The Escapists: The Walking Dead Review

If you ever played The Escapists, then you know that it was a very fun, exciting game about prison life and the way people tried to liberate themselves from it. It seems that the great way the original game was received led to the creation of The Escapists: The Walking Dead, which is more of a spin-off with a whole lot of focus on survival this time around.

What the game does in a brilliant manner is the introduction of zombies in the world, which renders most of the prison unusable. You still have the ability to craft items, and that is definitely very important, but at the same time you will need to search the entire location in order to find survivors and that on its own can be very challenging to say the least.

The story in this game is nice as it includes the comic book cast from The Walking Dead, all while they try to stay alive and stick together in order to survive. Everything here happens organically, so no matter if it might not sound like much at first, the game does a great job when it comes to showing you a unique, exciting side of The Escapists that focuses on something other than escaping the prison.

Merging the two intellectual properties was very challenging; you can see that right off the bat. But The Escapists: The Walking Dead does a great job when it comes to making everything feel cohesive, interesting and exciting. It eases you into the story and then gradually offers more content in order to pique your interest. Obviously, it maintains the same original pixelated graphics style, but at the same time they integrate new ideas, like zombies, which make the gameplay even more tense!

Encountering zombies is to be expected in this game, but while some can be killed with a single shot, there are plenty others that require a lot more firepower, and you need to keep that in mind. Sure, it will take a little while until you get the hang of it, but do remember that the game was created with ease of use in mind and the more you play, the easier it will be for you to obtain the results you want, that’s for sure.

The interface is nicely designed and a little changed, which is good because you get that amount of authenticity that you want from such a title. Combine that with the fact that each character has their own intelligence, morale, speed and strength, then you will have a whole lot of an RPG system that you need to focus on. It is definitely one of the main priorities that you have to think about in this game. Work out on the treadmill for stamina, and the punching bags for strength, for instance.

Everything comes together quite nicely in this title, but it all comes down to crafting. You need to find the necessary items that you have to use in order to craft specific tools, and those can be hard to acquire in the first place. Many times, you will find yourself going through dangerous locations just to explore the neighboring regions and find the stuff you need. You do require a melee item, as well as a good outfit, maybe some health kits, rope and so on, so you definitely have to explore a lot in order to find them. Sometimes the regions are free of danger, which is good, but you can also encounter zombies at any time. Until you get a gun and ammo, the best bet that you have is to find other survivors who have a gun, otherwise you are dead meat.

I like that the game is very fast paced, which is amazing on its own, given how slow and methodical The Escapists could get. At the same time the title is designed with plenty of interesting ideas and that alone manages to bring in front its unique set of challenges. It might be easy sometimes, other times it will be challenging, but this is what matters the most about The Escapists: The Walking Dead, the fact that you always get to explore the world and bring in your own strategies. While getting a gun is a priority, exploring the game world properly is another one, so you definitely need to go to every corner, because you never know what you can craft. And just like in The Escapists, some items might not look like much at first, but they will be amazing, so you should definitely think each step you make.

From a game that focuses on alertness and a very fast gameplay, this title also manages to be insanely addictive. The idea of gathering survivors is what will keep you moving forward and some of the boss-themed zombies will be even harder to defeat. It’s a carefully designed world that showcases exactly how a zombie apocalypse looks like, and that is the main reason why The Escapists: The Walking Dead shines, because everything just makes sense and it’s so much fun to peruse.

Graphically, The Escapists: The Walking Dead is similar to the original game, although the art direction is obviously gory in order to suit the entire gameplay mechanic. It offers an amazing experience and, at the end of the day, it’s what will keep you playing, alongside the great gameplay and mission variety.

As a whole, I feel that The Escapists: The Walking Dead is an amazing game that has a whole lot to offer. Not only is the game a lot of fun, but it allows you to make your own way into the world, all while bringing in front tons of challenges. It’s exactly what you need from such a game, so don’t hesitate and give it a shot, you will love it!