Dead State

 PC
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

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  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 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    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)!    … Expand
  2. DaggettDBeaver
    Nov 26, 2015
    9
    First off, i want to clarify that i write this review as a big fan of turn-based strategy games like XCOM or Jagged Alliance, a huge fan of classical role-playing games and as somebody who doesn't really look at graphics first. If you want a perfectly polished title, Dead State might not be the game you are looking for.

    I think many of the reviewers have the problem that they quit the    First off, i want to clarify that i write this review as a big fan of turn-based strategy games like XCOM or Jagged Alliance, a huge fan of classical role-playing games and as somebody who doesn't really look at graphics first. If you want a perfectly polished title, Dead State might not be the game you are looking for.

    I think many of the reviewers have the problem that they quit the game to fast. Yes, it is damn hard to get into it, the escape from the burning plane feels more annoying than comforting and the first mission doesn't show the best part of the game either. I had some hard time starting the game as well and nearly quit at the beginning. But i didn't - and because of that i could see what a great game it was.

    Dead State is probably the best mixture of strategy and role-playing game i ever played - and i don't say that lightly. It has its weaknesses, like a bad AI and Zombies moving out-of-vision to fast and seemingly appear out of nowhere when you are to loud, but that's okay. But it makes up for that by a really nice atmosphere, good characters, a good storyline, a good base management system, a good general game balance and lots of other very positive things.

    The scavanging, searching for food and discovering new places is just a great mechanic overall and the crisis events are a great way for character developement.

    I only wish that DoubleBear had some better programmers, because when we look at it, the programming (AI, Bugs, malfunctioning user interface elements) is really what keeps this game from getting 10 out of 10 points from me. But still, after all, i would consider it the best game i have played in 2015 so far.    … Expand
  3. CaptainChaos
    Dec 30, 2018
    6
    Edit: I raised my score from 6 to 5 b/c as much as I complain, I can't stop playing this game. Also, I figured out how to reduce teleporting zombies. Someone posted that if you press the space bar while they are moving across the entire screen to ambush you, it enters combat mode. You have to do this within about 6-10 squares of you to work, but that fixes my main issue. Still, this needsEdit: I raised my score from 6 to 5 b/c as much as I complain, I can't stop playing this game. Also, I figured out how to reduce teleporting zombies. Someone posted that if you press the space bar while they are moving across the entire screen to ambush you, it enters combat mode. You have to do this within about 6-10 squares of you to work, but that fixes my main issue. Still, this needs one patch for a 7 and could have been a 9 or 10 with just a bit more work.

    Like other reviewers here, I WANT to love this game, but there's a lot of frustration here that leaves me as annoyed as entertained.

    The game is sort of fun and I'm still giving it a chance. I'm so intrigued with the political side and that combat is a means to a goal not the goal. However, I have serious concerns about what I have seen in the first 30 hours.

    #1 Gripe: Teleporting Zombies: I understand that they revamped the combat system so you can't sneak up and kill everything; zombies have "eyes in the back of their head" detection. Ok whatever. To get around this I shot them in the back from 15 squares away, which is legit - the trade off is causing noise which is bad. Very bad, but since I can't sneak up with melee I engage them a distance and force them to run to me. But that's the tactical trade off, noise for position. However, the zombies just teleport to your location, no matter how far away you are. So, you can't position by distance. As one hilarious player said the very safest part in the game is literally in FRONT of the zombies b/c they chase you normally and don't hyperspace to you. This really breaks combat sometimes as using a gun near a mob of zombies gives the mob infinite free turns until they reach you. Reload. Only solution.

    Gripe #2: Close to #1 is no configure keys for PC? I can't change the keyboard keys. In 2015? You guys worked for Black Isle or whatever. That's basically treason to your base. What were you thinking?

    Gripe #3: The interface appears needlessly clunky. (a) Do I really need to put a gun in my inventory screen, unload it there to get the ammo, then move the ammo to my item slot and THEN go to the player screen to reload it my current same gun? Seriously? (b) also, I would like to select characters directly from the screen, not the portrait; my game feels like a tennis match with me constantly redirecting my eyes; I don't get - these guys nailed it for Black Isle games, why change?

    Gripe #3a: The text size is unbelievably small for the spreadsheet like tallies. I have LASIK and still have trouble reading it.

    Gripe #4 Action Points. Their system stinks. XCom let's you Overwatch if it's your turn. Other games, permit you to "wait" or at least save some of your AP if you don't use them.

