The Walking Dead Onslaught is a single-player VR survival action game set in the world of AMC's The Walking Dead television series. Players step into the roles of familiar characters to manage threats from walkers while contributing to the rebuilding of the Alexandria Safe Zone.
Gameplay
The core loop centers on VR combat and resource management. Players wield a selection of 24 ranged and melee weapons drawn from the show, each with realistic handling and options for modifications that alter performance. A progressive dismemberment system responds to attacks on walkers, creating detailed physical feedback during fights. Movement relies on PlayStation Move controllers, with support for teleportation, arm-swinger locomotion, and smooth options to suit different comfort levels in VR.
Outside of direct combat, time is spent in the Alexandria hub upgrading player stats, customizing weapons, and allocating resources gathered from runs. These efforts gradually expand the settlement with new structures that provide stat improvements and unlock further content. The experience emphasizes physical interaction, requiring precise swings, grabs, and shots to handle groups of walkers effectively.
Game Modes
Two primary modes structure the gameplay. The campaign follows an original story told through seven chapters where players control Daryl Dixon. It begins with a supply run that escalates into encounters with walkers and a mysterious stranger, presented as flashbacks recounted to Rick Grimes.
Scavenger Runs serve as the repeatable survival mode. Players venture beyond Alexandria's walls as Rick, Daryl, Michonne, or Carol to collect food, materials, weapons, and other supplies. These runs feature variations including timed extractions while avoiding an advancing herd represented by a red boundary, endurance holds in fixed locations against spawning walkers, and combined raids that blend looting with prolonged defense. Resources from these runs directly fuel community growth and story progression by recruiting new survivors.
Setting and Characters
The game takes place after the conflict with the Saviors, focusing on the lingering effects on the survivors at Alexandria. Players interact with voiced characters including Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, Michonne Hawthorne, and Carol Peletier as they work to restore the settlement into a more secure base. The narrative explores themes of risk, sacrifice, and rebuilding society amid ongoing walker threats and human encounters.
Supply runs introduce unpredictable elements such as varying resource spawns and walker placements, encouraging repeated visits to different locations for better yields.
Is It Worth Playing?
The Walking Dead Onslaught delivers visceral VR combat and a direct tie-in to the television series through its characters and setting. Fans of the show often appreciate the chance to play as established figures and contribute to Alexandria's development, while the combat loop provides satisfying physical engagement with walkers. The scavenger runs offer replayability through their resource-gathering focus and mode variations.
However, the campaign remains relatively short, and the overall experience includes repetition in run structures and weapon balance issues that some players find limiting. As a 2020 release with no further updates, it stands as a complete but contained title best suited to those seeking VR zombie action tied to the Walking Dead universe rather than broad innovation in the genre. Those who enjoy methodical looting combined with intense melee and ranged fights may find value in its focused design, while others might prefer more varied or modern alternatives.
