this is a really odd game, everything about it's mechanics are well thought out and with nuance, it's a stealth based game with inventory management where you must depend on making as little noise as possible, guns are basically dinner bells who are useful only when you decided to exit a level, zombies can actually kill you fast once they overwhelm you, you must keep in mind of your resources and what to do around levels to have the best profit possible and consider future possibilities while also having optional side objectives to consider

the issue stems than this game is half baked, actually, not even half baked, it's raw, it's so raw, i wouldn't even dare to call it finished, it feels like an alpha who just barely got enough QA to make sure there's no collision issues

the combat is easily exploitable and you can just stun lock single zombies until they die, you can also use a shove to also stun lock them and stop their attack animations, even if you get grab, there's another easy mechanic where all you need to do is move a circle into the right spot to free yourself from the grab

all of these issues stem from the fact than they forgot to add a stamina meter to your attacks, but only add it when you decide to sprint

the story also had great potential since the Dixon Brothers are the best addition the series had, but they don't do anything with it either outside making callbacks to the show, Merle being there for just 25% of the game while Daryl just do chores for other characters or just drives around, while all the other survivors can be sum up as "Wikia Article"

the exploration will lose it's charm once you realized almost all the maps are more simpler than you were initially led to, sometimes even as small as a single street or section on certain levels

y'know how with DMC2 is an infamous game for being develop in less than 5 months?

this is what would have happend if the director wouldn't have even a bit of talent that Itsuno had, because i can tell this game didn't even had a year in development and it only came out this soon to catch on the popularity of Telltale's version of The Walking Dead

i feel for Terminal Reality, they didn't deserved to get screwed

I think this may be the first game I've ever experienced that is literally unplayable. It's a broken, buggy, mess of a game that would constantly glitch, crash, and load infinitely. I knew it was going to be bad, but I've been playing a lot of bad games recently and I have a weird love affair with bad games but holy shit this was the worst thing ever. This is the first game I haven't been able to finish in years from it being so bad. The last time was a few summers ago when I had to quit on Hellboy Science of Evil. Congratulations walking dead survival instinct. I've found a new game to put in my top 5 worst of all time.

Games I Like That Everybody Else Dislikes

A thuddingly generic encapsulation of seventh-generation FPS gaming mediocrity whose blatant awfulness circles it around to nuance. I don't believe in the term "guilty pleasure" (if you like something, just own up and say you like it - no excuses) but if I did, this would be one of mine. Tried and true "so bad it's good" histrionics too strong not to give into. Adapting the number one show in the world at this time into a zombie-killing sim right at the apex of CoD-fever should have been a slam dunk, but this thing looks and runs like it had the budget of a Happy Meal: totally checked-out voice acting from Reedus + Rooker, accidental mouse cursors right in the opening credits, and an occasional glitch that removes all zombies from this zombie game (among numerous other warts). Never fails to be a damn good time guffawing at how openly shitty this is, its chunky aesthetic and pure boneheaded lack of care is an instant mood-brightener every time. Like... this was released to the general public lmfao. A barrel of laughs, doubly so when you realize this released just a year after Telltale's brilliant The Walking Dead - Season 1. Between this and the similarly hilarious trash heap Dead Island: Riptide I guess I just find a lot of enjoyment in oafish zombie games.

One of the worst games I’ve ever played as it actually gave me a headache with how unpolished and broken looking it was. Interesting ideas in route planning, but in practice, it doesn’t have much depth as resource management is not really that important here and the levels and environments are so bland it doesn’t even make the game fun to travel through. Awful performance with ugly and stuttering graphics / character animations + environments so lifeless and barren that the game honestly looks unfinished. Poor level design leads to a lack of direction and motivation. Obviously no thought or effort was put into this game and is shows (you can still see a mouse cursor that the devs forgot to delete on the screen when The Walking Dead tv intro plays at the start of the game like they were screen recording a window😂)

I want to preface this review by saying I have a negative bias when it comes to this game. My brother and I were rabid fans of The Walking Dead when Survival Instinct released and were more than excited to get our hands on it. The disappointment felt upon popping this game into the PlayStation 3 and playing through the first few levels, however, is likely the first true disappointing gaming experience I had ever had up to that point in my short life. I have since revisited the game as an older gamer, but it is still just as disappointing as ever. Over the years I believe my disappointment has turned to hatred and that hatred boiled over into this review. Sorry in advance.

