Nearly one full year after the first State of Decay survivors escaped Trumbull Valley, and after months of driving busted RVs from one strangely identical town to the next, State of Decay: Lifeline offers a new collection of stories for those of us who just can't let go of Undead Labs' zombie-survival masterpiece.
Full Disclosure: The Steam copy of State of Decay: Lifeline used for this review was provided to me by Undead Labs; however, the developer did not retain any say in what can/can't appear in the article you're about to read.
Rather than dropping you back into rural Indiana, State of Decay: Lifeline sends players into the fallen city of Danforth, a sizable urban environment that's been heavily overrun by the undead. Along with the new setting, Lifeline gives players an entirely new set of roles to fill, slipping you into the boots and fatigues of U.S. Army squad Greyhound One.
Your mission: Find and evacuate a group of scientists that the U.S. government believes capable of curing the infection that threatens humanity's very existence. Stop for nothing, and no one, until the future of civilization has been secured.
Seems simple enough, right?
But what happens when other helpless survivors, who won't actually be able to assist High Command and/or the U.S. government in any meaningful way, start asking for help, too?
Much like the original State of Decay campaign, Lifeline doesn't waste any time before throwing you headfirst into the action. Players arrive in Danforth several weeks after zombies first appeared in the city, and what's left of Danforth at the beginning of Lifeline is probably enough to make real-life city dwellers think twice about whatever zompocalyptic fantasies they may have previously entertained.
At the onset of the State of Decay: Lifeline campaign, you'll assume the role of Major Alicia Hawkes, commanding officer for what's left of Greyhound One. Along with Hawkes, the squad is comprised of Sergeant Kilohana "Kilo" Young, Private Royell "Vince" Vincent, and Private Apple Sachs; each of whom has varying degrees of cardio, fighting and firearms training under his/her belt.
Your first objective is to clear out Black Friday, the forward operating base that Hawkes tells survivors was named in honor of the U.S. shopping "holiday" that's been known to attract more than its fair share of zombies. Once your base has been established, it's time to start rounding up what's left of Danforth's scientific community, while simultaneously ensuring that those seeking shelter at Black Friday don't become dinner for a roaming zombie or twenty.
Though it may not seem like much, the four prove to be an effective unit in the expansion's opening moments. It's also not long before both the squad and Black Friday's global population begin to grow in number. After all, new setting or not, this is still a State of Decay expansion.
Once a base of operations has been established, State of Decay: Lifeline will feel quite similar to the original State of Decay campaign. Albeit on an entirely new map, and with a handful of new features and game mechanics that emphasize the expansion's focus on military personnel.
Just as was the case with previous State of Decay releases, players will still need to pick through the supplies left behind in houses and buildings throughout Danforth, but the scavenging portion of the game is notably less-tedious in State of Decay: Lifeline. That lack of tediousness comes courtesy of the "Rucks in Trucks" functionality introduced in State of Decay Title Update 6.
Rather than having to make treks to/from camp with a single bag of supplies, State of Decay players can now store extra rucksacks and other equipment in each of the vehicles scattered across the city. At first, the feature can feel a bit broken, as filling up a truck with six bags of medicine, ammo, food and construction materials isn't exactly difficult during the opening moments of the Lifeline campaign.
I cannot possibly overstate how much that is not the case in State of Decay: Lifeline's later moments.
When the International Digital Times spoke with Geoff Card, back in March, the State of Decay: Lifeline lead designer told us that the new campaign would require players to make tough decisions with real consequences (both good and bad). Having spent a number of hours with State of Decay: Lifeline, I'm happy to report that Card wasn't exaggerating, and that the State of Decay: Lifeline campaign offers a sense of urgency that simply wasn't present in the vanilla campaign and/or State of Decay: Breakdown.
Unlike the original campaign, which frequently gave you more than enough time to save any/every survivor you were willing to add to your enclave, there is no doubling-back for an extra pick-up when a member of Greyhound One goes looking for survivors. You'll frequently be given coordinates for a stranded soldier within seconds of being told where to find a trapped civilian, and choosing to rescue one often means leaving the other to die.
Of course, while guaranteeing the safety of additional soldiers might seem like the obvious answer to such a dilemma, many of the Danforth residents who manage to establish contact with Greyhound One will confer their own bonuses if/when saved from harm. Sometimes, that means a little extra food for the survivors still inhabiting Black Friday. Others, it'll mean a handful of new guns for your supply locker, or a rucksack full of construction materials to help you upgrade your base's generator, workshop, etc.
Along with a streamlined narrative, which most would probably agree is much easier to fail than the original State of Decay campaign, Lifeline also includes a slew of new equipment and abilities that reflect the expansion's focus on members of the U.S. military.
