Overkill's The Walking Dead launches into shambling un-life
The apocalypse is more fun with friends
Overkill's The Walking Dead is out now, and seems to do exactly what it says on the tin - it's the popular zombopocalyptic comic series, as filtered through Payday studio Overkill. That means we've got another four player online co-op shooter with semi-optional stealth and vast hordes of enemies to shoot, stab or otherwise re-deaden. Set in the ruins of Washington DC (familiar territory for Payday folk), it tells the episodic story of a band of survivors, and their constant battle against enemies undead or otherwise. The launch trailer lurks below.
From what I've seen of the game so far (sadly not had a chance to try it myself), it looks a lot like Payday 2 in terms of its movement and shooting, but with more complex mission objectives and no malfunctioning drills. As with all the best zombie games, the undead are numberless and bandits and other apocalyptic ne'er-do-wells probably pose most threat to life and limb. There's a strong element of stealth here too, mostly because zombies don't have alarm systems - when moving from house to house on the way to an objective, stealthy stabs go a long way.
While I've doubts that Overkill's The Walking Dead will endure quite as long as Payday 2 did (an update just last week wrapped up its five-year-running story, ending in a daring White House heist), it will be growing for a while yet. The current version launches with one 'season' of content - ten episodes - with a second season of nine more episodes due for release free between now and June 2019. As for whether the game gets renewed for another run is up to the companies involved, as there's currently no season pass or significant DLC available yet.
Overkill's The Walking Dead is out now on Steam for £46.49/€49.99/$59.99. There's also a Deluxe Edition, which adds a handful of extra equipment and character skins, an art book and the soundtrack. The game is published by Starbreeze.