KickStarter Dead State: Reanimated

[Modron]

Well...I'm a very slow player

You're slow? I wasn't doing any of that stuff and it took me 118 hours.

Yeah I got 118 hours as well but I full autismed the game: cracking open every single container and schlepping all items back to base. I got ~98% of my people in Apocalypse Armor by the end, was just a few suits shy of making every rando immortal.

 

[Technomancer]

I wonder how many people know that Iron Tower devs lent a hand during production of this game. You can clearly see AoDs imprint in game mechanics, Torque3D engine and turn based ruleset.

 

[cruelio]

Trying this now, and I really want to like it, but boy does it feel clunky. The combat is just not fun in the least. There are some weird design choices too. Like why can doors be bashed open but windows are apparently indestructible and can't be used?

Also, the camera is terrible. When I open a door, I should be able to see into a building before walking into it. A real stealth system would have been good too.

It's a shame because the base managment layer seems like it could be fun, but I'm not sure if this is worth the time investment. Does the game get better as it goes on?

Believe it or not, it actually gets worse.

 

[Lhynn]

Game has nothing interesting going for itself, its just a dull time waster for like 100 hours, then it ends. The writing is boring and harmless, the gameplay is about whacking zombies from behind and bringing back anything that isnt nailed down.

The biggest miss this game has is giving you absolute control over your people. Tard wrangling should be paramount during a zombie apocalypse, you should be constantly pressured by your peers and have to deal with fucks up and betrayals left and right. Shit is just too much under your control, as long as you dont make mistakes nothing goes wrong, so it becomes a snoozefest.

The duration of the game should be about as long as it takes you to get things under control, instead the game start with things under control and just waits for you to slip up, but if you have half a brain you never will.

 

[Zombra]

The biggest miss this game has is giving you absolute control over your people. Tard wrangling should be paramount during a zombie apocalypse, you should be constantly pressured by your peers and have to deal with fucks up and betrayals left and right. Shit is just too much under your control, as long as you dont make mistakes nothing goes wrong, so it becomes a snoozefest.

Absolutely agree. Fun fact for those who don't remember, the game was originally going to only let you directly control your one PC. Other party members could be issued vague orders like 'guard that door' or 'protect that wounded ally' but their actions were going to be AI driven, including morale/stress/panic mechanics. I liked Dead State but to me this was the biggest disappointment, could have been so fascinating trying to keep allies from fucking up, as well as more in genre.

 

[PanteraNera]

Absolutely agree. Fun fact for those who don't remember, the game was originally going to only let you directly control your one PC. Other party members could be issued vague orders like 'guard that door' or 'protect that wounded ally' but their actions were going to be AI driven, including morale/stress/panic mechanics. I liked Dead State but to me this was the biggest disappointment, could have been so fascinating trying to keep allies from fucking up, as well as more in genre.

I agree to all of that, but Phoenix Point was my biggest disappointment, this is a close second.

Also they had planed that characters would make remarks if you cross locations they know, like "This was the sheriffs place, we should look for guns there". (I think it is hilarious that this is one of the first missions in the demo of Urban Strife, is this a coincidence or a reference USG_Mucifikatorul ?)

 

[Theodora]

Is there a better game in the same vein as Dead State? State of Decay with greater RPG elements?

 

[Zombra]

Is there a better game in the same vein as Dead State?

Depends on what you're looking for really. It seems like every day I see some little indie with turn-based 2D combat and expendable PCs.

The first thing I thought of though is Rimworld. A bunch of survivors scrabbling for supplies, recruit more colonists, build a base, repel attacks, and eventually try to escape. Obviously it doesn't have a scripted story or preset characters but if you haven't tried it yet it might scratch the itch.

Oh also check out Zafehouse Diaries and the sequel.

And how could I forget Urban Strife? That's going to be the one to beat. Not out yet.

 

[JDR13]

And how could I forget Urban Strife? That's going to be the one to beat. Not out yet.

Yeah, Urban Strife seems like the best bet so far. I enjoyed the demo. Only thing I didn't like was the writing which is pretty bad imo.

 

[Rieser]

Is there a better game in the same vein as Dead State? State of Decay with greater RPG elements?

No and fuck knows why not. Even low effort crap like State of Decay sell well and remains popular simply because the core concept lends itself so well to gaming.

 

[Theodora]

No and fuck knows why not. Even low effort crap like State of Decay sell well and remains popular simply because the core concept lends itself so well to gaming.

I don't blame companies for not wanting to put a bunch of money into Another Niche Zombie Game right now, given how overwrought the genre is at the moment (...maybe next decade? >_>).

It is disappointing everything is channeled through such a limit set of releases though.

 

[Chippy]

I might give this another go. I backed it and then just didn't play it for some reason. Kickstarter fatigue or whatever it was.

 

[Tacgnol]

And how could I forget Urban Strife? That's going to be the one to beat. Not out yet.

I've got high hopes for Urban Strife.

That said I never hated Dead State. It has a lot of annoying mechanics and becomes super easy past a certain point, but it does have its moments.

