The Escapists: The Walking Dead

A great tie-in and a solid game in its own right, The Escapists: The Walking Dead is an enjoyable and surprisingly deep head-scratcher.

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"The Escapists: The Walking Dead" is a prison escape game set in the world of the popular comic series. You'll control Rick Grimes and his group, building, crafting, and fighting your way through various locations from the comic. The goal is to survive and escape, following the story of the original series while dealing with the constant threat of walkers.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

56%

Audience ScoreBased on 307 reviews

story11 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

The pixel art graphics are charming and visually appealing.
The game offers a unique blend of The Escapists mechanics with The Walking Dead storyline, which can be enjoyable for fans of both franchises.
The crafting system allows for a variety of items to be created, adding depth to the gameplay.

The gameplay is repetitive and feels more like a chore than an engaging experience, with tedious tasks that detract from the fun.
The combat mechanics are clunky and often frustrating, making it difficult to effectively deal with zombies.
The story lacks depth and coherence, leaving players confused about character motivations and plot progression.

story
80 mentions
14 % positive mentions
74 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it convoluted, poorly executed, and difficult to follow, leading to a lack of investment in the narrative. While some appreciate its adherence to the original comic storyline, others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking depth, often feeling more like a chore than an engaging experience. Overall, the storytelling is seen as a significant drawback, overshadowing the gameplay elements.
- “Man, I love how the developers who worked on this DLC really portrayed the lore, the characters, the backstory, and the general atmosphere and feel of the show as accurately as the writers intended it to be while still keeping the escape out of the jail aspect in. This has to be the best Breaking Bad video game adaptation yet.”
- “This is a clever game that follows the Walking Dead story with a few deviations while still keeping the original spirit of the show alive.”
- “If you like The Escapists and are a huge fan of The Walking Dead, then I recommend this game to you 10/10 because the storyline is based on the original comic book series.”
- “The main problem with the story is that you can't follow the few incomplete lore pieces that they give you.”
- “For these reasons, I unfortunately have to say that the story sucks.”
- “This, hands down, is the worst game I have played, in terms of storyline and gameplay.”
gameplay
58 mentions
21 % positive mentions
69 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "The Escapists: The Walking Dead" has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and lacking the open-ended freedom of previous entries in the franchise. While the pixel art and crafting mechanics are appreciated, the game is criticized for its linear objectives, repetitive tasks, and poorly adapted mechanics that fail to capture the essence of survival in a zombie apocalypse. Overall, players feel that the combination of the two franchises does not translate well into an engaging gameplay experience, leading to a grindy and unfulfilling adventure.
- “The graphics have improved drastically resulting in a smoother and more visually appealing gameplay, but the time regime where you need to eat, attend roll call, and meet job quotas can be irritating.”
- “As far as gameplay goes, I really enjoy it as of right now, but I've heard from reviews that this game can get a little repetitive and has a lot of unnecessary actions.”
- “Great soundtrack, fun gameplay.”
- “Instead of the open-ended, sandbox-style gameplay where you could plan elaborate escapes, this game forces you down a more linear path with specific objectives that often have only one solution.”
- “The gameplay loop involves a lot of busywork—repeating tasks like gathering supplies, crafting, and adhering to routines—which quickly becomes tiresome.”
- “You get the original Escapists, retexture everything, create some new yet simple game mechanics and plaster the title 'The Escapists' at the front, and you got yourself a cash grab over the success of the original.”
grinding
12 mentions
0 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
83 % negative mentions
Players overwhelmingly criticize the grinding aspect of the game, describing it as tedious, repetitive, and unfun, with many tasks feeling artificial and offering little reward. Combat mechanics exacerbate the grind, forcing players to either endlessly farm health or rely on slow recovery, leading to a frustrating and convoluted experience that detracts from overall enjoyment. The lack of guidance and the overwhelming grind contribute to a sense of boredom and confusion, making progression feel like a chore rather than an engaging challenge.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Everything feels so tedious and the gameplay does not translate well at all; everything feels grindy and the tasks add little to nothing, which just gives you artificial tasks that only serve to slow down gameplay and make the experience unfun.”
- “While loosely following the story, this entire game feels awfully constructed, convoluted, and mindbogglingly grindy, as literally almost anything out there is out to kill you and the combat mechanics of the escapists aren't that great to begin with.”
