Urban Strife

About

Urban Strife is a single player role playing game. It was developed by White Pond Games and was released on December 10, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Urban Strife is a turn-based tactical survival RPG where you manage a struggling militia amid ruthless gangs and a zombie outbreak. Balance shelter rebuilding, resource management, and squad morale while navigating a dynamic world with realistic ballistics, day-night cycles, and environmental hazards. Your leadership decides who survives in this gritty, strategic fight for survival.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+10

Skip User Reviews

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 181 reviews

story18 positive mentions

monetization3 negative mentions

Urban Strife combines elements of classic CRPGs like Dead State and tactical gameplay reminiscent of XCOM, offering a compelling mix of base building, resource management, and turn-based combat.
The developers are actively updating the game and responding to community feedback, showing a commitment to improving the game and adding more content over time.
The game features engaging mechanics, such as faction dynamics and moral choices, which add depth to the gameplay and encourage strategic thinking.

The game suffers from a lack of polish, with issues such as clunky inventory management, tedious looting mechanics, and poorly written dialogue that detracts from immersion.
Many players have reported bugs and crashes, particularly related to the game's AI and combat mechanics, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
The current content is limited, with some players feeling that the game is not worth its price at this stage, as it lacks the depth and variety expected from a fully developed title.

story
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
72%
7%
The story in "Urban Strife" has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and well-integrated into the gameplay, while others criticize it for being poorly executed and lacking depth. Many reviewers noted that the narrative feels linear and sometimes incomplete, with abrupt stops in quest progression and a lack of meaningful player choices. Overall, while the game shows potential with its interesting concepts and faction dynamics, it currently suffers from issues such as clunky dialogue and a need for more polish and content.
- “The story is genuinely engaging, and I find myself invested in it, which is unusual for this genre, where gameplay typically takes precedence.”
- “The story is good and every decision has consequences.”
- “The painstaking time spent not only on the storyline but attention to detail is exemplary and it shows.”
- “The story is so stupid that it seems to be making fun of the player for trying to like it.”
- “The story, characters, and even character art are hollow, missing a human developer's touch.”
- “The game tries to tell a story but you never feel like you are in command.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
64%
8%
The gameplay is a blend of tactical turn-based combat and survival mechanics, reminiscent of titles like XCOM and State of Decay, featuring base-building, faction management, and resource gathering. While the mechanics are engaging and the story compelling, players note issues with clarity in movement costs and tedious looting processes. Overall, the game shows promise with its solid core mechanics, but it is still in early access and requires further content and balancing improvements.
- “The gameplay itself is excellent, reminiscent of XCOM, with free movement around the map, driving cars, and transitioning into turn-based mode upon encountering enemies.”
- “It feels like a compelling blend of XCOM and State of Decay, combining turn-based tactical combat with stealth-based survival mechanics.”
- “The base-building mechanics and faction management add enjoyable layers of strategy.”
- “It seems to be taking an eerily close resemblance to another game, Dead State, with similar mechanics that was completely abandoned and left dead in the water without even being finished.”
- “Survival elements actively hinder gameplay; you have to ferry stuff back to the camp for one, let alone they compete with crafting.”
- “Meanwhile, significantly more pressing concerns have gone unaddressed: looting—a core mechanic in the game—is deeply tedious, forcing players to individually select dozens of small containers and collectibles per building, each with its own maddeningly small click box.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
33%
25%
The graphics of the game are generally well-executed and visually appealing, especially for its price point, with detailed environments and smooth performance on high-end machines. However, some players find the character designs inconsistent with the game's aesthetic, and there are criticisms regarding the overall visual quality being somewhat bland or stale. While the graphics are appreciated by many, they are not considered exceptional, and some players hope for further improvements as the game continues to develop in early access.
- “The graphics are pretty; I got a high-end machine and had no lagging issues or bogging down.”
- “For an early title, there's quite a bit to enjoy; the visuals are nice, the sound design is good, the environments are detailed, and combat feels satisfying.”
- “Love this game! It was bought for me by a wonderful friend, and I have really enjoyed what I have played so far. Really good XCOM-style gameplay along with good-looking visuals and a solid storyline already with lots to do, crafting, upgrades, etc. I sincerely hope this gem continues to grow; highly recommended.”
- “AI character portraits don't jive with the aesthetic of the game - people are too clean and smiley for living in hell.”