For starters, a few extra attractions will appear on the map of any Lifeline player willing to put some time into exploring the map, or those who take the time to make use of the Survey Points scattered throughout Danforth. As Greyhound One moves farther and farther into the city, players will have the opportunity to recover and restore all manner of military sites, granting access to everything from unmanned drones to precision artillery strikes.
These abilities won't always be helpful, so don't go expecting a precision strike to kill that Juggernaut who's chasing you down the middle of the highway, but the extra firepower will be vital for anyone hoping to complete the State of Decay: Lifeline campaign.
Players will also find that many of the survivors in State of Decay: Lifeline are a more-capable of fending for themselves than some of the characters encountered in the original campaign. The members of Greyhound One, in particular, feel just as powerful as some of the Hero characters that could be unlocked in State of Decay: Breakdown.
You'll still want to do everything in your power to make sure they stay alive, though, because it's hard to stop the zombies' momentum when members of your squad start dying.
That's especially true when it comes time to defend Black Friday from a zombie siege, another feature new in State of Decay: Lifeline, because most of the civilians that are taking refuge inside the base won't actually fight back when the undead come looking for a meal. Fortunately, you won't have to rely on the A.I. controlling your non-active squad mates to come out of each attack with your group still breathing.
Throughout the Lifeline campaign, players will notice a brand new Threat Meter attached to the bottom of the game's mini-map. For much of your time in Danforth, the meter will remain at Level 1, especially if you're pro-active in clearing out the various zombie hordes roaming the city. Things start to get a bit trickier, though, as the meter starts to rise. And once it gets to Level Three, if you're not already back inside the perimeter of Black Friday, you'd better hope you can get there pretty quickly.
After each siege, a military helicopter will ferry away whatever civilians and/or scientists you've managed to save since the last attack, and then it's back to scouting Danforth for new survivors, scientists and supplies. Then it's rinse and repeat.
From what I understand, the State of Decay: Lifeline campaign includes several possible endings, based on the performance of Greyhound One and the soldiers you recruit during your time in Danforth, though I'd be lying if I said I'd actually seen any of the happy ones yet. So far, it's just been radio conversations confirming that my latest batch of commanding officers have been killed in action, and a new score for the State of Decay: Lifeline leaderboards. The prospect of branching conclusions is certainly enough to keep me coming back for more, though. At least until I've managed to see a good one.
On the flip side, I was disappointed not to see more of the characters' back stories explored in State of Decay: Lifeline's idle moments; a stark departure from the original State of Decay, which rewarded players' willingness to converse with new character traits and info about major events from the game's lore.
Careful players will rarely find themselves exploring Danforth without a partner, courtesy of the NPC companion system added to State of Decay more than six months ago. In many cases, that means fellow members of Greyhound One are on patrol together, with occasional help from other survivors who show up along the way. So why is it that I can count on one hand the number of times that the people on patrol have carried on anything resembling a significant or meaningful conversation?
Far too much of State of Decay: Lifeline is spent in near silence, without any sort of direction from High Command or the members of your team keeping watch back at base, and it's a void that could have been filled by exploring the relationships of the various people taking up residence in Black Friday.
Instead, that emptiness played a significant role in keeping State of Decay: Lifeline from fully-sinking its hooks into me. I'm not asking for a selection of radio stations that rivals Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row, but some sort of easily-manageable playlist (to be played whenever you're driving a vehicle) would go a long way to making longer play sessions more enjoyable. It's not a deal-breaker, but I'll definitely be excited if/when some sort of music mod pops up in the State of Decay section on Nexus.
State of Decay: Lifeline Review - Final Verdict
For the most part, State of Decay: Lifeline is everything you could hope for from a non-sequential piece of downloadable content. Rather than adding a few hours onto the existing State of Decay narrative, the Lifeline expansion offers an entirely new campaign; one which is likely to take you more than one attempt (and quite a few hours) to complete successfully. Plus, a brand new cast of characters and a whole new city to explore from top to bottom. Sure, it's a bit quiet at times, but I'm also willing to accept the possibility that a lack of squad chatter isn't a problem for those who manage to keep the majority of their squad alive.
While the expansion doesn't improve on every aspect of the State of Decay experience, and still includes its fair share of aimless wandering, I'm not sure there's a zombie-survival game on the market (single or multiplayer) that currently holds a candle to the State of Decay franchise, and the Lifeline expansion only extends Undead Labs' lead over its competitors. If you've enjoyed any of the State of Decay content released thus far, then I have very little doubt you'll enjoy what Undead Labs has to offer with State of Decay: Lifeline.
Recommendation - Buy It
Are you planning to pick up a copy of State of Decay: Lifeline? Just going to stick with "vanilla" State of Decay and/or State of Decay: Breakdown? Glad to see the military playing the role of good guys in a zombie game for once?
Let us know in the comments section!
