You could figuratively fill Petco Park, across the baseball stadium landmark synonymous with Comic-Con, with all the mobile phone games that have been made based on Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead.
That’s why I was a bit skittish to accept an invitation to a private demo for a new mobile Walking Dead game. After spending a bit of time with developer Disruptor Beam (Star Trek Timelines), I see the platform that adds about 4 million games a day can still surprise you. Based on the narrative of Kirkman’s comic books, The Walking Dead: March to War takes place before the Volume 20 “All Out War” trade where Negan has laid down the law and Rick’s group is forced to scavenge for the Saviors. From that point, the game’s narrative exists in an alternate pocket that could lead down some interesting avenues.
What Disruptor Beam are attempting to sell you on is a massive Washington D.C map you’ll play in. It even has real life landmarks like the White House. March To War is a mobile strategy minefield you’ll have to navigate. As the leader of your own group, you’ll need to recruit some well known characters from the comics to help you command a sparse well of survivors to gather supplies, fight off walkers, prevent other survivors from pillaging you.
Just like in The Walking Dead other people might be your greatest threat as March To War plays up the social aspect of mobile games. Other human players can invade your camps or help you fight others. Keep in mind the beauty of all this is there aren’t enough essentials to go around so backstabby decisions will need to be made.
Along with Washington D.C, players will be able to check out other well known TWD locations. After all this does take place in the height of the Negan conflict. Places such as the Hilltop, Kingdom, and Alexandria are all here.
March To War is still a mobile game with free to play tropes like a stamina meter that limits how long you can play at a time. But Disruptor Beam shines when it comes to detail, as we were guided around Washington D.C. it was hard not to notice how much work has gone into this. Starting with a unique art style that I can only describe as finely rough to all the things that litter the roads like piles of dead bodies, walkers, street signs with actual readability. Visually the game is on par with some of the industry’s best not just mobile.
What’s most intriguing about March To War is through Disruptor Beam’s partnership with Skybound, the studio was able to create a brand new female character exclusively for the game. While few exact details were given, we do know Amira, as she’s named, will have a unique story told through the game. She’ll be a survivor you can recruit as a counselor to delegate leadership of your group to, meaning she has just as much importance as Andrea, Carl, or Michonne towards achieving your ultimate goals. We’ll find out more about this new enigma in TWD lore as we approach the game’s launch
The Walking Dead: March to War launches free to download on Android and iOS later this Summer.
