What if The Walking Dead was a roguelike RPG? - Stories from the Outbreak Quick First Impressions

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT

Play it, even if you’re not a huge fan of early access games. Stories from the Outbreak is an incredibly addictive roguelike that I haven’t been able to tear myself away from. The concept is simple — travel across a dying world, meet survivors, search for supplies, and fight off any undead that cross your path — but there’s something about the gameplay loop I can’t get enough of. Every run is unique, but there’s enough repetition that I feel like I’m learning something new with each playthrough. Add in some solid turn-based combat and a character-focused progression system, and you’ve got a delicious zombie stew going.

TIME PLAYED

I’ve currently played ten hours of Stories from the Outbreak, which was more than enough time to unlock every character, fight every enemy, and survive an entire run. While the game is currently in early access, the core gameplay is extremely solid. Even though I’ve spent a good amount of time with the game, I’m still unlocking new abilities with each run, which is pretty exciting. The story and dialogue are pretty minimal, but it’s absolutely worth playing in its current state.

WHAT’S AWESOME

• Interesting characters. Stories from the Outbreak currently has twelve characters, each with a unique playstyle and abilities. Some characters, like healing doctor Dzintars and tank Samanta, feel pretty standard, but other characters have more unusual skills. Spriditis is a support character that can dish out negative status effects and deal solid damage, but since he’s mentally unstable, it’s hard to predict what his attacks will actually do. Inese can manipulate turn order, helping you avoid enemy attacks. I had the option of choosing a character at the start of each run, but survivors I encountered and added to my party from that point were randomized, so I had to switch up my tactics with each playthrough.

• Challenging gameplay. Stories from the Outbreak can be extremely punishing, but failure never felt all that frustrating. Even though I had to start over after my party wiped, my characters unlocked new abilities with each playthrough, which made later runs slightly easier. Not only was I constantly unlocking new and better skills, but I always felt like I was learning something new. The turn-based combat system rewards strategic gameplay, which motivated me to try out different tactics during each battle.

• Awesome soundtrack. Stories from the Outbreak is fun even when you play it on mute, but the music takes it to the next level. There’s a nice selection of tracks here, ranging from ambient music to battle themes that got my blood pumping. Several tracks are on the longer side, which meant I only heard the entire track during longer, tougher battles. During some battles, I desperately tried to keep my party alive just so I could hear a little more of the music.

WHAT SUCKS

• Bare-bones story. While developers of Stories from the Outbreak say they want the game to be a story generator, the current writing is paper-thin. It’s not unusual to see the different characters say the exact same lines, and the dialogue choices never seemed to matter. Sometimes characters would interject to say things like, “We’ve been playing gods for too long,” or “They haven’t seen the best of me yet,” which felt pretty pointless. The game is definitely enjoyable in its current state, but since the devs plan to add more narrative content later on, you should hold off you’re a story-driven player.

• Uneven difficulty. Even though I enjoyed the tough turn-based battles in Stories from the Outbreak, I was caught off guard by how quickly the challenge level spikes, especially when neared the end of the second map. Encounters with certain enemy types were basically a guaranteed party wipe. I don’t really want the game to be any easier, but I do wish it was a little more balanced.

• Limited character customization options. While I occasionally was able to upgrade a stat or choose between ability upgrades, Stories from the Outbreak does have many options for character customization. While I really like that party composition is partially randomized, I would appreciate a little more control over each character. I’d love to be able to adjust certain characters to fit the needs of my party.

💬 Will you try to survive the outbreak, or do you need a break from zombies? Let us know in the comments!