Killed off-screen
The Walking Dead, at one point, was the most watched TV show on the planet. However after 11 seasons, and 177 episodes, the main show finally came to an end. And while different seasons resonated with fans, it's widely considered that seasons 7 and 8 were the show's weakest era, and yet, that is exactly where Streets of Survival takes place in.
Streets of Survival is a beat'em up that retells the conflict between Rick and Negan, and their fight for each of their communities to survive. The bulk of the game takes place in season eight, as Carl has been bitten and died. However, for someone who quit the show somewhere around season three, I already knew most of what happened around this time in the show; cultural osmosis made it impossible to escape the events of the Negan era, especially the premiere of season seven.
I'll say right away, the first hour or so here was extremely fun, with a nice mix of having to find time to bandage your wounds, to picking up guns and gunning down both human and walker alike. The pacing for missions was fun, and being able to slide across cover, or take cover, was a nice addition to a genre that usually just has you moving right.
However, once enemies in packs started packing, the majority of this condensed retelling of season eight started to head downhill. The biggest issue is, unlike other beat'em ups, the game doesn't recognize lanes. This means an enemy shooting at the top of the environment can hit you at the bottom. What makes this worse is you don't even need to see them, they will shoot you from across the other screen. And they will. A lot.
This goes for bosses as well, and their bullets hurt three times worse. Hell, there is even a boss that electrifies the floor, but you don't get any sort of warning when and where the current will show up. And, since those current charges appear at the switches you need to flip, it becomes one of the most frustrating bosses I've encountered this year. It’s not challenging or difficult, it’s just simply annoying.
Now, most issues in beat'em ups are resolved when you have a co-op partner to pull some of that attention away from you. Those annoyances fade away when you know someone has your back. Except, Streets of Survival is a single-player only experience, despite there being four playable characters, three of which are available right from the start.
Now, we've had single player beat'ems up before, but few are even remembered or even considered good. This genre, especially the pixelated and arcade-like entries, are beloved because of their multiplayer. TMNT: Shredder's Revenge, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, or even the recent Streets of Rage or Marvel: Cosmic Invasion are widely praised for their impressive multiplayer. Now, imagine if any of those were only single player.
Now, I get why the game is single player, as its story, objective based gameplay, and tension work because of being on your own. However, it only heightens the issues present when you can be killed and bounced around by forces not even within view. In what started as a game I was really taken with ending up souring as time went on. Sure, there is a progression system to make yourself more capable, but there's nothing there to solve many of the game's annoyances.
By turning the Savior War into an Arcade beat'em up, it does take you through familiar places. From Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Sanctuary, these locations are there, but simplified to offer that left to right gameplay. You'll also visit other locales that resemble factories and prisons, each with various key card retrieval to progress up and down floors. Typical stuff, but it does add a bit of variety to the genre, and I do have to applaud that.
Throughout the story, you'll rotate to certain characters, with some occasions where you can pick your hero. We have Rick Grimes, Darly Dixon, and Michonne. Negan is a fourth option, but you unlock him after initially beating the game. While not canon, I would have love some fan favorites like Maggie and Glen, as unlockable heroes.
Each character loosely played the same with some exceptions. Rick has his signature magnum, Daryl uses his crossbow, and Michonne has her katana. Standard strikes are shared, and while I assumed Michonne would have greater range with her sword, that isn't really the case. Each character has their own sets of combo attacks, and I found Daryl to be the most versatile of the group, as his combo finisher was greatly better for crowd control. His crossbow does take a bit to load, but it is highly effective.
Combat is pretty easy to get to grips with. You have light and heavy strikes, a dodge roll on a cooldown, and guns, if your character is compatible with them. Guns vary from pistols to rifles, and you're able to throw back grenades when you encounter them, which isn’t too often.
However, one part of the combat flow just didn't work for me, and it was something that really soured the whole experience. When you are slamming away, striking at walkers or armed guards, performing combo attacks and even just a string of standard attacks, you cannot change direction midway through any of it. So, if enemies move around you, your first instinct is to direct your attacks to them. However, you have to be completely still to then switch directions. This caused so many deaths or damage to my character as the inability to cancel anything to change direction really impacted my enjoyment here.
