Dead State took a long time to grace the virtual PC shelves on a five year development cycle and eventually went to Kickstarter to charm us with promises of building an outpost amidst a zombie apocalypse while tackling all the complex choices such an endeavour brings. When the game officially released at the end of 2014, it was a sadly underwhelming experience that felt unfinished. Now a big update has been released called Dead State Reanimated, and while there’s still a lot of work to do, I dare say Dead State is well on the way to becoming a great RPG.
As the survivor of a plane crash, the player awakens to find themselves in a Texas school surrounded by a disorganized group of individuals struggling to cope with the gravity of their dire situation. They need a leader, someone to take charge, make the hard decisions, and do whatever it takes to ensure their survival. In short they need Liam Neeson, but you’ll have to do. [...]
Leaving the confines of the shelter brings up the region map where players are let loose to freely explore, with travel distance limited by the mode of transportation—horses and cars can be sought out later. Map locations must be uncovered and are always in the same place, but there are well over a hundred of them excluding foraging spots, and each has a little story to tell. Unfortunately, unlike the war-torn survival game This War Of Mine, Dead State gives no indication of what resources are left at each location, meaning it may be prudent to grab a pen & paper and jot down heavy items and unexplored buildings. Also, for some reason, the player character is expected to personally lead every single expedition like a frontline general from the middle ages, so take skills to compliment that and don’t count on playing a pacifist negotiator. [...]
At the end of each day a stat screen brings up morale and resources gained/lost. Morale plays a prominent part of the shelter, the consequences of losing survivors and not coming back with enough supplies at worst can inspire full-on mutiny. It was here my game sadly ended; roughly 40 hours in with me stupidly not producing saves that went far back enough to avoid the calamity. Yes, 40 hours. If value were measured in playtime, Dead State would be a bargain reportedly clocking in at a total number of hours comparable to The Witcher 3! Whether the game is worth buying now is hard to say; any PC RPG veteran knows about gems rougher than sandpaper bedsheets such as Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines that are nonetheless beloved. If you aren’t already totally exhausted from bug-ridden game releases this year, consider taking the plunge.