The atmosphere in particular is pretty decent, aided by the rather underrated soundtrack.

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Dont forget Annie's meltdown

 

[Tacgnol]

Dont forget Annie's meltdown

Yes, that was quite something.

 

[Grunker]

And how could I forget Urban Strife? That's going to be the one to beat. Not out yet.

I've got high hopes for Urban Strife.

That said I never hated Dead State. It has a lot of annoying mechanics and becomes super easy past a certain point, but it does have its moments.

The atmosphere in particular is pretty decent, aided by the rather underrated soundtrack.

I really wanted to like it, but on a hospital level where each turn took literally 10 mins of zombies moving off screen, I went "yeah fuck this"

 

[Tacgnol]

I really wanted to like it, but on a hospital level where each turn took literally 10 mins of zombies moving off screen, I went "yeah fuck this"

Yes, I learnt very quickly to avoid that zone.

I actually managed to clear it one time and then the game immediately crashed at the end of combat.

 

[Lokiamis]

I really wanted to like it, but on a hospital level where each turn took literally 10 mins of zombies moving off screen, I went "yeah fuck this"

Yes, I learnt very quickly to avoid that zone.

I actually managed to clear it one time and then the game immediately crashed at the end of combat.

This exact same thing happened to me and caused me to stop playing for months. They weren't even after me, they were fighting some dipshit militia in the parking lot.

 

[agris]

And how could I forget Urban Strife? That's going to be the one to beat. Not out yet.

I've got high hopes for Urban Strife.

That said I never hated Dead State. It has a lot of annoying mechanics and becomes super easy past a certain point, but it does have its moments.

The atmosphere in particular is pretty decent, aided by the rather underrated soundtrack.

I really wanted to like it, but on a hospital level where each turn took literally 10 mins of zombies moving off screen, I went "yeah fuck this"

Do you know if you played after the final patch? It's been a long time for myself, but I believe a patch was released that dramatically sped up time enemy turns took. My recollection is that, playing after that patch, no turns took remotely as long as 10 minutes. Maybe 60 seconds for the worst maps (which is still too long, granted).

 

[Tacgnol]

Do you know if you played after the final patch? It's been a long time for myself, but I believe a patch was released that dramatically sped up time enemy turns took. My recollection is that, playing after that patch, no turns took remotely as long as 10 minutes. Maybe 60 seconds for the worst maps (which is still too long, granted).

I did a playthrough in late 2020 and the Mall was still extremely painful with turns lasting a while.

No idea about the hospital with the latest patch.

 

[agris]

Maybe Grunker was being hyperbolic (this 2010s trend of using literally to mean figuratively), but 60 seconds is still quite painful. I just know that I never encountered anything approaching a 10 minute turn.

 

[Modron]

I don't recall the mall being particularly long but I usually ran entirely silenced so don't remember if I just aced the mercenaries fast enough that I didn't trigger the entirity of the horde? Only somewhat long area I recall is one of those failed relief shelters filled to the brim with zombies and that was 15-20 seconds tops.

It's possible he's not being that overly hyperbolic the reanimated edition was supposed to handle turns faster than vanilla release.

 

[agris]

I don't recall the mall being particularly long but I usually ran entirely silenced so don't remember if I just aced the mercenaries fast enough that I didn't trigger the entirity of the horde? Only somewhat long area I recall is one of those failed relief shelters filled to the brim with zombies and that was 15-20 seconds tops.

It's possible he's not being that overly hyperbolic the reanimated edition was supposed to handle turns faster than vanilla release.

Thanks, you're making my point much better than I did: Grunker if you didn't play reanimated, give it a shot. The turn time is vastly improved.

 

[Grunker]

Maybe Grunker was being hyperbolic (this 2010s trend of using literally to mean figuratively)

It might not have been exactly 10 minutes, but we are talking longer than a minute, literally. In an area where, once in combat, you have maybe 50+ turns to execute because of sizes and level design. It's one of the most horrid experiences I've had with a turn-based game. I'm a completionist AND I liked the game, so normally I would have sat through some p. insane shit to finish it. But after generally feeling like combat was way too sluggish, that level just killed it totally for me.

 

[koyota]

Maybe Grunker was being hyperbolic (this 2010s trend of using literally to mean figuratively)

It might not have been exactly 10 minutes, but we are talking longer than a minute, literally. In an area where, once in combat, you have maybe 50+ turns to execute because of sizes and level design. It's one of the most horrid experiences I've had with a turn-based game. I'm a completionist AND I liked the game, so normally I would have sat through some p. insane shit to finish it. But after generally feeling like combat was way too sluggish, that level just killed it totally for me.

Yep... This is what made me quit out, 19 hours in, first map with 100+ zombies.
It is like playing a turn based online game with someone who is really really slow at taking their turns...

You: 5 secs to kill a zombie ->
Opponent: 1-3 min turn as each zombie takes about a second to move ->
You: 5 secs to kill another zombie. ->
Rinse and repeat 100 times,

Taking slightly less time with each turn. You end with an hour on opponent turn clock, while your total turn time is like 15 mins.