    Gripe #5 No Cover: Is it so much to ask in a firefight you have cover mechanics? I realize the graphics are from the 1980s but Wasteland2 did a PHENOMENAL job with cover. Guys, you go back how many decades in the field? Boo.

    Minor Kvetch: I love how zombies create other zombies on the map, but could you give us a turn or two? It's a bit *too* intense and seems unfair to come RIGHT back to life. Maybe that's just me.

    I could go on, but you get the point. I like the atmosphere and the inside jokes, and the game has heart in other ways. I know they tried to fix the combat but in the end I feel they just got bored and called it a wrap. This game was a patch away from true decency and 4-6 months away from greatness. Just sad :( I give it a 5 though (mixed) as opposed to a 4, b/c despite the issues I love the environment and so far I'm curious and engaged.

    This is a more complicated than a rough diamond. Some patch choices and design omissions are almost too much to bear. Maybe they will be too much to bear in a few more hours. I dk.    … Expand
  4. MNCCritic
    Sep 14, 2016
    9
    This is very underrated product with hours of play. Dead State is an entertaining, imaginative game that focuses on building a community of conflicting personalities in a crisis. I have no affiliation to the game creators and I signed onto this site just to defend this title. Would love to see further development on this title.

    The Good: Community building, conflict resolution,    This is very underrated product with hours of play. Dead State is an entertaining, imaginative game that focuses on building a community of conflicting personalities in a crisis. I have no affiliation to the game creators and I signed onto this site just to defend this title. Would love to see further development on this title.

    The Good: Community building, conflict resolution, character development, standard and specialized resources, story telling.

    The Bad: Graphics are a little primitive, but not that bad. I like high resolution in first person shooters, but 'illustration graphics' are fine in an isometric. Pathfinding could get weird.

    The Ugly: The turn based combat could use a little refinement.

    I did not find any bugs that broke my game play or really annoyed me. I have played a lot of games over the years and this one wasn't that bad...HEY PEOPLE, Kickstarter or not, you can only go so far with the budget you have and they delivered a fine product.    … Expand
  5. AkumaJack
    Jul 13, 2018
    6
    Nice idea poorly executed.
    First of all the game is too hard for the wrong reasons. Morale is always going down for almost no reason. Having 5 "Okay" mood people in your shelter could offset gathering food, offering protection and other stuff.
    Second, there is no stealth whatsoever. AFAIK is because the first build of the game was too easy thanks to stealth. So instead of fixing it they    Nice idea poorly executed.
    First of all the game is too hard for the wrong reasons. Morale is always going down for almost no reason. Having 5 "Okay" mood people in your shelter could offset gathering food, offering protection and other stuff.
    Second, there is no stealth whatsoever. AFAIK is because the first build of the game was too easy thanks to stealth. So instead of fixing it they removed and now you HAVE to be a killing machine instead of trying to sneak in and out of risky places to get everything you need without wasting bullets, or worse, health.
    The combat system isn't that great. Is a bastardized version of XCOM without everything good of the game. Is Xcom without covers, perks and other intresting stuff to keep you entertained.
    The game suffer from a lack of polish too and crash quite often.
    Is probably not worth the money or the time to complete it.    … Expand
  6. wolf-mvp
    Oct 12, 2015
    10
    Dead state it is great game.
    Dead state = Fallout (1,2) + This War of Mine

    Game mechanic = 9/10
    Music = 8/10
    Atmosphere = 9/10

    Good, but underrated game.

    10 zombies/10
  7. ithinki1
    Dec 21, 2014
    0
    Wanted to start off by saying I was a huge supporter of this game pre EA and during early access. I enjoyed beta testing the game for DoubleBear and helping them to use the EA process to better the game.

    I think the game is a blast even in its frustrating buggy state. Now onto the reason why I think people should not buy this game or support the company DoubleBear for any future    Wanted to start off by saying I was a huge supporter of this game pre EA and during early access. I enjoyed beta testing the game for DoubleBear and helping them to use the EA process to better the game.

    I think the game is a blast even in its frustrating buggy state.

    Now onto the reason why I think people should not buy this game or support the company DoubleBear for any future games until the Give a public apology.

    I don't know about all of you but I found Kickstarter and Steam Early Access to be a wonderful breath of fresh air. I was sick of big AAA and medium sized AA Developers and Publishers pushing out 3/4 made buggy games that after I paid full price for had to wait months before it was patched up and enjoyable. This was the norm and I was sick of it.

    So I started supporting only EA and Kickstarter games, more than I could afford at times. Dead State is one of those games and I was very happy to support Doublebear.

