When one of our favourite VR developers Survios announced they were making a Walking Dead game, we were interested in seeing what they would be do with the franchise. However, after the removal of co-op and the initial opinions coming out, we soon lost interest. But, now it has received a number of updates, we thought its was the perfect time to jump into the game… but has it improved?
Story
With Onslaught being in the actual universe of the TV show, the story takes place after the war with the Saviors and the rebuilding of Alexandria. This plays out over seven chapters of a disagreement between Rick and Daryl over a mystery person. With the story taking place through the eyes and narration of Daryl it’s certainly something for fans of The Walking Dead.
Gameplay
The gameplay is split between two modes, which are both launched via the camp in Alexandria. The main part of the game is of course the campaign mode, this will unravel the above story, as your gaming sections are narrated by Daryl. The campaign levels are pretty linear in leading you to where you need to be, and allow for some satisfying walker slaying. Around the levels you will also get chance to collect materials, which can help back at the camp – but, this is more prevalent in the other mode.
This other mode is scavenger mode, where you need to keep moving and taking care of walkers to escape the oncoming horde. However, the most important part of this is also looting as many materials as you can as you do so. In these sections you get to chose your load-out and head out as either Rick, Carol or Michonne.
The material you are collecting in both the campaign and scavenger mode, will make more people want to join you as you rebuild Alexandria, and are also be used to upgrade weapons and rebuild the buildings in Alexandria. Now, the importance of getting people to join you is, the story chapters and areas for scavenger are locked behind the amount of members of Alexandria.
You will get a wide range of weapons to use through out the game, but in order to use these in scavenger mode you will have to find them, either when scavenging or throughout the campaign. But, while playing the game we found the melee combat weapons stood out loads compared to the ranged weapons – which seemed to feel a little off.
Presentation
Overall we have found the presentation a bit of mixed bag. Visually you are going to get nice enough looking environment. But, this is mixed with a lot of rubbish and items around the map you cant interact with – which can ruin the immersion, when you try and pick a can up that’s a solid object to the surface, for one example.
However, the zombie models are fantastic, and this is mixed with some of the best gore effects I have seen in a zombie game in VR. With each stab doing single damage. Which at one point we tested this by stabbing a dead walker in the face many times with the knife, to the point it was nearly down the bone one side, but the other still had flesh on it. But, then in scavenger mode they have decided to make the horde you need to escape a red mist with silhouettes in, which was a shame, as when you let this get close, the whole immersion can go quickly.
Sound wise, we really could not find any complaints, as it does what it need to do to set the scene and feeling of being in The Walking Dead universe. The weapons all sound great, the damage to walkers also sounds nice. Then the voice over work in the game is on point, given it is done by the actors and actresses from the show.
Comfort/Controls
We found the game was only really enjoyable and playable whilst standing. But, as this is a Survios game, you get a large amount of comfort options, allowing you to tweak the game to go with your level of VR legs – something that is really important for users of VR.
When it comes to controls you are going to get what you expect with games in the zombie genre, with them all using most buttons on the controller, and the manual reloading mechanic of grabbing your ammo and placing it into your weapon. However, no manual cocking of the guns is required in Onslaught, which seems a missed opportunity.
Longevity
Overall with the campaign, unlocking and playing all the scavenger parts, you will find the game allows for around six to seven-hours of gameplay time. However, if you just want to go back into the scavenger areas and slay some zombies and take in the gore and blood effects again, this is an option – and can be quite satisfying to do.
reviewed using valve index
For the purposes of transparency, this review was created using a review code provided by the company or their respective PR company. The use of a press code does not affect my judgement of the product.
Review Overview
Our experience with The Walking Dead: Onslaught has certainly been a mixed one. Where the game does some great things, it is also let down by other areas. However, if you are a fan of the TV show you will love stepping into the shoes of Daryl, Rick, Sue or Michonne, while taking out walkers – with some satisfying melee action. From early experiences, it seems the team at Survios have been working hard on updating the game from the feedback received, so kudos to the team.
