Chris InglisStepping back into the world of The Walking Dead feels like putting on a familiar, albeit blood-stained, jacket. Having recently enjoyed playing through The Karate Kid: Street Rumble, I’ve been on a bit of a retro beat ’em up kick lately. Much like diving into the Karate Kid universe of revisiting iconic characters, soaking in that old-school pixel arcade aesthetic, and playing through key movie moments, The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival, developed by Odaclick Game Studio and published by Trailmark Games, scratches a very similar itch for what is now considered TWD pop-culture nostalgia. Set specifically during the “All Out War” storyline (primarily Season 8, with elements of Season 7), it lets you relive major TV story arcs from the ground level.
There’s a distinct satisfaction in tackling these key narrative beats when you already know what’s coming down the wire for these characters. Seeing a young Carl in the opening cinematic hits a surprisingly poignant note, instantly anchoring you in the era when the show’s tension was at its absolute peak. For anyone stepping in without having watched every episode of the show or read the comics, the setup is straightforward: you’re taking control of the core resistance fighting through walker-infested tunnels, ruined settlements, and hostile strongholds across iconic locations like Alexandria, Hilltop, and The Sanctuary. The story is delivered mainly through text drops rather than heavy cutscenes, establishing a high-stakes conflict where you rally the communities, take down Negan’s lieutenants like Simon, and smash through overwhelming undead swarms.
Stepping into the boots of Rick Grimes, Michonne, Daryl Dixon, and an unlockable Negan feels like you are a part of the universe. The developers did a fantastic job translating their iconic weapons and combat feels into unique playstyles. Whether you are keeping distance with Daryl’s crossbow, slicing through lines with Michonne’s katana, or landing heavy, authoritative hits with Rick’s magnum revolver or later Negan’s ‘Lucille’ bat. Each character also features a skill tree to upgrade stats like damage and healing efficiency as you progress, offering a nice incentive to keep fighting.
Don’t let the arcade aesthetic fool you into thinking this is a perverbial walk in the park. Even on Normal difficulty, The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is brutally unforgiving. Precise positioning and dodging are survival requirements. Because combat relies on explicit plane alignment, spatial awareness is everything. Standing directly in front of an enemy means nothing if you’re a single vertical line off. You’ll swing wild at thin air while taking a full-force bite to the side. This difficulty curve is compounded by a ruthless item economy. Health packs are agonizingly scarce, and healing in battle is a high-stakes gamble. If an incoming attack forces you to interrupt a heal to create space between you and the walker, that precious bandage is burned instantly, leaving you empty-handed and even more exposed.
The main campaign is quite a compact, single-player run clocking in at around 3 hours across 12 levels. For fans of classic beat-em-ups, you would think playing co-op would be present however sadly, this is a single player only game, and I think that is an opportunity lost. Given its short play time, replayability comes largely from leveling up the characters or unlocking Negan upon beating the game. It would be immensely more fun if we were able to play this together in local co-op even with just one other mate. It’s worth noting that unlocking Negan functions strictly as an arcade roster addition rather than opening up a unique, villain-perspective campaign which is another lost opportunity. Replaying the existing story levels as Negan leads to some surreal moments like using Negan to bash through Savior soldiers, or wielding Lucille in a Negan vs. Negan boss fight, but it could very well have been a notable addition if we could get into the psyche of Negan and play through things from his perspective.
Still, there is a lot of fun to be had and connections to the TV show if you are like me and have not watched much of The Walking Dead in recent years since the end of the main series. You can tip the scales of battle in your favour by setting off car alarms or triggering noisy traps to funnel a horde of walkers directly into a squad of enemy soldiers which is pretty satisfying. Watching the undead do your dirty work never gets old, though the game smartly keeps you honest. Once the soldiers are torn apart, that same horde is still very much your problem to clean up before you can move on. For those willing to slow down and check every dark alley and corner, exploration pays off handsomely. Scavenging uncovers vital items to keep you breathing, along with narrative collectibles that fill in neat lore tidbits and extra context around the world.
Overall, The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival pairs classic TV nostalgia with modern side-scrolling beat-em-up crunch. The game punishes careless mistakes, but being able to play as Rick, Michonne and Darryl is great fun, and with clever environmental tactics and satisfying hero playstyles, the game is worth the odd struggle fight here and there.
This review utilised a Steam key provided by Sandbox Strategies and The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is available now on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
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Str8JaktJim