I did not have a Streets of Rage inspired Walking Dead game on my bingo card for 2026, but I’m very glad it exists!

The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is one of the most interesting takes on a side scrolling beat-em-up I’ve seen for a while. Ripping story right out of the TV shows and placing you in the heart of key events as either Rick, Daryl or Michonne – to begin with – you will take on a series of difficult challenges, going head to head with Walkers and other Survivors. As well as Negan himself.

One thing I’ll say here and now, though, if you’ve not watched The Walking Dead, there’s going to be a lot of open spoilers from here on out. Safe to say, I like the game and it’s worth checking out, but you should probably watch the show first if you haven’t.

ANYWAY… The game has a heavy start as players re-watch Karl’s death and hear his parting words to Rick and Michonne. This was a massive part in the show and it plays a key role in the events to follow as Karl believes in hope. That despite all the horror and blood and death in the world, there’s a way of building something positive together. In Alexandria.

Karl didn’t just want the group to be in a perpetual state of revenge and vengeance. Of just killing and killing. He wanted people to celebrate birthdays again. And to even offer Negan forgiveness despite everything he’d done up to that point. It was a bit idealistic but it gave everyone a bit of hope in an awful time.

And so, that’s exactly what we see play out. To some extent. You’ve got Rick chasing down Negan with a desire to kill him. You’ve got Michonne chopping up zombies and survivors in a kill or be killed scenario. And Daryl just…being Daryl.

The premise is, essentially, a bit like a side-scrolling beat-em-up as you tap a few buttons, using each of the characters unique weapons like daggers, swords, bats, and Daryl’s crossbow to take down enemies up close or at range. And you’re doing this across several different missions, with their own objectives and routes to follow.

As you go, you’ll have some back and forth dialogue you’ll remember from the show, there’s going to be lore items you pick up that remind you of certain moments and help anchor certain key moments, and you’ll even be able to level up your characters.

Gaining Knowledge and experience, you’ll be able to level up a character’s skill tree from the menu screen, from increasing the health they earn to decreasing cooldown time on certain actions.

It’s a well designed game for the most part. I did have some issues in facing certain enemies, swinging my weapon around wildly and it not hitting or touching them in anyway. I’m also really surprised there’s no co-op here, though the way the campaign has been designed is to essentially focus on solo stories. Yet if any game would have benefitted from co-op zombie slaying, it’s a Walking Dead game.

Though, I suppose the characters the game centers on do have a bit of a hero complex and try to solo everything and anything.

I think I also would have liked a little more battling variety, like some sort of grapple system – though you can pull off some really neat combos here to take down enemies. To be honest, though, the way the fighting goes down is often a tad repetitive and you often feel like you’re repeating a lot of the same moves over. There can also be a lot of back-tracking between the optional quests, though that I didn’t mind too much.

Weirdly, the thing that irked me more is the game having some continuity issues. Like Michonne using a gun to shoot people. Like, did these folks not watch the show? There’s literally an entire ark, multiple seasons, about why she would never do this!

Anyway…as a game, it’s good. Pretty enjoyable for the most part, definitely some brutal difficulty curve sections that can make you feel a tad frustrated. The level structure is interesting, the way it connects to the show is great and you’ve ever got a Survival Pit mode for longevity to keep you playing. Again, though, no idea why this doesn’t have co-op.

For Walking Dead fans, there’s some cool stuff to enjoy in here. There’s definitely been better beat-em-ups made in recent years and for a license as big as this, there’s a few suprising omissions. But I had a mostly good time with Streets of Survival, especially when unlocking a certain character!

Verdict

The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is a mostly good side-scrolling beat-em-up that plays with the genre in some interesting ways and tells one of the most emotionally layered stories in the entire show, mostly treating it with the care it deserves. Despite some poor continuity issues, a total lack of co-op which really is disappointing, and a bit of tedium in the combat system, this is one fans of the show will love and have a blast with! 

Pros

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The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival is out now on PC, PS, Switch 2, and Xbox 

Reviewed on Xbox Series X

Code Kindly Provided by Developer for review purposes