Summary
After a wave of relatively similar action-focused zombie games likeBack 4 Blood,Dying Light 2, andDead Island2, the zombie genre needs a bit of a refresh. Now more than ever, zombie game fans are looking for something completely new, and a great place to find that is Steam. Though fans might have to wade through piles of shovelware to get there, Steam has a fewexperimental zombie gameson offer, and the upcomingDead Seasonis one worth watching.
Set for release sometime in 2024,Dead Seasonis a zombie survival game with a turn-based tactics twist. A project being developed by just one person,Dead Seasonrecently released a demo for Steam Next Fest, and initial impressions seem quite positive. Those looking for a new take on the zombie genre and fans of games likeResident EvilandXCOMshould make sure they keep an eye onDead Season.
From a surface level,Dead Seasonseems to play quite similarly toXCOMand other turn-based tactics games. InDead Season, players will take control of a group of four survivors as they scrape through 16 missions of a single-player campaign. In each of these missions, players will need to complete various objectives, such as clearing a house full of zombies and barricading its windows and doors shut.Dead Seasonis played from anXCOM-like top-down perspective, and combat will have players move, shoot, and melee zombies in a turn-based pattern.
While turn-based combat is the real meat and potatoes ofDead Season’s gameplay, the Indie zombie game also has a scavenging system. Throughout the course of a level, players will need to search their environment for new weapons and consumables, borrowing a few elements from survival horror games likeResident Evil. Stealth will also play a role inDead Season’s gameplay, as noise attracts large groups of enemies. Players will be able to attach items to their weapons to aid them in combat, such as an oil filter that can be used to suppress a weapon’s sound for three shots.
According toDead Season’s Steam page, players will also be able to level up their survivors during the campaign, which grants them special abilities that can be used in combat, such as the ability to heal themselves by healing their teammates.Dead Seasonisn’t shying away from the gore often associated with its genre either, with each kill resulting in a brief but satisfying spattering of blood and viscera.
Though it’s being developed by just one person,Dead Seasonis promising a rather lengthy 16-mission campaign. Dotted throughout the campaign will be an array ofMax Payne-like motion comicsthat will help to progress the story from mission to mission and give fans a bit more information about the game’s core cast of survivors. But much like other turn-based tactics games, most ofDead Season’s most memorable narrative moments will likely come from the gameplay itself, with the genre’s infamously difficult percentage hit/miss system being likely to cause both some incredibly frustrating moments and some unbelievably cinematic ones.
Dead Season
WHERE TO PLAY
The air hangs heavy with the stench of decay - a grim reminder of the world’s rapid descent into chaos. Streets once bustling with life now lay deserted, haunted by the shuffling footsteps of the undead. A random group of four survivors find themselves thrown together by their shared struggle for survival, in a world overrun by the zombie hordes. Their faces etched with weariness and determination mirror the dark and harsh realities they face.
In this single-player turn-based tactics game, take control of this band of survivors as they navigate through the midst of a zombie infestation, scavenging for resources and completing objectives, while confronting the endless threat of the undead, and surviving through narrow escapes and close calls.
UNFORGIVING TURN-BASED COMBAT:Survive at all costs as you complete objectives and escape dangerous situations with weapons you scavenge along the way. Level up and unlock new abilities to survive even in harsher environments.
