From publisher Ares Interactive and developer Swift Games comes The Walking Dead: Aftermath, a roguelite set in a ruthless world where the undead rise from the ground and survivors have to salvage what little they can.
In this post-apocalyptic adventure, which was just released on Thursday, July 16, players take control of iconic characters like Rick Grimes, Carl, Michonne, T-Dog, and more to fight hordes of walkers, gather resources, build a camp, and even join a faction along the way.
Like most free-to-play games, The Walking Dead: Aftermath is riddled with ads and microtransactions (and we'll get to that in a second). But if you were to smash the monetization system with a bat wrapped in barbed wire, you'd be left with a fantastic title that's a worthy addition to The Walking Dead franchise and is just as addictive as AMC's iconic show.
The post-apocalyptic world has never been more addictive
The Walking Dead: Aftermath has a foundational gameplay loop that will have players glued to their screens. It builds upon the gameplay systems found in other highly acclaimed roguelite games like Vampire Survivors, where characters automatically fire at the nearest enemy without any input. That means players just have to move around, collect experience points to level up, and choose which upgrades to equip. It may sound a little too easy at first, but simple gameplay mechanics can often lead to the most addictive experiences, and The Walking Dead: Aftermath is no exception.
The Walking Dead: Aftermath has a campaign mode divided into different chapters. The story is simple, and the dialogue can definitely miss the mark (like when Carl says that his father, Rick, has been kidnapped, and T-Dog replies something along the lines of "Damn. Let's find him"). Fortunately, the level design is, for the most part, pretty great.
The game's opening levels feature large, interconnected areas with plenty of paths to traverse, giving players the possibility to outmaneuver the walkers in many different ways. Granted, these big, open fields are eventually replaced by small, claustrophobic corridors in which walkers can overpower you very easily. That isn't inherently a bad thing, as roguelites should get harder as players progress through them (to a certain degree, of course).
My only true complaint when it comes to level design is the map of chapter 18, as it is made of three short corridors that lead to dead ends where death is all but a given. In a game where most of what you have to do is move, it doesn't sit well when there is almost no space to do so. Fortunately, the other levels I got to play didn't have this problem.
Furthermore, players will be able to revisit iconic locations from The Walking Dead franchise, such as Hershel's Farm, Woodbury, and Alexandria. I only got stuck in the geometry of a map once, in chapter 18. But aside from those nitpicks, gameplay mechanics and level design are definitely a hit.
The game's performance is absolutely exceptional, as I purposely played The Walking Dead: Aftermath on an older cellphone (a 2021 Samsung Galaxy), and it ran flawlessly. I did experience a single crash, but it wasn't during the middle of a run. So there should be nothing to worry about, especially on more modern devices.
The Walking Dead: Aftermath also had more depth than I was expecting. You'll find a healthy amount of enemy variety here. Big walkers can suddenly appear to make things all the more difficult; humans with guns and bows will hunt you; exploding walkers can sometimes make your work a little easier by damaging creatures around them when killed; and so on. Furthermore, there are other game modes that—albeit short—are a little more light-hearted than the main campaign. Players can join factions, build a settlement, collect resources, fight bosses, upgrade gear, and more.
At its core, The Walking Dead: Aftermath is an outstanding game with addictive gameplay mechanics, good level design, and a great soundtrack. However, it also has some important flaws that weigh it down.
The Walking Dead: Aftermath has a sudden difficulty spike that strips away some of its fun during its second half
For most of my time with The Walking Dead: Aftermath, I was presented with a balanced experience. Levels are easy at first and will slowly (but fairly) get increasingly difficult. However, all of that changed with the arrival of chapter 14. All of a sudden, the difficulty was ramped up in a very extreme fashion. Things only got worse moving forward, and I'm currently stuck on chapter 18 despite multiple attempts to complete it.