    Sadly DoubleBear betrayed its fans and sought to deceive new buyers into believing that Dead State was a finished product in order to take full advantage of the Holiday shopping season. Brian and the Dead State team had pages of known bugs and some of them were game and story breaking.

    Ask yourself what reason would a Developer move a product that is known to be a buggy mess from Early Access to calling the game fully released. We the gamers are there Publisher and we were not on their backs pushing them to release the game in a unfinished state in order to reap the profit from the Holiday season.

    My over all point is that when small gamer funded games pull the same fast one as big AAA developers something has to be done about it. This type of behavior and not be rewarded.

    These type of actions corrupt the new system from within. If this is allowed to happen then we get get a bunch of small studios acting just like the AAA ones because they can.

    I and many others went onto Dead States forums to ask for an appology and get an answer why they felt the need to move a unfinished game from EA to fully released. We all found ourselves pounced on ,forum post locked and in several cases found ourselves banned. These type of actions are those of people wanting to hide what they did not ones wanting to correct the mistake that was made.

    I don't know DoubleBears reasons to fall to to such a low level. If they had funding problems there are so many other more honest options. We gamers have shown ourselves to be very giving.

    I ask people to avoid this game until the game is finished and DoubleBear publicly apologies for its mistakes.    … Expand
  8. Sawt00th
    Dec 12, 2014
    5
    Wholly underwhelming game. Your base is not free construct, members of the group stand motionless in a few rooms doing nothing, you can speak to them and select between the same 3 lines of text. Combat is painful, I like turn-based, but with TB combat you better make damn sure you have ironed out the bugs, but no, they are present, spoiling every combat interaction you have. The staticWholly underwhelming game. Your base is not free construct, members of the group stand motionless in a few rooms doing nothing, you can speak to them and select between the same 3 lines of text. Combat is painful, I like turn-based, but with TB combat you better make damn sure you have ironed out the bugs, but no, they are present, spoiling every combat interaction you have. The static base not of your choosing spoils it the most for me, it's huge and about 10% is actually used.… Expand
  9. Rygar
    Mar 1, 2015
    8
    Dead State is a survival game with RPG influences. Your job is to lead a group of survivors and keep them alive.

    The game overall is quite good, it definitely keeps you thinking about how you're going to spend resources, and balancing risk versus reward as you go scavenging. Combat is turn based and reminiscent of Fallout and Wasteland 2. You have the opportunity to influence how    Dead State is a survival game with RPG influences. Your job is to lead a group of survivors and keep them alive.

    The game overall is quite good, it definitely keeps you thinking about how you're going to spend resources, and balancing risk versus reward as you go scavenging. Combat is turn based and reminiscent of Fallout and Wasteland 2.

    You have the opportunity to influence how some of your NPCs grow by making choices that determine their growth path, though many you cannot influence.

    The game is overall in good condition today with only a few bugs remaining and I've not run into any gamekilling bugs. NPC's are generally well written and believable. You do find yourself making hard choices, such as leaving competing groups alone or engaging them even though they aren't overtly hostile.

    The "Leveling" mechanics are innovative. You don't gain levels from killing things, you gain them from scavenging and making decisions.

    It does have a few cons, variety of loot becomes repetitive after a bit, and NPC gifts are almost completely dependent on the random generator, making it very difficult to find some things. Another minor annoyance is that some areas are locked so you can walk over them and never see anything until someone tells you about it.

    Overall it is a fun survival RPG and I'd recommend it to anyone who is ready for a non-standard RPG.    … Expand
  10. 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 can get for pennies on the dollar, and many, many patched have been applied.
  11. LosingStreak
    Dec 25, 2014
    1
    Bad optimization, very buggy and got released out of Steam Early Access in a bad state. This game should have stayed in Early Access until they fleshed out the bugs.

    Could have been a good game if it didn't crash all the time and if quests actually worked.

    Extra negative score for releasing out of Early Access in such a messy state.
  12. Zell
    Jul 26, 2015
    9
    You get this game for the writing. Some of the best in the business. Gameplay can get repetitive after a while, and by mid game zombies become speed bumps. If you liked the first 2 fallouts combat is in that style, but the graphics are not those of a AAA game. That said its amazing what they were able to do with a 10 person team, and a small budget. I paid full price and feel like I got myYou get this game for the writing. Some of the best in the business. Gameplay can get repetitive after a while, and by mid game zombies become speed bumps. If you liked the first 2 fallouts combat is in that style, but the graphics are not those of a AAA game. That said its amazing what they were able to do with a 10 person team, and a small budget. I paid full price and feel like I got my monies worth with it. Is it perfect no, but does it deliver on the experience of managing a shelter during a zombie out break yes. This is not an action game its a thinking game, and those who enjoy that will enjoy this a lot. Personally I am ready to throw another 50 at an expansion.… Expand
  13. vomov
    Nov 17, 2015
    1
    As of now, the game is officially 'feature complete'. What they don't say, is that there are very very few actual features.

