If This War of Mine was set in the middle of a zombie apocalypse with the general vibe of a 1980s Texas diner, the result would be Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days – an undead, neon-drenched survival story where your only options are to make it out alive… or end up as a zombie snack. With its setting in Walton City circa 1980, PikPok’s newest demo thrusts players into a side-scrolling nightmare where keeping it together isn’t just a suggestion; it’s the literal survival strategy.
The basic plot is simple: you lead a ragtag band of survivors through an infested Texas town, moving from safehouse to safehouse and avoiding death by zombie bite. You’ll spend your time balancing crucial activities like scavenging, crafting, and (if you’re lucky) getting a few hours of precious sleep between waves of groaning, shuffling horrors. But don’t get too cosy – your barricades are flimsy, your food supply is always one disaster away from depletion, and, like every classic zombie movie, the greatest danger isn’t just the zombies but the fragile, fraying minds of your fellow humans.
The game starts in a perfectly’ 80s-styled, wallpaper-laden suburban house with chipped wood panelling and that signature apocalyptic layer of grime. Each new environment is just as thoughtfully detailed, capturing the last breaths of pre-outbreak life in an unsettlingly nostalgic way. The demo opens with two characters, each carrying unique skills and weaknesses (think: “I’m great at finding food, terrible at stealth”), and gameplay unfolds in a series of day-and-night cycles.
By day, players will be crafting and catching some (zombie-less) shut-eye, but when night falls, it’s off to the streets to hunt for essentials. However, don’t expect to just casually stroll around in your quest for the last can of beans; sneaking is the name of the game, with combat as a last resort. And if you thought zombies lurching around in the background were set-dressing, think again. Step too loudly, and they’ll make a beeline for you like they’ve smelled a free dinner.
In Into the Dead, ammo is as rare as a functioning payphone, so most encounters are a calculated game of sneak or smash. And smashing, while undeniably satisfying, comes with risks. Every clash, gunshot, or broken door handle sends the undead into a frenzy, and before you know it, you’ve got more zombies than bullets. Stealth often becomes your best weapon, but when push comes to shove, sometimes a baseball bat is the closest thing you’ll get to a miracle.
The game’s visual and sound design does wonders for cranking up the tension. Walton’s cityscape is bathed in moody lighting that makes even a derelict gas station look intimidating, and the meticulous use of background zombies (who look disturbingly aware of your every move) heightens the dread. In motion, it all feels beautifully alive, or rather dead and hauntingly reanimated.
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days is expected to hit Early Access in 2025, with this demo giving players just a tiny glimpse of the zombie-infested chaos to come. PikPok has nailed the moody survival horror vibe, making each night in Walton an unholy blend of ’80s nostalgia, zombie dread, and shelter management headaches that only true masochists (and zombie lovers) could appreciate.
BOTTOM LINE:
The demo for Into The Dead: Our Darkest Days combines tense scavenging, shelter management, and brutal survival with a stunning 2.5D presentation that brings every creaky floorboard and lurking shadow to life. If you’re keen on a brutal survival challenge where the odds are always stacked against you, this is one for the wishlist.