As you attack, you'll build up adrenaline. Now, adrenaline can be upgraded for certain characters, and this is basically a get out of jail ability that is great for crowd control and bosses, at least the ones you can reach.
Combo attacks are pretty straight forward and are usually just different combinations of X and Y (on Switch 2) or R, R, in the case of Negan pulling off his “The Cheater” double slam. All in all though, Daryl has the best crowd control slash in the game, which I would have assumed Michonne would have taken the crown there, but she was actually the least fun to play as.
You can also crouch behind boxes for cover, which is great, as it does help with being away from enemy fire. Gunplay is more or less fine with a targeting system, but enemies really take advantage of this, as mentioned before that on-screen or not, they will shoot you, even when you're trying to get back up.
Enemy variety is pretty good here, with a ton of walker and gun-toting baddies, each with unique looks across them both. Sure, you'll start seeing a lot of the same guys, but with bullet-proof walkers and shielding equipped soldiers, and the odd boss or two, there is some decent variety here to keep you occupied for the brief few hours.
While not a full-blown progression system, characters can be upgraded as the game goes on, but it will take you multiple playthroughs to even get close to leveling up everyone, let alone Negan. As you perform tasks in the story, and other actions, you'll earn knowledge. This is the currency used to level up characters. You'll also need character specific items, but I couldn't tell you how I obtained them.
These upgrades sort of vary from character to character, but most are shared. Rick and Daryl share in medkit improvements and roll cooldowns, as well as some similarities to how their weapon accrue ammo or their range. Michonne is fit for her critical damage or her attack speed. Negan is about damage reduction, boosted HP, and his attack speed.
It's worth noting that knowledge is shared across all characters. So, earning 200 knowledge, and skills covering anywhere from 30 to 100, let alone 200 and 800 for deeper down the skill tree, means you are likely looking at a dozen playthroughs here. Do I expect anyone will do this? Absolutely not, I simply don't see the pay off. Now, if this game had co-op? Sure, I could see a few people putting in the effort.
The game also has lore collectibles. From a Cat Sculpture that belonged to Jadis, Carl's letter to Negan, or Hershey's pocket watch that he gave to Glenn, these are little nods to the show, but ultimately don't really factor into gameplay.
Finding these, as well as key items, or medkits is done through searching. You can rummage through containers, dressers, or on the bodies of your enemies, for ammo, guns, and more. Healing is its own mechanic as well, as you'll need to keep holding the button down until the cooldown expires or you won't refill your entire health. This can be done after a battle or during it, just make sure to give yourself time.
It's a shame that you don't unlock skins or other cosmetic options, as they are regulated only to the Deluxe Edition. This Apocalypse pack features a few weapon cosmetics, Civic Republic Military Rick skin, and a digital soundtrack. That said, there are no skins for other characters as of yet, or any other characters other than the four mentioned.
This edition also features the Walker Pit, which is an endless survival mode, as well additional difficulty modes, one of which doesn't have a checkpoint system. The Walker Pit is fine, but with my issues of a lack of directional turning during combat, this mode only looks to highlight the issues I have with combat.
Visually, I really like what Odaclick Game Studio has done here. Characters look decently close to their on-screen counterparts, albeit with oddly chosen voice samples for when you select them. The character artwork is also solid, and the ranged of enemies is also quite good. Environment are fine, and are big without being too big, especially when you have some backtracking with the odd key or two.
Streets of Survival has a foundation for a great series, but the lack of some quality of life features in its combat, and a lack of co-op make this hard to recommend, given the genre has so many other options that are simply better games. The Walking Dead is perfect for videogames, but few games have really hit that high mark, and despite enemies having near perfect aim here, Streets of Survival can't quite say the same.
Developer - Odaclick Game Studio.
Publisher - Trailmark Games. Released - September 7th, 2026. Available On - PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Switch 2, PC. Rated - (M) - Blood and Gore, Violence, and Strong Language. Platform Reviewed - Nintendo Switch 2 Access -Review code for The Walking Dead: Streets of Survival was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.