    Visually, it's not great, but a good game can allow itself some leeway in the graphics department. It looks like Fallout 2, and plays somewhat similarly to Fallout Tactics. The basis of the game is simple; zombie apocalypse, gather survivors, build shelter,    As of now, the game is officially 'feature complete'. What they don't say, is that there are very very few actual features.

    Visually, it's not great, but a good game can allow itself some leeway in the graphics department. It looks like Fallout 2, and plays somewhat similarly to Fallout Tactics.

    The basis of the game is simple; zombie apocalypse, gather survivors, build shelter, survive. Zombie apocalypse means there are zombies and looters. A very basic AI means very easy gameplay after a while. There are a lot of items, but all characters gravitate towards the same overpowered build, with the same weapons. Character backstories, or any story for that matter, is wafer-thin, and even feels inconsistent from time to time. Building the shelter is nothing more than a set of pre-defined upgrades, that change values in a spreadsheet (not kidding). Surviving entails gathering resources, which starts to feel repetitive after the first hour. The maps are indeed different, but there's nothing that feels new; walk up to zombie/looter in a group, hit it until it stops moving, loot stuff, repeat.

    In short; boring, very sparse featureset, and a lot of time-consuming activities.    … Expand
  14. MeritCoba
    Apr 20, 2019
    7
    Years ago..
    Some years ago I wrote a negative review about this game which was about to go live. A few months back I noticed I had gotten the reanimated version, so I tried it and used that for this review. This version is the one you can buy nowadays.
    Purpose of the review The aim of this review is to give you an idea of the game so you can make up your mind if you want to buy it or    Years ago..
    Some years ago I wrote a negative review about this game which was about to go live. A few months back I noticed I had gotten the reanimated version, so I tried it and used that for this review. This version is the one you can buy nowadays.

    Purpose of the review
    The aim of this review is to give you an idea of the game so you can make up your mind if you want to buy it or not. Steam graciously gives you two hours to test the game, but in case of Dead State this might not be enough. See below why. I hope this review helps you to make up your mind.

    Similarities to State of Decay
    To understand what kind of game this is, it is tempting to compare it to others. This goes just so far as you might not know those other games. However I am going to do this anyway as it is almost unavoidable to say that this game is similar to State of Decay(Further referred to as SoD). Like SoD it is set in a zombie apocalypse, you will be leading a group of survivors, you will be in charge of a base, there is some light roleplay involved and most of your time is involved with getting supplies and weapons and fighting.

    However this game can also be considered as an expanded version of SoD. When you go exploring you can have a group of up to four members picked from your community and even get a dog extra if you level out one skill. Also each member of your community is unique with their own background story, statistics, growth, quirks and events. The running of the base is far more elaborate not only in what you can build, but in having to keep your peoples moral up and fed and because you will need to make some important decisions during special events, called Crisis Events.

    Difference with State of Decay
    What is noticeable different is that while SoD sees zombies as the main adversaries, adding more and special - more dangerous - zombies to the mix as the game progresses, Dead State has humans as the main enemies and confronts you with better trained, better armed and better armored human adversaries.

    What is really different is the combat system. It is a turn based system in which actions cost a certain amount of action points. The more actions points you'll have the more you can do.

    Another notable difference is that zombies in this game turn people into zombies by infecting them. There is one place where a shootout between two gangs ends with both being overwhelmed by the zombies and most of them being infected and turned upon death.

    There are more differences but maybe the last to take note of is focus on your character. Dead State places your character at the center of the story and you can assign ability points and skill points upon creation at the start of the game and as the game progresses. However , unlike with SoD, you cannot switch it out with another. This can be a benefit as well as drawback as you character becomes powerful with special abilities but at the same time if your character is disabled in any way, you have to suffer the disability as it cannot be swapped out unlike all your other group members.

    Special mention
    One thing that needs to be mentioned is the unique way of character progressing. Experience is gained by bring home loot. Loot is needed to keep up moral, feed your people, supply you with parts to build, get you fuel to keep the generator working, keep the car operational..and it also allows you to improve your character. Each type of loot gives you a skill point if sufficient quantities are brought in.

