Walking Dead: road to Survival - Scopely

This review of Walking Dead: road to Survival was completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 23 August 2015.

About the app

This section contains details about the app provided by an ACCM Reviewer.

ACCM review

This review of Walking Dead: road to Survival contains the following information:

• The level to which the game was reviewed
• App description
• Reviewers comments
• In App purchasing
• Online information
• Gambling
• Advertising and product placement
• Gender stereotypes and sexual references
• Coarse language
• Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents
• Other

The level to which the game was reviewed

This review focuses on levels:1-8

App description

Walking Dead: Road to Survival is a zombie-fighting game based on the hit TV series of the same name. The objective of the game is to win turn-based combat battles against enemies, as well as build a defence base using resources and money. There are limited skills needed but strategy, problem solving and motor skills will all be useful. 

Reviewers comments

When the app is opened and players are taken to a loading screen, they are met with a static image of many humans holding and firing guns whilst surrounded by zombies. There is blood flying across the scene and it is presented in quite a graphic, realistic manner.

When the game starts, players are met by Hershel – he states that “It’s starting. The Govenor is coming for revenge, and Lori says walkers have breached the fence.” Another muscular male character named Rick then says that players should clear them out and deal with the Governor and his men. Players are then asked to select either Rick or Hersel to play as and to use these characters in order to attack the zombies. After this, the chosen character fires their weapon and shoots the zombie nearby in the head. Blood splatters everywhere and once they are hit again, they explode in a spray of blood. Players are also informed that 'landing attacks' and 'taking damage' gives them Adrenaline Points. This charges a character’s power, which is the Adrenaline Rush. This causes large amounts of damage to be dealt against enemies and their health bars (seen above their heads) demonstrate how much damage has been done numerically.

After this, players can elect whether they wish to deal with the group of enemies using firearms, or melee weapons. For melee weapons, other non-player characters use weapons such as bats and axes. They are able to attack Hershel and Rick in turns and can cause damage (leading to blood splattering everywhere also). When enemies die, screams of pain can also be heard.

The game then moves back to ten months prior to these events. Players are informed that ‘Nearly a year before the assault on the prison, three friends reach the small town of Woodbury, Georgia’. Players are asked to enter a character name of their own and meet several male characters who are attempting to find safety from the undead creatures also. They inform players that in order to join their group in Woodsbury, they must be able to ‘fight and build’. Players are then taken to a top-down view of an area of land, in a timer-and-quest style manner. They are told to tap an empty plot to begin building houses out of materials. Players can build things such as Farms, Training Grounds, and Material Posts (each of which use different resources). Players can also tap the building being created in order to finish it instantly, by using in-game currency in the form of gold coins. Once a place has been built, it also produces resources of its own (e.g. wood). Additionally, players gain experience points when building things.

There is a Recruits and Rewards section, where players can select an Elite Character to join their team when they have tokens or enough money available. The game also contains an area where missions can be found – these include things such as ‘Housing shortage’, ‘Expanding your influence’, ‘Rebuilding 101’ (all of which involve various builds in order to successfully complete the missions). To complete missions, players are able to choose the characters they wish to make up their team – each of the characters brings different skills and differing levels of health and stamina to the table.

As the game progresses, there are mature themes included within the storyline. For example, Sandy is a character whose sister ‘got into some trouble – drugs, bad crowd, etc.’ She then details how she had to shoot her after she had turned into an undead zombie. Within the dialogue, there is also coarse language (e.g. ‘what the hell’).

Players can battle other players in order to increase their reputation (if they win). Players will lose reputation points if they lose in these battles. The game also contains a Revenge option, where you can battle other online players who have successfully raided you and stolen your resources – it is possible to obtain resources back in this situation.

The rest of the game involves building up the area further, in terms of defences and resources. Additionally, players can battle undead enemies, as well as other players.

In App purchasing

The app includes a store where players can use real-life currency to make in-app purchases. They can buy gold coins in packages of 330 coins for $5.77, 660 coins for $13.60, 1450 coins for $27.22, 2760 coins for $37.53, 4800 coins for $62.55, or 9900 coins for $125.11. These coins allow players to purchase other in-game features, such as increased stamina in the form of food, resources to build (e.g. wood), or other battle items such as first aid kits, Molotov’s, nerve gas, etc.

Online information

The game requires players to sign in via a Google+ account. The app also contains an inbox where players can receive messages, as well as a global chat function. This allows players to chat with other players who are online and also playing the game. This appears to be unmoderated, but there does not appear to be inappropriate content in the chatroom (during the course of gameplay for this review). Some online players did make exclamations such as ‘This is stupid’ within the chat, however. It is also possible to block specific players from appearing on the chat feed.

Gambling

No gambling content was found during this review.

Advertising and product placement

N/A.

Gender stereotypes and sexual references

N/A.

Coarse language

Some coarse language, such as "what the hell".

Game playing behaviour which may be of concern to some parents

There is considerable violence depicted in the app in quite a realistic manner, in addition to mature themes and horror-style content. Both of these elements may pose a considerable risk to younger players. The extensive in-app purchasing and time-lag features may encourage the spending of real-life money in order to deal with potential impatience.

Other

N/A.

Got a suggestion?

You can contact us if you have suggestions of other children's apps to review.