Dear fellow fans of The Walking Dead, I don’t think you’re ready for this: AMC, the studio behind the award-winning series, has partnered up with GameMill Entertainment studio to bring us The Walking Dead: Destinies, a story-driven third-person adventure video game with will allow players to “rewrite the story” of the show, covering seasons 1-4 (the very best ones IMO). That’s right, you will be in charge of some of the most key plot points of the show, allowing you to “weave your own path through series’ events” and, ultimately, decide who lives or dies. So if you’ve ever wanted to “save” a certain character from their scripted doom, this game is definitely worth checking out.
Similar to the show, the game will cover locations such as Atlanta, the Greene farm, the prison and Woodbury, and will feature all the characters that we know and love – from Rick Grimes to Daryl Dixon to Glenn, Michonne and Carol – and the best part is that every one of them will have their own special abilities. To survive, you’ll have to think about your resources, manage the limited amount of the available weapons and be mindful of your ammo. As per the announcement, we know that the video game will launch on PC, Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
On paper, The Walking Dead: Destinies is shaping up to be quite an exciting launch, one that has the potential to be a hit for fans of the show, gamers, and everyone in between. As a self-proclaimed The Walking Dead expert (who just happens to be on my 8th rewatch of the series) and as a horror game fanatic, I could barely contain my excitement the second I hit “play” to watch the trailer for the upcoming game. From the shots of a post-apocalyptic Atlanta to Rick and Daryl approaching the prison as well as that Shane scene – there’s simply nothing like watching your favourite show re-imagined as a video game (and vice versa: hello, The Last Of Us).
I also adore decision-based video games including the likes of TellTale’s The Walking Dead series, Until Dawn and Detroit: Become Human. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that this is my favourite video game genre. After all, who wouldn’t be excited about immersing yourself into the story and being able to control the narrative? The thrill of every little choice affecting the ultimate outcome is an unforgettable experience. That being said, as someone who’s no stranger to these types of games, I must admit that I have my doubts on whether The Walking Dead: Destinies can actually live up to the hype.
Decision-based gameplay is not so easy to nail
As exciting as it sounds, I’m concerned about how detailed the gameplay will be – there’s just too much they need to get right. I genuinely hope that the choices you’ll make will have a significant impact to the story, as opposed to a slight adjustment and a “like-for-like replacement” that will inevitably lead to the same outcome.
The characters in The Walking Dead series are far too complex to contribute to a simple and straightforward storyline, and some, in fact, may well lead the story in a whole different direction if they end up being “saved” in the game. The hope is that the gameplay will be stretched out enough for us to want to replay the game after finishing it to make completely different choices that will result in a whole new storyline. But that type of complex gameplay is not so easy to nail. Given that this would be the first time that AMC partners with an arguably small developer studio, it’s only natural that some of us are a tad skeptical.
The graphics are too concerning to ignore
From what I’ve seen in the trailer, the graphics leave a lot to be desired (to say the least). In reaction to the announcement trailer, many comments even compared the graphics to something that you would expect from a game that would launch on older consoles such as PS2. Sadly, I couldn’t agree more. From the combat to the design of the characters, the graphics are considerably disappointing for a game announced in 2023, especially considering other post-apocalyptic games that already exist.
Granted, the trailer does state that it’s a “work in progress” and that it’s not “representative of final quality.” However, if the released graphics do end up looking similar, I’m worried that this can result in an experience that can potentially distract me from the immersive gameplay.
Of course, it’s too early to say if The Walking Dead: Destinies actually manages to live up to the insanely high expectations that a lot of the die-hard fans of the original show have, but I wholeheartedly hope that this game actually ends up being just as good as I make it out to be in my head – after all, so far, The Walking Dead franchise has never disappointed me.