    Strengths
    Dead State offers a sandbox game that allows you to go where you want, pick most of your community members, build what you like, do to others what you like and develop your character the way you feel most comfortable.

    Weakness
    A weakness is that important events happen on a specific day. For instance: the end phase happens on a specific day. If you are super efficient you might have done everything days or even weeks before that day as the game does not refill places, hence after a place is cleared it will have nothing new to offer. What makes this worse is that when you do not bring in supplies every day your people get disgruntled and might even kick you out. Hence you are facing boredom possible banishment because you were too efficient!

    The game has a limited replay value. Not only because it is scripted, but also because all your companions will be the same with the same values and develop along the same lines. You have no control over you companions, which is a pity really.

    Wrapping up
    I think the game is interesting enough if you like games as State of Decay and you get it on a sale. It would also be advisable to take note of the scripted nature of the game so you can plan ahead. It might be advisable to store some of your supplies in another location.

    Special note: a friend of mine is natural left handed. He found it a pity the keys cannot be reconfigured.    … Expand
  15. ebonyiii
    Aug 11, 2015
    8
    I've played a lot of zombie game in the last few years, and I have to say that Dead State, at the moment, is one of the best of them. It is similar to Stat of Decay: SoD has better graphic, a more dynamic combat system, and a good shelter mechanics.
    I like anyway Dead State tactical combat system, and I like its RPG inclinations, even if It could have been better implemented (ie too few    I've played a lot of zombie game in the last few years, and I have to say that Dead State, at the moment, is one of the best of them. It is similar to Stat of Decay: SoD has better graphic, a more dynamic combat system, and a good shelter mechanics.
    I like anyway Dead State tactical combat system, and I like its RPG inclinations, even if It could have been better implemented (ie too few dialog options).
    I've played only the "reanimated version" of the games, and at the moment I've not seen so many bug (probably they've resolved most of them).
    A good game.    … Expand
  16. Type4101
    Dec 25, 2014
    4
    A heartbreaking game....Dead State could have been amazing, and has the fundamentals to be an excellent RPG/survival sim. The ideas are there...base building, character interaction, an actual plot with an actual ending (rare in games these days). Also, there are no micro-transactions, which is great. This was meant to be real game, reminiscent of Fallout. But for some reason, theA heartbreaking game....Dead State could have been amazing, and has the fundamentals to be an excellent RPG/survival sim. The ideas are there...base building, character interaction, an actual plot with an actual ending (rare in games these days). Also, there are no micro-transactions, which is great. This was meant to be real game, reminiscent of Fallout. But for some reason, the developers appear to have quit development early and released an incomplete game as if it were a complete product. Many features are buggy or missing, and the whole thing feels like a late alpha-stage game, maybe an early beta. Everything is limited, scaled down, dumbed down, or broken. The timing of the release--just before the holiday binge--makes one wonder about the motivations of the developers in releasing an incomplete game. I so badly wanted to experience a game like the old Fallout games, but this sure isn't it! Another eight months of development, and believe this game could be good. Perhaps the developers will take the money they got from the broken release and invest it in finishing the game (rather than sticking it in their pockets and laughing at their customers). If the game improves I will update this review (assuming I am still interested in revisiting it in a year or so). Dead State is in an incomplete state, and needs more time in the oven.… Expand
  17. Rome
    Dec 6, 2014
    7
    UPDATED REVIEW: The black screen crash did not happen after an additional five times loading the game again. Strange, but hopefully it wont happen again. I then could play some more and I feel I should update my review and score:

    So I tried going down to Downtown Splendid. Here I met some human looters. I must say that human enemies seems impossible. So I had surrounded a "Nervous    UPDATED REVIEW: The black screen crash did not happen after an additional five times loading the game again. Strange, but hopefully it wont happen again. I then could play some more and I feel I should update my review and score:

    So I tried going down to Downtown Splendid. Here I met some human looters. I must say that human enemies seems impossible. So I had surrounded a "Nervous Looter" with Renee, Sarah(me) and Joel. I attacked him with melee 14 times, hitting him only three times. By then he had shot Joel dead (4 gunshots, whereof 3 hit Joel). Finally I was able to knock him down after 16 attacks total. By then his friends showed up, probably due to the noise from the gunshots. His friends were much much harder, a "Tough Looter" and a "Serious Looter". One equipped with a knife and a pistol, other with a long polearm. I tried to attack them but my attacks all but one missed. Then they just killed Renee and Sarah. This is pretty unsatisfactory. I have followed all the advice from the games tips dialog boxes and then this happen? I thought that being three together in my party would give me some safety. Maybe I should take four with me next time (can't take five since that fifth guy had to stay at home at the base to fix some important stuff (not revealing this because of story)).

