In spite of all the horror, ugliness, and death present in The Walking Dead, the core message of the franchise is ultimately one of hope. The idea that, even in the face of impossible odds, human beings will survive and persevere. That even as one civilization ends, a new one will rise from the ashes.
Of course, whether or not that civilization is peaceful is another matter entirely.
The Walking Dead: Survivors offers one possible answer. Based on Skybound's famous comic series, the title blends tower defense, strategy, and base-building into a seamless multiplayer experience. You must don the mantle of leadership and build up an enduring community capable of weathering the end of days, all while exploring fan favorite locations and experiencing classic moments from the series.
Walkers aren't the only problem to contend with, either. In addition to being under constant threat from the undead horde, other players might decide that you have something they want and besiege your settlement. Strategic decision-making is crucial — the right structures, defenses, and formations can be the difference between victory and defeat.
Luckily, you need not weather this storm alone. At launch, you'll be able to recruit more than 80 survivors, including both new arrivals exclusive to the game and familiar faces from the comic like Rick, Maya, Michonne, Glenn, Maya, and Dwight. These survivors fall into one of two camps.
Combat survivors lead your forces into battle, fighting both walkers and outlaw survivors alike. Their skills are focused on battle, providing boons like extra attacks, increased damage, or increased defense. Said forces, known as Fighters, fall into one of three categories, each with ten upgrade tiers — cavalry, melee, and sharpshooters.
Development survivors, meanwhile, focus on building up your community.. Their skills provide boons like increased production speed, improved hospital capacity, and more effective defensive structures. Although they can be used in battle, they often tend to be better-suited to non-combat tasks.
These tasks are vital to maintaining your settlement, and crucial to your survival. Each survivor has unique attributes and skills that make them suitable for certain tasks, which include farming, training, battle, healing, construction, and exploration. For example, Rick is a combat survivor specialized for fighting walkers, while Hershel is a development survivor whose skills make him a perfect medic.
Speaking of exploration, that's ultimately the key to expanding your settlement, unlocking new locations, and gaining access to new characters, items, and resources. Who you send, where you send them, and what they do when they get there are all decisions you'll need to make as the settlement's leader.
Be careful, though. Once your community grows large enough, you'll attract the attention of Negan and the Saviours. In order to maintain your independence, you may need to team up with other players to form Clans, collaborating to construct new buildings, gain new territories, and ultimately build up a force that can bring the tyrant to heel.
The walker hordes may have spelled the end of the world as we knew it, but they weren't the end of civilization. As the leader of a burgeoning community, it's up to you what kind of world you want to live in. Will you lead a peaceful settlement focused on development and defense, a ruthless band of outlaws, or something in between?
The choice is yours.
The Walking Dead: Survivors is now available on Android and iOS.
