The Walking Trade

About

The Walking Trade is a single player survival shooter game with horror, economy and post-apocalyptic themes. It was developed by Microwave Games and was released on March 5, 2026. It received positive reviews from players.

Run a shop in the zombie apocalypse! Trade batteries, craft stock, manage your staff, and fend off undead hordes. Will you be a hero, or profit at any cost? Your choices shape your store - and your fate.

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90%

Audience ScoreBased on 506 reviews

gameplay27 positive mentions

stability31 negative mentions

Unique and engaging gameplay combining shop management with zombie survival dynamics.
Addictive progression system with skill trees, crafting, and resource scavenging.
Active and responsive single developer frequently updating and fixing bugs.

Numerous bugs and technical issues such as item collisions, AI pathfinding problems, and save system limitations.
Endgame content is limited and can become repetitive, with no clear long-term goals or map exploration for the player.
Inconsistent AI behavior with employees causing issues, including friendly fire and improper task execution.

gameplay
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
52%
10%
The gameplay offers a unique and addictive loop combining shop management, survival, crafting, and resource gathering, which keeps players engaged despite some repetition and limited content. However, it is hindered by bugs, unrefined mechanics, occasional glitches, and balancing issues that impact the overall experience, though ongoing updates and developer responsiveness show promise for future improvements. Fans appreciate the fresh twist on simulator gameplay but hope for more polish, content, and quality-of-life enhancements moving forward.
- “The core gameplay is strong, it is easy to get hooked, and it has that dangerous “I’ll just keep playing for a little longer” energy that simulator fans know all too well.”
- “The combination of shop management, resource gathering, and survival mechanics forms a loop that feels different from more traditional simulators.”
- “It’s a refreshing twist on the usual shop simulator formula and adds enough extra mechanics to keep things interesting.”
- “Mechanics are in need of refining and collision bugs while moving objects need to be addressed.”
- “This game is quite fun, but the gameplay is too limited and repetitive; the open world is too limited to just around the shop and parking lot, the weapons are limited, and there is too little crafting.”
- “Overall the game is really good but a really bad mechanic is your employees will kill each other very often so it kind of halts progress pretty hard and you have to rehire people over and over again.”
stability
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game currently suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, particularly affecting inventory management, AI behavior, and late-game stability, which can hinder gameplay and enjoyment. However, the developers are highly active and responsive in addressing these issues, steadily releasing updates to improve stability. Despite its buggy state, many players find the game fun and promising, though it may require more polish before reaching full stability.
- “The game is really buggy: sometimes the screen completely turns brown, cleaners get stuck in random places almost 50% of the time, and the auto minigun turrets did not work at all.”
- “My issue is the endgame is really buggy, meaning the premise of having an autonomous shop is ruined by storage and employee bugs that make it impossible to craft or do other tasks because the store is too hands-on.”
- “The game was buggy from day one, locking many mechanics such as staff leveling and security shooting customers (making it not worth the reputation loss), but it was still enjoyable similarly to Gas Station Simulator.”
story
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The game's story aspect receives mixed feedback: while some players appreciate a light storyline with missions and challenges that add depth to the shop simulator, others find the story minimal or nearly absent, leading to repetitive gameplay after completing available quests. Users express a desire for expanded story content, more missions, and additional areas to maintain engagement.
- “There's plenty to unlock, and a story to keep you entertained, as well as the standard annoyances any retail worker has to deal with on a day to day basis.”
- “There is actually a story, skill progression, and quite easy to get someone to run the counter for you while you handle fighting zombies.”
- “The walking trade is a neat spin on a typical store simulator game, and adds some ideas from civ-builder games such as sending allies out into the world to retrieve supplies/do missions.”
- “No story, no clear instructions, no end. Just too sucky, when I have too many items NPCs don't even clean it anymore and it becomes a big mess. Also, the gameplay is boring, too easy, and nothing special. There are bugs like zombies or items stuck in the wall.”
- “Not that there's really any story.”
- “Every game like this has a story, this has none.”
graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
53%
18%