    At this point I have to give the game a 7. The game is simply to hard, to the point of being imbalanced.

    OLD REVIEW:
    This is seemingly a very interesting Zombie apocalypse turn based action and strategy game, featuring ressource collection, character management and base building, repairing and crafting. Everything seems pretty detailed. If you ever played State of Decay, which had rather simple base construction and management and also rather basic character management then know that Dead State is highly complicated and detailed in these features and that is a big big plus.

    Unfortunately the whole experience is hampered by the game not being ready for release. Game breaking bugs like consistenly getting freezes and black screen when you travel to a specific area seems unsolvable because it doesn't help to load the save game again, it keeps happening. Loading from an even earlier save will help for a while until it happens again. This forces you to all too often to rewind your progress to an earlier save which is really REALLY horrible for a game like this. Loosing your progress is the absolute worst a game like this can do to the player. That is why I, sadly, am forced to only give Dead State a 4. If not for the game breaking bugs the game deserves a 8 or 9.    … Expand
  18. 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, good graphics, challenging but also simple battles. The only drawback is quantity of bugs and glitches, which, i hope, will be resolved soon.
  19. MrPink
    Dec 7, 2014
    8
    Finally, a zombie game which ISN'T about combat. This game is about survival. Scavenging for survival, fighting for survival, and managing your resources, trying to keep people's morale up, so that they can help you survive.
    Combat is actually quite difficult and unpredictable, and human enemies are very dangerous. It's a refreshing change of pace. For once, you have to consider    Finally, a zombie game which ISN'T about combat. This game is about survival. Scavenging for survival, fighting for survival, and managing your resources, trying to keep people's morale up, so that they can help you survive.
    Combat is actually quite difficult and unpredictable, and human enemies are very dangerous. It's a refreshing change of pace. For once, you have to consider whether or not going into combat is even worth it. Combat costs you ammunition (if you use firearms) and medical supplies(for the impending injuries you'll receive) and possibly deaths. You need to weigh up the possible scavenging benefits to all of that. Especially since you don't get EXP from combat (which i love). Much better off sneaking in, scavenging, and sneaking out, then you are fighting. Very much enjoying this game, and definitely re-playable.    … Expand
  20. Clovius
    Dec 21, 2014
    0
    The game is not playable in its current state.
    To many bugs (more than a few game breaking ones).
    Have followed Dead State since before it came to early access as the concept of a turn based zombie survival game was and is still very compelling to me. The game was released in this embarrassing state just ahead of the Steam Winter sale. Questions about this and request for an    The game is not playable in its current state.
    To many bugs (more than a few game breaking ones).

    Have followed Dead State since before it came to early access as the concept of a turn based zombie survival game was and is still very compelling to me.

    The game was released in this embarrassing state just ahead of the Steam Winter sale.
    Questions about this and request for an explanation from the devs were first ignored and now threads are removed and users banned.    … Expand
  21. urieaal
    Jan 18, 2015
    5
    This game could be so much fun... but: parts are to scarce, it makes upgrades difficult. the first area your supposed to go get parts at doesn't even have enough for the first required upgrade.

    even in its current state (134) this game is so buggy, and the combat system is so god awfully hair pulling slow. Maybe a few more updates and this will be a good game to play but right now    This game could be so much fun... but: parts are to scarce, it makes upgrades difficult. the first area your supposed to go get parts at doesn't even have enough for the first required upgrade.

    even in its current state (134) this game is so buggy, and the combat system is so god awfully hair pulling slow.

    Maybe a few more updates and this will be a good game to play but right now its to buggy, parts often disappear for no reason. and its 39.99 :/ theres better games out there to be sure.

    so unless your a die hard zombie fanatic this is not the zombie game you've been wishing for.    … Expand
  22. Wizzleteats
    Mar 6, 2015
    0
    The controls cannot be re-mapped. The game is not playable for left-handers. Customizable keyboard controls used to be the norm. This is just lazy and inept game design.
  23. blade01
    Mar 5, 2015
    3
    I dont know, i had fun with the game, for a while.The longer the game was running the more bugs i had and the more the broken mechanics made me suffer.In detail:

    -Bugs:Encountered many bugs with the newest patch.Skills that arent working at all or they work just wrong.Some of the mechanics seems broken too and this influenced my experience!Minus -2 for that in the end! -Visuals:Ugly    I dont know, i had fun with the game, for a while.The longer the game was running the more bugs i had and the more the broken mechanics made me suffer.In detail:

    -Bugs:Encountered many bugs with the newest patch.Skills that arent working at all or they work just wrong.Some of the mechanics seems broken too and this influenced my experience!Minus -2 for that in the end!

