Dead Man Walking (Zombie Survival)

Berka's Dead Man Walking is a love letter to what makes the zombie genre as endlessly addictive as it is.

<<<SPOILERS BELOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED>>>

As a massive fan of that genre, DMW was extremely easy to get instantly hooked. Its a serious, mostly grounded take, but isn't afraid to include and put its own spin on the normal but enjoyable tropes such as different types of zombies to smash and playing as an Average Joe who must balance morality and ethics with survival and practicality.

In other words, the game knows exactly what it wants to be and wastes zero time in dropping you right in - almost as quick and brutal as a real outbreak would. You begin dazed and hurt in dark, cold, filled with dead and dread subway tunnel - the train you were a passenger on having wrecked for unknown reasons - and immediately you must use your wits and grit to escape. Death is nigh and very much possible from the start, and every counter needs to be thought out and the each result is as well-written as the last.

This, of course, leads into my next bit of praise - the pacing. The game is as quick as it is chaotic. There are brief moments of respite and exposition sprinkled throughout, it certainly isn't nonstop, but Berka nails the urgency and stakes of the story without pushing you or limiting the exploration. The game perhaps unironically feels like the Dead Rising games of old - where you have complete freedom to explore and scavenge - but an ultimate goal beckons you to never spend too much time in one place or on one thing. It will pay the ultimate price if you choose to do so.

The dialogue, encounters, and action are all executed very well here, and the game even has some very enjoyable Easter eggs for the enlightened reader to try and find. This piece is as gamey as it needs to be but also contains a story as alluring and expertly-crafted as the subject matter demands. From a section on the fictional contagion that caused the whole thing, to multiple weapons and ways to get around the city - Dead Man Walking is as good a zombie IF piece can get, I dare to say.

Now, onto the few criticisms I have.

The contagion and its origin were both fresh and well thought out, and I enjoyed having an outbreak that doesn't completely end the world for once, as that is both overdone and overdue, being as such a real zombie apocalypse most likely wouldn't result in a direct real life adaption the the hit AMC show The Walking Dead. However, given this, I do feel like the story would have benefitted from being just a tad longer, and maybe even a bit harder. What we have here is a small piece of the best well-done steak ever, but I'm having the natural curiosity one would in food this good, and I simply can't help but wonder how it would taste if it was both bigger and cooked more. This is being mentioned as a flaw because I personally feel it was set up for it, but ultimately feels average in length. But to say this, I must acknowledge the heavy replayability and impressive number of choices and characters - the steak certainly doesn't NEED what I mentioned earlier - but it could certainly benefit from it.

The end states, even the best ones, were fulfilling and overall satisfying enough, especially given the sorta rare conclusion of the world NOT ending this time. Unfortunately, and perhaps it is due to me wishing for more, they felt not rushed, but a little abrupt. If you make it to the wilderness, its enough to live untouched for months before the military rolls in and takes it from there - no final battle, no tension, mistrust, or issues whatsoever. Felt a little unrealistic, and some more fleshing out really would have driven it home perfectly for me. This is pretty much all I meant with saying it honestly could be a tiny bit longer.

In conclusion, DMW is definitely not BerkaZerka's magnum opus; but it is surely one of the most intelligently-written and downright enjoyable games on the site, as well as certainly being the best zombie one. If this game were to exist as a physical being and IF box Killa_Robot's own excellent zombie tale, it would beat it in the 3rd round out of 5 using superior prose, more meaningful choices, and sheer scope. In the end, both are great, but Berka is, for now, the undisputed CYS Champion of Zombie Games.

This is an excellent storygame, and it is quite obvious to those with a functioning brain why this is one of the best storygames in the site, but I do not think that it is the very best. It had a hard battle with stories like Eternal, but with the way the author wrote this, it could very well win that battle.

The flow of the writing was set at a perfect pace. The writing was complex and didn't have that choppy feel that you get from some of the stories that can be found on this site, which greatly improved the flow and gave it a very smooth feel. Action scenes were smoothly developed and foreshadowed admiringly by the author, creating a good suspenseful feeling for me as a reader.

