The Last Kids on Earth: Hit the Deck Review

I got the chance to preview The Last Kids on Earth: Hit the Deck! while it was in Early Access on Steam. This title is the second game based on the young-adult novel series of the same name and the Netflix show which currently has three seasons. Since that preview, I have started to read the first book with my kids, and we watched the first episode of the show that covers the whole first book. They tell the story of Jack Sullivan and his friends; June, Dirk, and Quint, trying to survive in this Monster-Zombie Apocalypse on their own with no adults. Their home town of Wakefield has been taken over by zombies and giant monsters, leaving only children behind.

The first game in The Last Kids on Earth game series called, Staff of Doom, was an action RPG that followed the story in the Netflix series. Hit the Deck! follows the events of the show/book but does something different and instead is a strategic, card-battling game. Starting the game, you get to select who you will play as from Jack Sullivan, June Del Toro, and Quint Baker; each character has their own unique weapon and abilities making them unique. Due to their own special traits, the characters do not simply feel like reskins of the same base model; each kid has their own deck of cards they will use to battle. When I previewed the game for my first playthrough, I selected the sword-wielding Jack. He has five hearts for HP, a teamwork ability that allows him to draw another card whenever he plays a teamwork card, and then, if he is not at max health, he will gain one strength. This time around I tried playing as June Del Toro, she was armed with a sharpened hockey stick that now resembles a spear.

When the boys meet up with June, she is hiding out in the elementary school, but they convince her that they are all better off staying in the Tree Fortress of Awesomeness. The tree house acts as their base and is equipped with weapons and a moat to protect it from zombies and any other monsters that try to attack it. This fort contains an armoury where you can see all the weapons that the group has available to them, a TV that shows the stats for all of the characters, a bulletin board where all the daily quests are posted, and a crafting table where you can refill any of your consumables or make upgrades to your gear by spending the bottle caps that you earn as rewards when you successfully complete a mission. Quint is the smartest of the group and has created “Quint's Awesome Card Creator.” Here you can use the tokens you earn in battle to make custom cards to add to your deck.

When you are ready for a mission, head to the bulletin board and select the quest or mission you want to go on. Once selected, you will head to the armoury to load up with the weapons and gear you will need — these will add cards to your deck to battle with. All the characters have a selection of offensive and defensive cards to use while going up against the zombies. Once you play all your cards, the deck will be reshuffled, and your hand will be redrawn. There are multiple times when the characters can team up and fight the enemies together, some of these combinations will work better than others. During battle, you have a certain number of points to use up before your turn. Each card costs a different amount to play, so it takes some strategising to figure out how to maximise these points before the enemy gets to take a turn. If you are playing as a team, one character will play their full turn, then the other will get their chance to attack. In the battles, there are multiple swarms of zombies to take down, so don’t get too excited when you clear one screen. Once all the enemies are defeated, you will be shown a screen showing your battle stats. This summary shows how long the battle was, how many enemies you defeated, how many items were collected, how many cards in total were played, the most single-turn damage done, and how big your current winning streak is. If you lose in battle, you will be taken back to the treehouse and have to gear up and challenge that quest again. For a game based on a book series for teens, The Last Kids on Earth: Hit the Deck! is quite challenging and usually takes some thinking to be victorious. It definitely works your brain!

While on your quest, you are shown a map of Wakefield and all the areas you will stop at to battle the invading zombies. You get to select the route that you take through the town, some of these locations allow you to select which of the two actions you want to do like, search the gas station shelves to find consumables or pose for a photo with the mascot to potentially upgrade a card by 25%. This made it feel like I was playing a choose-your-own-adventure story and that I was part of it. The missions even have cinematics from the show that show you scenes from the Netflix series; the animation is very well done, and with the addition of great voice acting, these cutscenes are great. It really lets you get to know the characters and what their personalities are like. Plus, who doesn’t want to see cool battles with monsters and zombies?

I really enjoyed my time with The Last Kids on Earth: Hit the Deck! and now that I have been able to play with the other characters, I really appreciate how much work went into this game and how loyal it is to the original material. Even if you aren’t familiar with the series, this is still an enjoyable game full of strategy and fun characters, and isn’t just about randomly clicking on cards and hoping to win battles, it takes thinking and planning. If you are a fan of this series or just card-battling games, you are sure to have a good time with The Last Kids on Earth: Hit the Deck!