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, released in 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and other home consoles, is nothing short of a trainwreck. While the game attempts to capitalize on the popularity of The Walking Dead franchise, it falls far short of even the lowest of expectations for a piece of media set in that universe. It's an absolute mess in nearly every aspect, a pitiful disgrace to both the gaming industry and the franchise it attempts to leech off of, and a slap in the face to fans of the show or comic book.

The gameplay in Survival Instinct is a horrendous exercise in boredom, tedium, and frustration, an endless repetition of sneaking around and dispatching the same zombie models over and over again. Furthermore, navigating its barren wasteland of a game world is akin to wading through a Georgia swamp - slow and boring. The game attempts to be a first-person shooter that captures the essence of the TV series, but fails to do that even at the lowest of levels. The clunky controls make aiming difficult with any weapon you equip, and the AI (whether friend or foe) is more brain-dead than the zombie hordes you are tasked with dispatching. Speaking of the zombies, you'll often find yourself simply running past them instead of smashing in their skulls because it's not worth engaging with them.

As for story, the game attempts to be a prequel to the TV series, following arguably the most popular character from the show, Daryl Dixon, as he embarks on a journey to find his older brother, Merle. However, the story is paper-thin, lacks any depth, and is really devoid of any worthwhile substance. Daryl, Merle, or any other character in the game are so underdeveloped and the story writing so painfully lackluster, that the game is unable to provide any insight into the personalities or motivations of anyone. By the end of it all we are really left with the same two characters the game begins with, as neither undergoes any significant growth. Furthermore, the character traits on display for each brother are either hot-headedness or assholeness, there is no inbetween. Anything more than that surface level analysis is far too deep for the writing of Survival Instinct. The game honestly feels more like a fan-made, low-budget spin-off than an official installment.

Even in 2013, the graphics on display here are subpar at best and atrocious at worst. Character models are bland and reminiscent of the PlayStation 2, environments lack detail and are uninspired reused atypical apocalyptic backdrops, and the presentation is just plain unattractive. It fails to capture the gritty and horrifying atmosphere of The Walking Dead, making the game even less engaging for fans of the series.

While the voice acting is serviceable (even though it lacks any nuisance of emotion), the repetitive and uninspired soundtrack contributes to the overall feeling of mediocrity. You won't find any memorable tunes or earworms here, which is a shame for a franchise known for its chilling and emotionally charged soundscapes. Survival Instinct truly falls short as a game based on a horror franchise as the sound design is anything but subtle. The grunts, groans, and shuffling of zombies is always so loud that you’ll never guess where they are and never once find yourself surprised by their appearance except for the obligatory jump scares.

The lack of variety in both gameplay and story, as well as the numerous technical glitches, make Survival Instinct an excruciatingly dull and frustrating game to play through for the first time. There's virtually no incentive to replay it once you've suffered through it once.

In summary, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is a shameful attempt to cash in on a beloved franchise. It's a prime example of a rushed and poorly executed licensed game that tarnishes the reputation of The Walking Dead. There are plenty of great games based on this universe, but this is not one of them. If you're a fan of The Walking Dead, steer clear of this abomination, and if you're a fan of video games in general, do yourself a favor and invest your time and money elsewhere.

Look, I've played this way too much and getting all the achievements was a bitch due to the optional survivors who show up randomly and require so much restarting the game that I was furious by the last one... but I kinda enjoy this janky shit?? Survival Instinct endeavors to make slow zombies who require headshots to kill scary, and it does so until you figure out how awful the AI, resource management, and, you know, everything else in the game is. Maybe if the game was given another year or two to refine its core gameplay and remove the survival road crap, the game could be something better. What is here today is awful and still endearing to me despite this. Except that horde mode one gets for pre-ordering the game. That mode is the definition of worthless.