A brand new online game primarily based on the favored TV present The Strolling Lifeless is out now on consoles and followers who’ve jumped in to test it out are reporting one other clunky, damaged, and ugly Recreation Mill-published mess, similar to that terrible King Kong recreation from earlier this yr.
My job is to put in writing about video video games and to remain up-to-date on what’s taking place within the trade. So I used to be fairly shocked to see a brand new Strolling Lifeless recreation—that I had no concept existed—land on consoles right now with little fanfare. I don’t doubt there have been advertising and marketing supplies and even advertisements for The Strolling Lifeless: Destinies earlier than it launched, however by some means I fully missed all of that and solely found the sport existed about an hour earlier than scripting this paragraph. And let me inform you, it’s been a pleasant Friday afternoon deal with.
Let’s simply lower proper to the very first thing I noticed of this recreation: A boss combat between Rick and Shane over who ought to lead the group. The massive draw of this recreation is that gamers can change the occasions of the present, which is cool in idea! I like that concept. Sadly, the shootout between the ex-friends and former cops is among the worst and silliest boss fights I’ve seen in 2023.
I believe Rick takes about 20 or so point-blank shotgun blasts to the face earlier than getting knocked down. Then the combat transitions to a second stage and at this level, the audio begins to chop out and character voiceovers play on prime of one another as Shane smacks Rick repeatedly with a crowbar. Ultimately, in spite of everything this silliness, Rick dies and Shane walks away the victor, altering the occasions of the present. However at what price?
Recreation Mill strikes once more, sadly
The remainder of The Strolling Lifeless: Destinies doesn’t look a lot better. Cutscenes aren’t animated, character fashions look ripped out of a PlayStation 3 recreation, and gameplay appears to boil all the way down to “Run as much as zombie, kick or punch zombie, and press the stab button.” Then simply do this a couple of hundred occasions or so.
With out taking part in it I can’t say if it’s truly worse than Cranium Island: Rise of Kong, one other recreation printed by low-budget writer Recreation Mill. However even when The Strolling Lifeless: Destinies is best, that’s a low bar to clear.
I don’t blame the builders behind this recreation for it being such a large number. As beforehand reported about Kong, Recreation Mill appears to offer little help and few sources to the studios engaged on its video games.
So it’s fully potential (and sure) that proficient and passionate builders crunched exhausting on Destinies in a brief period of time to get one thing out, and that is what we bought. And whereas that sucks and is perhaps one other signal of how the sport trade treats its employees like rubbish, it doesn’t change the truth that you in all probability shouldn’t purchase this new Strolling Lifeless recreation. However benefit from the movies of its wonky boss fights all you need.
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