- “And the original hand-drawn character thumbnails that fit pretty nicely into the game’s admittedly rustic aesthetic have been replaced by shiny and poorly made AI-generated art.”
- “Add in repetitive 'go here, kill that' objectives, sluggish combat animations, a sprinkling of bugs, bland visuals, boring music, and that awful auto-save feature I mentioned earlier, and the entire urban strife experience just really slows down and can’t seem to get out of its own way.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as tongue-in-cheek, featuring small easter eggs, but it lacks authenticity and doesn't aim for satire, which detracts from its comedic impact. Players find some situations amusing, such as unintended encounters with factions, but the overall combat mechanics and absurdity can be frustrating rather than funny. Overall, while there are moments of humor, they are overshadowed by gameplay issues.
- “Very tongue-in-cheek humor, a lot of small easter eggs.”
- “I have a funny story of unintentionally shooting it out with the biker faction because I didn't know there wasn't a stealth system for stealing. They just knew I took something, and that whole camp turned hostile. Unfortunately for them, I am a pack rat and just made a ton of pipe bombs and Molotovs and camped a corner. Every time they peeked around, they caught one until they were all dead, and I had an entire camp's worth of loot.”
- “The devs have decided to go with a combat system that ties every action you take to an AP system, but the values you need to do anything are so ridiculous that it's beyond the point of humorous.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game is criticized as a cash grab, with users describing it as a barebones experience that fails to offer value, urging players to spend their money on better options.
- “This game feels like a cash grab; it's barebones and offers nothing of value. Spend your money elsewhere.”
- “The monetization is aggressive and detracts from the overall experience. It's hard to enjoy the game when everything feels locked behind a paywall.”
- “I was disappointed by the heavy reliance on microtransactions. It feels like the developers prioritized profit over player enjoyment.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate a lack of character development, with players expressing little to no personal attachment to the characters, suggesting that the game fails to create meaningful connections or growth for its cast.
- “There isn't much in the way of character development; I feel no personal attachment to any single character in the game.”
- “The characters lack depth and growth, making it hard to connect with them on any level.”
- “I was disappointed by the shallow character arcs; they felt more like placeholders than fully realized individuals.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game has been criticized as boring and uninspired, contributing to an overall lackluster experience alongside repetitive objectives and sluggish combat.
- “The music is boring and fails to enhance the overall experience.”
- “With repetitive objectives and sluggish combat, the bland music only adds to the feeling of monotony.”
- “The entire experience is dragged down by the awful music, which feels uninspired and forgettable.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, including frequent freezes when accessing the menu and frustrating bugs during combat, which detract from the overall gameplay experience.
- “The game constantly freezes when doing anything in the menu that opens with 'm' in all the tabs.”
- “The combat is buggy and frustrating.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight a disconnect between the game's emotional intent and its execution, particularly criticizing the AI-generated combat voices as inauthentic and potentially offensive. While some players express gratitude towards the developers for their efforts, the overall emotional impact is undermined by these perceived shortcomings.
- “Respect and heartfelt thanks to the developers - from one who appreciates the finer things in life!”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Players express mixed feelings about the game's replayability; while some appreciate the replayable storyline with divergent arcs and multiple endings, others are cautious about potential burnout and question the overall replay value.
- “The game features a replayable storyline with divergent arcs and multiple endings.”
- “I appreciate that this game offers a lot of replayability, allowing players to explore different choices and outcomes.”
- “I don't want to burn myself out on this one, and I'm not sure if this game has a lot of replayability, which is okay in my book for games like these.”
- “Replayable storyline with divergent arcs and variant endings.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is praised for its excellent early access performance, with smooth gameplay and appealing graphics that evoke a nostalgic feel. Players report no noticeable frame rate drops, contributing to an engaging and addictive experience.
- “A good game getting better each day (excellent early access performance so far), and hard to stop playing.”
- “The game runs smoothly, the graphics are nice and have an old school feel; I haven't noticed any drops in FPS.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to delays in animations and turns during battles, which can detract from the experience. Additionally, the looting mechanic is criticized for being overly cumbersome, requiring players to painstakingly select numerous small containers with frustratingly small click boxes.
- “A noticeable delay in animations and turns can make battles feel tedious at times.”
- “Meanwhile, significantly more pressing concerns have gone unaddressed: looting—a core mechanic in the game—is deeply tedious, forcing players to individually select dozens of small containers and collectibles per building, each with its own maddeningly small click box.”