    -Visuals:Ugly as hell, sorry.

    -Sound:Some of the worst sounds if ever heard.A character is injured?The sound they play to "simulate" that is hilarious.First i thought a porn is running somewhere.Turn out this is to "simulate" the heavy breathing caused by the injury.WTF??Music is not good too.

    Gameplay:Bare minimum.Some active skills, some passive ones and some perks.Nothing fancy, its ok to keep you going.Problem is, some of them will not work or will not work how they should be!Movement is a pain, no real sneaking.

    Conclusion:While the things i said sounds all terrible i had great 4 days with the game.Unitl i reached a point where i die for no reason!!!Just like that, someone stabbed me to death in the shelter without a major incident and many of the residents liked me.No warning, nothing.Food for weeks, gas for weeks, everything was fine.Suddenly Davis says "people are dying because of you".What?Not ONE in the game is dead!I think something in the mechanics isnt working like it should but im really pissed at this game.
    I dragged myself through this awfull game because of the story.The story is great, there is everything.Tension, passion, you like and/or hate the people you lead.But when bugs like that happen and you waste your time its the worst.

    The game is for me without the bugs a solid 5 bwcause i had fun despite the poor sound and the poor graphik.With the sheer amount of bugs(quests that wont end properly for example) its just a 3, im sorry.
    This game had potential.    … Expand
  24. StarCitizenZues
    Dec 14, 2014
    7
    I'm giving this game a very soft 7. I was an original backer, and if can certainly appreciate the independent production of this game, as well as the feedback and communication from the devs. They would literally reply to concerns or comments within 15 minutes of posting.
    With that said, as it stands, the game is decent (at time of posting) but it is still hampered by numerous bugs and    I'm giving this game a very soft 7. I was an original backer, and if can certainly appreciate the independent production of this game, as well as the feedback and communication from the devs. They would literally reply to concerns or comments within 15 minutes of posting.
    With that said, as it stands, the game is decent (at time of posting) but it is still hampered by numerous bugs and glitches. Upon release, this game was unplayable, but the devs cleaned it up to about 80% playability (without wanting to punch your monitor). Why this game was released with so many known issues is beyond me -- I can only guess it has to do with some type of contractual obligation to either Steam or Kickstarter.
    I currently have 70 hrs invested in this game, and I'm starting to get a little burnt out. It does become a little repetitive, but only because of the bugs slowing everything down. It's very cathartic bashing zombies heads in after a hard day, but its becomes frustrating when those glitches kick in and slow you to a snails pace, or when a major event happens, but its glitched and you are powerless to make a decision .... Usually resulting in very negative results.
    Graphics and music are also decent and the maps are fun; however, all maps are pre-written and never change. In other words, you restart the game, same maps, same zombie and enemy placement, zero replay ability factor .... But there are ALOT of maps. This is a real shame, because if the maps were random (or any random events for that matter) this game would have a huge replay ability factor a la Xcom meets Oregon Trail.
    Right now, this game is going for $20 to $30 on steam, but I think a $12 to $15 price tag is more appropriate.
    Check it out, if its on sale, or they gear up some substantial DLC.    … Expand
  25. Csmyky
    Jan 15, 2015
    10
    Permanent repairs and upgrades.
    Huge idea well executed.
    Zombie game is now trendy.
    The game is still hope will improve a lot.
    Building and character development & Survival Skills
  26. FlorianGh
    Dec 6, 2014
    10
    As a fan of true RPG's I must say that I am liking this game very much. It really matters every thing that you do in the game, every weapon that you use makes an amount of noise. Killing in this game does not earn you XP so it really make you think twice before engaging an enemy. I love the fact that the game is very hard and I didn't found any setting for difficulty :). It really showsAs a fan of true RPG's I must say that I am liking this game very much. It really matters every thing that you do in the game, every weapon that you use makes an amount of noise. Killing in this game does not earn you XP so it really make you think twice before engaging an enemy. I love the fact that the game is very hard and I didn't found any setting for difficulty :). It really shows that the game was made by experts in RPG's like Brian Mitsoda who work at Troika and made Arcanum and Vampire : Bloodlines.… Expand
  27. iropan
    Apr 22, 2015
    7
    Bug-riddled, but as of April 2015, none of the bugs are game breaking. I've had a lot of fun with this game, played it for a couple of weeks non-stop, I loved managing a survivor camp, building upgrades, assigning everyone jobs, scavenging for supplies, etc. The turn based combat is satisfying once you get the hang of it, which is not hard. Great music. The technical issues are hard toBug-riddled, but as of April 2015, none of the bugs are game breaking. I've had a lot of fun with this game, played it for a couple of weeks non-stop, I loved managing a survivor camp, building upgrades, assigning everyone jobs, scavenging for supplies, etc. The turn based combat is satisfying once you get the hang of it, which is not hard. Great music. The technical issues are hard to ignore, but in terms of fun, this is one of my favorite games of the year so far.… Expand
  28. jseph1234
    May 26, 2022
    6
    EDIT May 25, 2022 : Was able to get the Game Sorted out using the Public Test Beta setting on Steam and have had some good playing with it. Upgraded to 6 / 10

