Yes, I know that zombies are getting a little tired now, but if done uniquely and well I’m all for a new Walker stab-em-up, especially when you've got some of the minds behind some of the best games of all time behind it. Dead State is a 3D isometric RPG, which already makes it fairly unique when it comes to zombies. Set during a Walking Dead-style unexplained zombie apocalypse in the backwater town of Splendid, Texas, your character wakes after surviving a plane crash just as the world is coming to an end. Pulled from the wreckage by a small group of survivors and taken back to a school, you have to organise them, keep their morale up, make tough decisions, scout for supplies, hold off attacks, and turn your school into a safe haven... or die trying.
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| Oh great, it's the X-Men. That's all I need |
While in Steam Early Access right now, which is the version I'm playing, don't consider this version of Dead State to be anything other than a bare-bones taster of the final game. It's most definitely a work-in-progress demo, but still offers a lot of fun value with what's already there and some good hints at how the final version will turn out. There's about a dozen locations to scout and raid (some you'll have to find yourself), either zombies or differing grades of armed looters to fight, and only a few people at your shelter (two of which are pretty useless at the start). There's also sod all in the way of tutorials or explanations right now so everything below I had to work out or discover for myself (so forgive me if I miss anything).
As mentioned, Dead State plays similarly to Fallout (or more recently, Wasteland 2) in that it's a top-down RPG where you explore in real-time but when you encounter a threat it switches to turn-based combat. It's a little different to most RPGs however in that you're based entirely at one location and have to travel to other smaller areas to scavenge supplies and confront zombies and looters, you're not exploring a massive free open world. Within the Shelter you're free to roam around on your own without fear, but outside you better have some people with you and be prepared to defend yourself at a moment's notice.
There are numerous things to do in the Shelter, although in its current bare-bones state the only really exciting moments occur at the beginning of days after you've rested. It also took me a trip to the forums to discover how to visit other locations and where to go to sleep, so hopefully they'll be clarified in the final version. There's a Jobs Board where you can assign tasks to people such as repairing the fence (if you've got the materials) or put them in your scavenging party. A radio provided a glimpse into a potential plot point for later. Supplies can be checked on or used. Chatting to other survivors is the main thing to do though, either just getting to know them or discovering something in particular they'd like to make them happy.
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| A mall in a zombie apocalypse. What could go wrong? |
Morale is a big deal in Dead State. Since there's no economy in the game food and morale are your two main resources, similar to The Banner Saga. You'll need to keep both up to survive. Food can obviously be found around town (although I'm hoping we'll get to start growing things in the main game), but morale can be kept up by finding Luxury Items (reading materials, deodorant, chocolate, toilet paper etc) or by building useful constructions such as a well for clean water. It can also go down depending on events. One particular character turned up later in the demo who was an excellent fighter but got everyone depressed, so I decided to cut him loose - I'll probably have to wait until the final release before I find out if that decision will have consequences.
To get things done though you'll have to leave the safety of the school and venture out into Splendid. Walking to the entrance of the school and pressing the Map button (another thing the demo doesn't explain) shows a travel map of the area with locations to visit. You can explore in the hope of finding more or just head for the nearest one pointed out to you by fellow survivor Davis. Locations are believable, interesting, and contain several buildings of various size to check out, including some with crazed inhabitants or subtle sad stories to tell (like a child's bedroom covered in blood and the mother as a zombie). Supplies are first in your mind, and combat should be a distant second. You can still do it though of course, heh. I brought Renee along because she was a good healer and Joel because he was a good shot (and reminded me of Rick from The Walking Dead).
Not that shooting is advisable. In the top-left of the screen is a sound meter, and the more decibels it reads the noisier you've been. Fire guns and bash in doors and it'll shoot up, and the dead will come in droves. The zombies in Dead State aren't easily-dispatched cannon fodder either, they're quite tough and it often took all three of my guys bashing away at a zombie to take it down - and I'd still be lucky if it didn't take a good bite out of me. At least they're a danger to both me and looters, who are rarely alone and occasionally come well-armed. In downtown Splendid I even found someone in full riot gear, who I avoided like the plague. I'll take him down later.
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| The game gets all colourful when combat is initiated |
Actually, no I won't, I snuck in to the pharmacy he was guarding round the back and raided the place without him noticing. I love how combat can be fully optional, and there's usually another option - but if you risk it the rewards can be very helpful, provided you don't all die. As mentioned when you get in a fight the game becomes a turn-based strategy with a grid on the floor, superficially similar to XCOM. Since I rarely used guns I never really took cover, instead rushing to bash an enemy's head in before they could react. Dead State uses traditional Action Points for movement, attacks and items, so if you run several squares you might not have enough AP left to swing your baseball bat beyond a slight bash. Grid squares are coloured to indicate places you can't move to (red), places you can attack (light blue), and movement area (dark blue). Combat is tense and can get really nerve-wracking if your opponents start shooting and zombies come crawling, but altogether it's safest to avoid it - or to sneak up on your opponent from the back and clobber them before they notice you.
That's really all there is to Dead State right now, since it was just meant to be a taster of the final experience. There's still a lot that needs implementing, like more things to do at the shelter and some clearer instructions, but if DoubleBear can polish up all the features there should be an interesting RPG here. Dealing with the survivors and their personalities, building up and maintaining the Shelter, finding and raiding interesting new areas, it all looks very enjoyable. I'm already really into it, and if the experience hangs together well and presents you with the consequences of your actions (obligatory for a zombie apocalypse game these days I feel) Dead State could be another fun notch on Kickstarter's belt. I guess the walking dead do still have some life left in them after all...
Most Anticipated Feature/Element: Managing the survivors and finding out their back-stories. I better hope I don't get Renee killed or her mother will never forgive me.