The game features clean, low-poly graphics that emphasize clarity and a charming art style suited to the gameplay, though the visuals remain simple and functional rather than highly detailed. While generally stable and visually appealing, some users reported minor graphical glitches, but overall, the graphics are well-received for their concept and style.
- “This game is a little bit demanding on GPU by default, but by tweaking graphics settings I was able to play it on integrated GPU.”
- “Clean low-poly visuals that deliver graphically.”
- “The visuals follow a simple, low-poly style that prioritizes clarity over detail, which suits the gameplay but does little to elevate the presentation beyond functional.”
- “I did have a graphical glitch that seemed unfixable while playing, like there was a brown 'water' almost covering the area.”
- “Objects in boxes fall out graphically and are terrible with falling through the environment.”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The game generally runs smoothly and performs well at 4K resolution, but experiences occasional bugs, glitches, and noticeable late-game performance issues, including lag and stuttering related to certain in-game actions. Optimization is decent early on but could use polish, especially in late-game scenarios.
- “⬜ [9/10] performance”
- “✔️ Strong performance stability at 4K”
- “- Easy to play and great optimization”
- “Not optimized and just so many bugs and the progression is wack.”
- “Now the real issue is late game optimization becomes a nightmare... extremely laggy.”
- “But it definitely needs a little polish and AI and bugs pop up from time to time as well as a late game performance issue where the game freezes whenever you put a basket or cardboard box back on its stack near the front door.”
humor
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players enjoying quirky elements like zombies and absurd scenarios involving characters and in-game bugs. While some find certain aspects annoying rather than funny, many appreciate the unpredictable, lighthearted moments and the developer's responsiveness to issues. Overall, the comedic tone adds charm and enhances the game's appeal.
- “I love the random zombies; the guy in the hotdog suit is hilarious.”
- “There are a few bugs that create quite some hilarious moments, like cleaners turning your whole store upside down because they believe baskets are useless and everything belongs on the floor.”
- “It's a really funny game if you like shopkeeper games but lack the use of guns.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
Users find the grinding aspect tedious due to repetitive tasks like constantly reassigning workers and having items knocked off shelves, requiring frequent cleanups. Additionally, managing and retrieving dead bodies outside the shop adds to the monotonous gameplay, making the overall experience feel more like a chore than fun.
- “Having to constantly reassign the workers every single day to the same tasks I always put them on is a tedious chore and makes me roll my eyes every time I have to do it.”
- “You have to go outside your shop to then find the dead bodies to get rid of them, which is tedious.”
- “Also, the way the items can get knocked off the shelves when you're dragging a corpse or a large item and accidentally hit them is just tedious to clean up. I hope the devs can make it so that the items are stuck on the shelves once you place them there.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The music in the game is generally seen as pleasant and non-intrusive, contributing to a relaxing atmosphere. However, some users feel the soundtrack is lacking or could be improved with more variety and additional audio elements to enhance the game's ambiance.
- “Great game to chill with music.”
- “I'm enjoying the game, I like the art style, the music is not annoying and it runs stable and well.”
- “It could use some music and more voices because it feels a bit lonely and sparse in that regard.”
- “My only gripe is that the soundtrack sucks.”
- “More decorations, ways to draw customers (music, treats, 'food' cart, etc.) to your shop would be cool.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that the game’s monetization relies heavily on aggressive AI-driven cash grabs and misleading advertising, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “There are too many games in this genre that are quick AI cash grabs, sucking the fun out of this type of game.”
- “The advertising lies yet again.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users praise the game for its unique and immersive atmosphere, highlighting it as a key factor that enhances the overall enjoyable and engaging gameplay experience.
- “This game is a very enjoyable experience with a unique atmosphere and engaging gameplay.”
- “Game is genius, with amazing atmosphere, gameplay, craft and talent, and an upgraded survival system.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users generally feel the game currently lacks strong replayability, which affects its overall value, though they remain hopeful that future content updates might improve this aspect.
- “I think my main complaint (ignoring the glitches/bugs because again, they're getting fixed regularly) is that there isn't a lot of replayability.”
- “Price point is MSRP is 3 dollars too much IMO, but it's still early on and I need to see what content and replayability there is.”