advertising; the game was portrayed as open world in YouTube propaganda videos, but it is not.”
  • character development3 mentions

    Character development is generally viewed positively, with players appreciating the depth it adds to the experience, despite some expressing a desire for more personalized character creation. However, there are criticisms regarding the significance of development outside of main gadgets, suggesting that certain aspects may lack meaningful impact.

    • “Good character development, even if I miss the opportunity to build my own character.”
    • “I'm just beginning to grasp the basics of character development, gear upgrades, camp, and survivor management.”
    • “Character development outside of the main gadgets also doesn't feel meaningful.”
    • “I'm just beginning to grasp the basics with character development, gear upgrades, camp, and survivor management.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Players express a strong emotional connection to the game's narrative, highlighting moments of intense loss and unpredictability that evoke genuine feelings. There is hope that if the developers can craft a compelling story with impactful character deaths, it will enhance the overall emotional experience of the game.

    • “When we both died, guns blazing, being ambushed by some NPCs whose AI is more unpredictable than the 8th season of Game of Thrones, I almost shed a tear.”
    • “If Overkill manages to create an emotional story that is as intriguing as Payday 2 over time, with the killing off of characters, then I think I will love this game!”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

48% average critic score

Buy Overkill's The Walking Dead

Play time

14hMedian play time
21hAverage play time
5-40hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 37 analyzed playthroughs

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