Dead State is a high-tension survival RPG set at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. As society begins to fall apart, the player must organize a scant handful of allies, working on fortifying a shelter, scouting for food and supplies, making uncertain alliances with others, and attempting to hold together a group as humanity teeters on the brink of extinction. A full-fledged RPG featuring shelter building and management, turn-based tactical combat, and reactive story and dialogue with an emphasis on survival at any cost.
Attract new allies, scavenge food and supplies, and protect your shelter at any cost. Do you have what it takes to lead a desperate group through a crisis? This is your chance to find out.
Dead State is not much to look at, but as a zombie-themed post-apocalyptic role-playing game it’s definitely a winner. Interestingly enough, the zombies turn out to be the least of the survivors’ problems. [Jan 2015]
Maybe, a few patches later, Dead State will become a better game than it is now. Fiddle with the flow of time to make events unfold faster, fix the remaining bugs in the code, restore the cut endings, and you will get a great RPG, not just a good one.
Nothing much to look at, and with a premise that has been dulled through repetition, Dead State is a game that requires you to approach it with an open mind and a forgiving nature. Make the effort, and you'll find a game that makes up in charm what it lacks in polish.
Dead State is a very fun zombie apocalypse RPG but it’s not quite the hoped-for second coming of Troika.
Dead State game offers a great experience that combines the struggle for survival, the party and shelter management, entertaining RPG part and a tactical combat. The game grabs and holds you for dozens of hours, so you are willing to forgive it its obsolete visuals. We’d like to see bugs disappear a bit faster though.
Make no mistake: to pull off everything that Dead State tries would be an achievement for any RPG, and it’s impressive how much it manages. What it lacks in polish it at least largely makes up for in personality, even with glitches and rough edges as far as the eye can see.
It’s a game that does some things really well and other really badly. If you’re willing to endure the latter and you’ve already finished Wastelands 2, you can give Dead State a chance. [03/2014, p.78]