    I have been playing this for 16 hours and the game has crashed every 10 - 20 minutes using Windows 10 and RTX 3080 with Intel i7 10700k CPU with 32 GB of Ram. Very frustrated and I have set it to Public_Test mode beta and Win 7    EDIT May 25, 2022 : Was able to get the Game Sorted out using the Public Test Beta setting on Steam and have had some good playing with it. Upgraded to 6 / 10

    I have been playing this for 16 hours and the game has crashed every 10 - 20 minutes using Windows 10 and RTX 3080 with Intel i7 10700k CPU with 32 GB of Ram. Very frustrated and I have set it to Public_Test mode beta and Win 7 Compatibility. Still getting crashes during transit and some gameplay. Annoying as heck!

    Moreover, You CANNOT Sneak up on Zombies from Behind! Also even if you try to get first strike on a Zombie it ALWAYS hits your character first.    … Expand
  29. Joseph65
    Sep 3, 2020
    8
    All the atmosphere of the "walking dead" tv series is perfectly captured by this complex, multi-layered strategic game of survival during the zombie apocalypse. On the strategic level, you need to secure a shelter, gather food, fuel, other fellow survivors and try to keep your little community expanding, thriving and, mostly surviving each passing day. when you choose your foraging partyAll the atmosphere of the "walking dead" tv series is perfectly captured by this complex, multi-layered strategic game of survival during the zombie apocalypse. On the strategic level, you need to secure a shelter, gather food, fuel, other fellow survivors and try to keep your little community expanding, thriving and, mostly surviving each passing day. when you choose your foraging party in the morning (and at the same time assign other less exciting tasks to those who stay behind in the shelter), you go out to look for what you need to survive in a dreadful, apocalyptic world of death. Then you get to meet the enemy: zombies -yes- but especially other human survivors, who are often more dangerous than the living dead.
    Tactical combat (turn based-JA2 style) follows with a good many options and weapons. I find also this part of teh game very satisfying, and cannot say I have found all the glitches and bugs other reviewers mentioned (after the "reanimated" patch of mid may 2015). Overall, I love this game, but it still has room for improvement: a) overall morale of the shelter seems to have a limited game effect b) more dialogue option would be beneficial c) you cannot kneel or go prone in combat d) there seem to be little option to use stealth usefully in combat. I hope the developers will address some of these points.    … Expand
  30. CoreGamer1408
    Dec 17, 2018
    6
    I didn' t like the moral system. It was a micromanagement drag to maintain. So on one of those rare occasions I used a console command. Fine I wasn't playing the game the Developers wanted. I was playing the game I wanted. So it turned out to be more like a Fallout 1/2 and Wasteland 2 hybrid experience with added base building. The RPG elements are not as strong as Fallout and the combatI didn' t like the moral system. It was a micromanagement drag to maintain. So on one of those rare occasions I used a console command. Fine I wasn't playing the game the Developers wanted. I was playing the game I wanted. So it turned out to be more like a Fallout 1/2 and Wasteland 2 hybrid experience with added base building. The RPG elements are not as strong as Fallout and the combat is not as fun or as tactical as Wasteland 2, but I still had fun with it. Rough, unpolished and those turns late game can take a hell of a long time. So flip out that mobile or tablet between turns or something.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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. 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]
  2. 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.
    Read full review
  3. 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.
    Read full review
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