Unfortunately, some chapters can be immediately set up to fail even without pressing a single button. See, at the start of a level, you can select one of three random modifiers/upgrades for that specific run. However, if luck is not on your side from the get-go, you will lose on more difficult chapters, no matter what. There's an option to watch an ad to get a new set of random selectables, but even that isn't a guarantee you'll get legendary equipment.
From chapter 14 onwards, you'll need to get very lucky to keep progressing in the main campaign or pay for resources. But spending money in the game doesn't always guarantee you'll get something useful either. The game features in-app purchases, and some of these packs have messages along the lines of "Guaranteed Epic gear within 10 opens." This means you'll have to buy more than one crate to get something 100% useful. This same principle applies to recruiting characters as well (though an epic character is guaranteed within 35 opens instead). You get the idea.
One way to level up without having to go face-on into extremely difficult scenarios is to replay levels you have already cleared, and fortunately, The Walking Dead: Aftermath offers this option. However, there's a limit to how much you can play, and that's where my biggest gripe with the title comes in.
The Walking Dead: Aftermath begs to be played, but it is filled with constant interruptions
As I have probably mentioned countless times by now, The Walking Dead: Aftermath is extremely addictive, and I could personally play it for many hours. However, it also has an integrated "Energy system" that makes you spend energy every time you want to play a campaign mission. The energy bar can recharge over time, but it will take 20 minutes for a single bar to fill up. For reference, players need to spend five energy bars to play a single mission.
There will come a point in The Walking Dead: Aftermath at which you won't have the energy to keep playing the main campaign. Granted, you can play another game mode like "Lumber Run" in the meantime, but those are designed as two-minute missions that come and go in a heartbeat. As a result, this roguelite—specifically designed to be played over and over again—cannot be played over and over again all of the time.
I presume the energy system was introduced so that players won't simply farm previous levels and level up like crazy, which is fair. However, this is when an "Endless Mode" run could greatly benefit The Walking Dead: Aftermath, even if it didn't reward players with permanent loot or modifiers. Just adding a leaderboard would be enough to incentivize us to go back every day and try to beat our own high scores or those of our friends. Besides, better gear would mean higher scores, so there would still be a reason to use the in-game store for this hypothetical mode.
Remember those days of trying to get as far as possible in Flappy Bird? A similar experience could be recreated here, but it unfortunately isn't.
Similarly, the game is filled with other interruptions. After you fail a mission, chances are you'd want to try it all over again in a heartbeat. However, it is very likely you'll be met with an in-game pop-up ad promoting resource packs. Sometimes, one of these pop-ups can appear right after another, taking even more of your time. Having one of these ads appear when you open the game for the first time in a day would be fine, but it is likely you'll see them over and over again, multiple times a day.
Similarly, there comes a point in the game when you'll have to watch an ad if you want a chance to get better modifiers. This 30-second interruption (at the very least) can completely take you out of the experience, especially if you were having a decent run. At the very least, there's a way to rid the game of ads for 30 days, but it costs $10.
Verdict: A fantastic game weighed down by a sudden difficulty spike and multiple microtransactions
I can't give enough praise to The Walking Dead: Aftermath for its addictive gameplay loop, large enemy variety, great level design, fun bosses, and other amazing (albeit a little short) game modes. The game has more depth than I was initially expecting, and I could spend hours playing it.
Unfortunately, the lack of an Endless Run mode and the addition of an energy system that can make you wait one hour and 40 minutes to play a single chapter slow the title down. Furthermore, a sudden difficulty spike around chapter 14 leaves players' runs to luck. Granted, there's a way to solve some of these problems, but you'll have to pay to do so. And even then, spending money isn't a total guarantee that you'll get the loot or character you were looking for.
If The Walking Dead: Aftermath ever includes an Endless Run mode or tones down the difficulty of its later levels, it can reach unprecedented new heights. But even in its current state, it can be a very fun and incredibly addictive experience, so The Walking Dead fans should definitely give it a try.
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