Dead State

 PC
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Jan 21, 2015
    83
    Dead State is not much to look at, but as a zombie-themed post-apocalyptic role-playing game it’s definitely a winner. Interestingly enough, the zombies turn out to be the least of the survivors’ problems. [Jan 2015]
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  2. Eurogamer Germany
    Jan 7, 2015
    80
    Seemingly small decisions can have such far reaching consequences, that it's impossible to dislike Dead State.
  3. Riot Pixels
    Jan 25, 2015
    72
    Maybe, a few patches later, Dead State will become a better game than it is now. Fiddle with the flow of time to make events unfold faster, fix the remaining bugs in the code, restore the cut endings, and you will get a great RPG, not just a good one.
  5. PC Gamer
    Dec 17, 2014
    72
    Satisfying, pen-and-paper-style zombie storytelling that's somewhat blandly presented and burdened by bugs. A worthy RPG that would've benefited from more budget.
  6. Games.cz
    Jan 28, 2015
    70
    Dead State game offers a great experience that combines the struggle for survival, the party and shelter management, entertaining RPG part and a tactical combat. The game grabs and holds you for dozens of hours, so you are willing to forgive it its obsolete visuals. We’d like to see bugs disappear a bit faster though.
  7. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jan 24, 2015
    70
    Since it was Double Bear’s founder who drafted story of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines and Alpha Protocol, one could expect Dead State to deliver some intriguing characters. But alas, in backwater Texas there’s no place for triple-agents, while clichéd Vietnam vets and truck drivers fail to deliver any surprises. [Feb 2015]
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  8. PC Games
    Jan 16, 2015
    70
    An unusual combat system with profound gameplay and RPG elements make for a solid basis. Exploration is encouraged due and decisions influence the story. Unfortunately, pale characters, an outdated look and a lack of variety in missions dull the overall picture.
  9. SpazioGames
    Jan 5, 2015
    70
    After a long wait, we were expecting something more from Dead State. Yet the game manages to intrigue for its moral aspects, for the pleasure of exploration and for the successful balance between some harsh old-school elements and an apocalyptic world with many resources, which greatly helps to avoid frustration of the very first hours.
  10. GameWatcher
    Jan 5, 2015
    70
    Dead State is a very fun zombie apocalypse RPG but it’s not quite the hoped-for second coming of Troika.
  11. IGN Italia
    Dec 21, 2014
    70
    An interesting "zombie RPG" that could have (and should have) been much better.
  12. Eurogamer
    Dec 12, 2014
    70
    Nothing much to look at, and with a premise that has been dulled through repetition, Dead State is a game that requires you to approach it with an open mind and a forgiving nature. Make the effort, and you'll find a game that makes up in charm what it lacks in polish.
  13. GameFront
    Dec 10, 2014
    70
    It may not have ended up being the first, but Doublebear has certainly earned its place among the zombie survival greats.
  14. IGN
    Dec 18, 2014
    68
    Make no mistake: to pull off everything that Dead State tries would be an achievement for any RPG, and it’s impressive how much it manages. What it lacks in polish it at least largely makes up for in personality, even with glitches and rough edges as far as the eye can see.
  15. Vandal
    Jan 6, 2015
    67
    This game is based on good ideas, but the execution isn't that good. If you're looking for a zombie game and you're interested in the RPG concept, it might deserve a try.
  16. Everyeye.it
    Feb 9, 2015
    65
    It's a sometimes interesting starting point, but to compete with the many zombie games out there, it still lacks content.
  17. CD-Action
    Mar 17, 2015
    50
    It’s a game that does some things really well and other really badly. If you’re willing to endure the latter and you’ve already finished Wastelands 2, you can give Dead State a chance. [03/2014, p.78]
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 95 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 95
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 95
  3. Negative: 23 out of 95
  1. lifemare
    Dec 13, 2014
    4
    As of version 1.0 this game is barely playable.
    It's riddled with bugs:
    ► Worst pathfinding i've seen in a game: - Characters randomly    As of version 1.0 this game is barely playable.
    It's riddled with bugs:

    ► Worst pathfinding i've seen in a game:
    - Characters randomly teleporting to stairways (means sometimes you'll be engaged in a fight with one of your characters stuck on the opposite side of the map).
    - Blocked items (important ones for quests, like laptop data, or entire racks of medicine).
    - Characters often hovering above ground or sliding instead of walking (breaking whatever semblance of immersion DS has to offer).
    - Characters constantly unable to move to an object unless you move other characters away. - Unresolved pathfinding actually crashing the game.
    - Enemies inside walls.
    - Bodies piling on top of one another (unable to loot them).
    - Etc.