The way the plot was developed was simply masterful. This story had everything; exposition, raising action, numerous climactic scenes, even more action and suspense that couldn't be quite labeled as "falling action", and a variety of resolutions. Each scene kept me on the edge of my seat and I found myself clicking that link to the next page faster than Usain Bolt can run.

The writing was very descriptive and I could clearly picture each scene in my mind, and I felt as though I was actually a part of the story. Generic movie crap isn't included in this story, and it really comes down to you and your brain.

Each character in the story is introduced and developed in a way that makes me feel as if I've known them for a long time and I can understand everything about them. They become part of the virtual world created by the author's writing and play an important role in developing the story.

It is quite obvious that a great deal of time and effort was put into proofreading this because I didn't notice any mistakes in grammar or spelling, and even if I had, I doubt they would have taken anything from this storygame.

8/8

The story reminds me of the Energizer Bunny commercials: it keeps going, and going, and going. This is a good thing. I backed up and tried different paths a few times and was pleasantly surprised (and a bit awed) to find that the author has created quite a complex, sprawling spider-web of possible storylines, giving the story a lot of replayability.

I love the lack of an actual inventory and the way your choices affect later portions of the story. I believe whole portions of pages have script-driven text which "remember" the choices you made. Throughout, the author presents difficult scenarios for the main character to puzzle through, and the whole experience feels very open-ended, as many choices are shades of grey, rather than overtly evil/good, foolish/intelligent, pragmatic/emotional.

The story has minimal typos and I only found one "bug," demonstrating the author's commitment to proofreading and editing. At times, I would have liked a bit more action rather than explanation, particularly with the length of these portions, but overall the story had a nice pace and rarely felt dull. Also, some of the dialogue could be rewritten to feel more real and dynamic, but these are minor criticisms.

The depth of the story is obvious, as is the author's commitment to produce some solid work. I am definitely going to re-read this and try some completely different tactics. I got what I suspect is the second best ending.

Great story, I really enjoyed it from beginning to end. I would be interested in more stories with a very similar build in this very same world, just different characters.

Sometimes the descriptions were a little too much but overall the best zombie story I found on this site.

after 12 days of trial and error I saved my family... JESUS CHRIST this story is good... adding more curse words would make it more realistic!

Great Job I really enjoyed it. Now going to restart and head towards the police station.

loved it

spoilerless tl;dr: very cool zombie game. it's engaging and fun, cheerful and/or gory in spots.

spoilerful non tl;dr: there are grammar and punctuation issues throughout, but not as many as i expect from this site and only distracting if you're in a bad mood. i've only played once so far, so i've missed most of this game, but, as far as i can tell, most side characters are lacking a bit in depth. wife as the primary example: less a vital, emotionally-significant-to-the-protagonist character and more a whiny, nameless blob. the daughters at least had names, but not much else going for them. personality traits seem to be rationed to one or sometimes less per person.

i liked the pacing and the variety of choices. i like how huge this game seems to be. i got bitten in the subway, reversed, and i think died or nearly died again very soon after- reversed again because i wanted to grab the best ending. it got easier as i went. the subway seemed to be the hardest section to survive by far. i liked the tone of the choices and a lot of the writing. the unsubtle foreshadowing going on. giggled at it few times. one description in particular of that cannibal mutant was awesome, but i can't quote it. lots of ammo-less guns to collect if you're in to that.

the ending felt a little unlikely and pretty sudden. i read halfway through my last page before realizing it'd happened. the last third of the game, going for the best ending, also seemed like it might have been a little too easy. maybe it's not meant to be difficult. i don't know. maybe i got lucky.

i spent a lot of time squinting at my other options, wondering what the hell they would have led to. the game seems to mostly only kill you if you deserve it, so most did lead to *something*. branch after branch after branch. i'm gonna go explore them now.

Lots of story here. I'm gonna be honest, I skimmed through a bit and now I'm stuck trying to understand when and how I got bit. So, though it will be a great game either way, I recommend you actually take the time to read. It's genuinely one of the better zombie survival "stories" (in a sense) out there. Also, come on, you know its good if you've read the description.

I didn't make it far...