The Escapists: The Walking Dead Reviews
A great tie-in and a solid game in its own right, The Escapists: The Walking Dead is an enjoyable and surprisingly deep head-scratcher.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead is a very addictive time and resource management game which can easily make the hours fly by as you play just one more day to hunt for that elusive item you need. However, the addiction can slowly turn into frustration at not being able to find what you need or by not knowing what you need to do next due the lack of any hints. It is a test in patience and the will to keep going and try every possible combination of item to find your way through the game, but as long as you have these qualities then you will have a blast.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead valiantly tries to subvert the established formula of the original version of The Escapists, but ends up a slightly confused love letter to Robert Kirkman's post-apocalyptic comic book series instead. There's still plenty to enjoy for Walking Dead fans, if not necessarily much for those that liked The Escapists.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead is a visually charming game with a standout soundtrack, but its gameplay is shallow and repetitive. It follows the narrative of the original comic books, but uses them only superficially without any real depth or engagement with the license. It has its moments of fun, but more often than not is a frustrating time-sink made up of trial-and-error mechanics with little sense of reward.
Even though I'm a massive Walking Dead fan (both the TV and comics) I only somewhat enjoyed my time with this game due to its randomness and forced duties that hinder exploration and experimentation in long bursts.
A more forgiving spin on the prison-break theme of The Escapists, The Escapists: The Walking Dead removes some of the high stress from the original and gives the player more room to breathe and enjoy what was great about it.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead brings a normalcy to the franchise, with methodical routines and chances to explore, better yourself, or help others at will.
A fun, short-lived game that's one of the better Walking Dead experiences roaming the market.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead is a boring and uneventful game. It takes a mediocre game formula and slaps a cheap coat of licensing paint on it. As a The Walking Dead fan, a fan of puzzle games, RPG games and retro-style graphics, there is nothing I can say I enjoyed about this game.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead is a very fun little game.
While there's a few repetitive fetch quests, the crafting system and puzzle-solving make for some solid gameplay – if you have patience, love zombies and The Walking Dead and survival-crafting, check it out.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead is a decent puzzle game, but lacks the complexity and freedom of its predecessor by offering basic, linear goals. With many concepts from the original shoe-horned in regardless of theme or enjoyable gameplay it ultimately falls a little flat. Fans of the TV show will certainly get more out of this, it does have a certain charm but sadly doesn't quite work and feels like a missed opportunity.
With cheerful retro music paired with a fairly colorful 8-bit palette, The Escapists: The Walking Dead is a wonderful and meticulous romp through the world of Robert Kirkman. The game treats the graphic novels as canon, and does a thorough job recreating the experience. I've played every The Walking Dead video game released in the past five years, and Team17's reskinning of their hit prison breakout sim is by far my favorite. Combining meticulous micromanagement with the constantly looming threat of walker attacks creates tense gameplay that rewards players who are willing to take the time to craft the perfect escape plan.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead gives what was already a great game a culturally relative coat of paint and does so with an ease that should make other video game tie-ins sit up and take notice. Staying true to both franchises, this standalone game offers enough of a variety of options to cater to most players without becoming too frustrating, while posing puzzles that are in-depth and complex enough to appeal to more serious strategy fans. A great introduction to either series and well worth the asking price.
The zombie apocalypse isn't a world of fear, but a world of bores and chores.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead freshens up the visuals with some fresh corpses, but its amendments make for an experience that feels more restrained in execution. This is particularly true when it comes to linear solutions hemmed in by a need for story. Zombies might have overrun the gaming world at the moment, but for now, I'd rather be in jail.