    ► Very predictable enemy behaviours, only made unpredictable by bugs and poorly implemented combat mechanics:
    - Cameras staying fixed on the last character that played instead of following enemy action (wow!), means when that character happens to be on a different floor you won't be able to see the combat.
    - If you have a character with high enough APs to wield a Sledgehammer and high melee skill, all you have to do to clear the map of zombies is approach them from behind (or the sides) and one-shot them one at a time... This makes zombies little more than scarecrows, offering no real menace, unless they're compacted into huge groups (which i've seen happen like once).
    - Enemies spawning out of nowhere (thankfully rarely).
    - Getting stuck in turn-based combat for infinite turns with no visible enemies around.

    ► And the final blows that made me end my own misery and stop playing:
    - Broken quests (plural).
    - Unrepairable upgrades plummeting base morale.
    - And finally the car magically disappearing from the shelter.

    But i can forgive all the bugs on a rushed kickstarter release, when the team behind the game has worked so hard to keep all their promises and continues to devote their time to patching it up (though you shouldn't make paying customers beta-test your game, and i'm afraid putting such an unpolished product for sale in an effort to catch that little xmas boost will mean disaster for future sales).
    What i can't really forgive is the lack of attention and creativity that pervades the entire game:

    ► Horrible, awkward, amateurish inventory system:
    - Very unresponsive drag&drop often forces you to keep trying the same item over and over.
    - No way to dump your entire inventory into a container without painstakingly shift-selecting one by one (often accidentally dragging instead of clicking to make things even worse, or misclicking somewhere and losing the entire selection), when it would be so damn simple to just use the shift to instantly transfer items.
    - No way to distribute loot from containers to all characters, having to waste awful amounts of time depositing and withrawing stuff to maximize your carry capacity.
    - No game pausing when using inventory leaves you open to ambush while you're merrily arranging items.
    - Guns only unloadable in characters' individual inventory (not on inventory transfers between base/characters/containers).
    - Annoying pop-ups (with no shortcut key to dismiss) warning you of exceeded weight (when it would be so, so simple to just auto fill and leave the excess in the container).
    - No info on character max carry capacity in item transfer windows (only in individual inventory), makes you keep guessing... Add that to the fact there's multiple units of weight in use (imperial system, really?! Why?!) and prepare to spend yet more time guessing!
    - Can't stress enough how much longer you'll spend organizing inventories, instead of actually playing the game!

    ► Crappy interaction between characters:
    - You pretty much only have four questions for everyone for the entire game! That's it! No more dialog, except:
    - You get cut-scenes in the morning: one after the other, completely disconnected, and often asking you to do things you've already done.
    - Characters just stick to the walls of your base, more lifeless than zombies, instead of moving around, or (dare i ask) manning the posts you assign them on the job's board (which, by the way, is a whole other can of worms).

    ► You have a huge base, but only ever use 10% of it (4 rooms), the rest is desolate deserted space you explore once at the beggining and never visit again.

    ► Practically zero ambient sound and music coupled with very basic graphics leaves you with a game completely destitute of atmosphere.

    And i could go on and on, but i doubt a lot of people will have the patience to read this already endless wall of text. And there's always the (very incomplete) official List of Known Issues on Steam (if anyone cares to delve further into this mess).

    TL;DR: Needs another year of development! If you don't mind playing a survival game filled with bugs and awkward interactions, go play Project Zomboid. At least that has good music (and a lot more fun)!    … Full Review »
  2. Adast_Adamov
    Dec 7, 2014
    10
    This game is masterpiece. It reminded me of classic Fallout so much that i almost cried. Way better than Wasteland 2. Great characters, goodThis game is masterpiece. It reminded me of classic Fallout so much that i almost cried. Way better than Wasteland 2. Great characters, good graphics, challenging but also simple battles. The only drawback is quantity of bugs and glitches, which, i hope, will be resolved soon.… Full Review »
  3. metacriticfasch
    Dec 12, 2014
    0
    Pathetic little game. Full of bugs, puzzling design choices, repetitive game play. It is a budget game and it shows. Stay clear until you canPathetic little game. Full of bugs, puzzling design choices, repetitive game play. It is a budget game and it shows. Stay clear until you can get for pennies on the dollar, and many, many patched have been applied.… Full Review »
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