- “You are constantly trapped in the daily routine cycle, doing tedious work that isn't improving your situation in any way - a core mechanic that prevents you from playing the actual game!”
graphics
11 mentions
27 % positive mentions
64 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by enhanced pixel art reminiscent of "The Escapists," with many users appreciating the cool and appealing 8-bit design. While some noted improvements in smoothness and visual appeal, others found the graphics and controls clunky, leading to frustration during gameplay. Overall, the graphics received mixed reviews, with scores ranging from 6/10 to positive remarks about their aesthetic quality.
- “The graphics have improved drastically, resulting in smoother and more eye-soothing gameplay.”
- “Nice pixel graphics, a lot like the original Escapists!”
- “+ appealing 8-bit graphics.”
- “I really enjoyed the tutorial level and thought maybe this was the Escapists saving game, but I was wrong. It just turned into the same thing with a different skin. Again, maybe I didn't give it enough time, but I couldn't play past the first 10 minutes of the first level after giving it several tries. The graphics, gameplay, and crafting mechanic just didn't work for me.”
- “But having tried to play this a whole 2 times, for a total of 9 minutes, I can't get past the bad graphics and clunky controls.”
- “I love The Walking Dead and the visual graphics/design of this game, but as a more casual to moderate gamer, this is way too hard for me, leaving me with frustration rather than a challenge I can overcome with some practice.”
music
9 mentions
56 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising the energetic and well-crafted 8-bit soundtrack, while others find it lacking compared to similar titles. Overall, the soundtrack is described as fun and fitting for the gameplay, though there are notable criticisms regarding its quality.
- “The soundtrack for the first level is awesome.”
- “Soundtrack 7/10: action packed, energetic.”
- “Music is cool, and the 8-bit atmosphere is very well crafted.”
- “The music is terrible, and so is the gameplay.”
- “More simple than The Escapists soundtrack.”
- “This game looks extremely fun and I thought I would give it a try; sadly, when I tried to load the game, it wouldn't pull up a window. I could hear the music, but the window was invisible. Please help me fix it if it is a bug.”
stability
5 mentions
0 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
80 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed feedback, with some players experiencing significant issues such as freezing, bugs, and glitches, particularly with the Xbox One controller, which can hinder progress due to the inability to load recent saves. However, there are also users who report no glitches at all, indicating a varied experience among players.
- “I found no glitches so far.”
- “The game runs smoothly without any crashes.”
- “I've experienced consistent performance throughout my playtime.”
- “If you die, make a mistake, or if the game freezes or bugs out, you can't load a recent save.”
- “I love the game, but there are some glitches with the Xbox One controller.”
- “As I was past the point of being able to refund, I persisted with the glitches that would normally accompany a free-to-play game or a beta version.”
atmosphere
3 mentions
33 % positive mentions
67 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Overall, the atmosphere in the game is praised for its faithful representation of the source material, particularly in terms of lore and character portrayal, especially in the DLC related to "Breaking Bad." However, some players feel that certain gameplay mechanics detract from immersion, as they do not align with the thematic elements of survival and tension expected in a zombie setting. Additionally, the music and 8-bit aesthetic are highlighted as strong points that contribute positively to the overall atmosphere.
- “Man, I love how the developers who worked on this DLC really portrayed the lore, the characters, the backstory, and the general atmosphere and feel of the show as accurately as the writers intended it to be while still keeping the escape out of the jail aspect in. This has to be the best Breaking Bad video game adaptation yet.”
- “Music is cool, and the 8-bit atmosphere is very well crafted.”
- “This version of the game fails trying to use the game style of the original. It could be great, but it fails in very small ways (bugs aside) to be immersive. The tasks you have to complete have nothing to do with the game atmosphere. You should be worried about keeping your fences fixed, controlling the number of walkers nearby, or at least having to make runs for meds and supplies. Instead, you end up getting punished for skipping meals and bedtime to kill some zombies! If you don't eat or sleep, the 'walker alert' goes higher. What the heck?”
monetization
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as exploitative, with users feeling that it prioritizes profit over quality, leading to a perception of it being a cash grab rather than a well-crafted experience.
- “I just feel permanently disrespected and cash grabbed; it's such a shame.”
- “This feels more like a cash grab rather than an actual well put together game.”
humor
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its strong sense of humor, particularly in its creative use of guns, which adds a fun and entertaining element to the gameplay.
- “This game has a really good sense of humor with the guns!”
- “The witty dialogue and hilarious situations kept me laughing throughout my playthrough.”
- “I love how the game blends absurdity with clever jokes, making every encounter entertaining.”