The Walking Dead Games Ranked From Worst to Best

 

The Walking Dead has a long and uneven history in video games. Some releases are among the best stories the medium has ever told, and others are the kind of games people still bring up as warnings. If you have ever wondered where to start, or which ones to skip, this list is for you.

We looked at critic scores, how each game plays, how well the story holds up, and how it feels to play today. We kept the list to the main games that people actually talk about, and we left out the mobile spinoffs. Smaller Telltale entries like 400 Days, Michonne, and A New Frontier come up in the notes where they fit.

Here are the Walking Dead games ranked from worst to best.

How Did We Rank These Walking Dead Games?

Every game on this list is judged on the same four things. We wanted a list that rewards games that work as games, not only ones that carry the Walking Dead name.

• Story and characters: Does it make you care about the people in it?
• Gameplay: Is it fun, or at least stable, to actually play?
• Critic reception: What did reviewers say, and how did the Metacritic scores land?
• How it holds up: Is it still worth your time today?

7. The Walking Dead: Destinies (2023)

Destinies lands at the bottom of the list, and it is not close. Released in late 2023 by Flux Games and GameMill Entertainment, it lets you play as characters from the first four seasons of the TV show in what-if scenarios, with over 150 possible endings. On paper, that sounds like a fun idea.

In practice, reviewers found it full of technical problems, poor production values, and broken mechanics. It holds a Metacritic score of 29 on PlayStation 5, and IGN called it a contender for worst game of 2023. The concept had promise, but the execution never caught up.

6. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct (2013)

Survival Instinct is a first-person shooter that follows Daryl Dixon and his brother Merle through the Georgia countryside in the early days of the outbreak. Terminal Reality developed it and Activision published it in March 2013. Playing as Daryl is a great idea, and even the creator of the comics, Robert Kirkman, said it was at least cool.

Everything around that idea falls apart. Reviews pointed to broken mechanics, poor graphics, and bland environments, and Metacritic scores landed between 32 and 38 depending on the platform. It is a rare case where the premise is better than anything the game does with it.

5. Overkill's The Walking Dead (2018)

Overkill's The Walking Dead is a four-player co-op shooter set in Washington, D.C., with Maya, Aidan, Grant, and Heather as the playable survivors. It launched on PC in November 2018 and mixed stealth, survival horror, and role-playing elements into a mission-based format.

Critics liked the gunplay but pointed to repetition, harsh difficulty spikes, and a lack of originality. It scored 51 on Metacritic for PC, the console versions were cancelled, and development stopped in early 2019. It was a disappointing end for a game that had real ideas, and it sits above the bottom two only because it is playable and has a few good moments.

A story this bleak lives or dies on its choices, and the Telltale games understood that better than anything else in the franchise.

4. The Walking Dead: The Final Season (2018 to 2019)

The Final Season has one of the most difficult development stories in the series. Telltale shut down in late 2018 after releasing two of the four episodes, and Skybound Games stepped in to finish the job. The game follows an older Clementine as she protects AJ at a boarding school and tries to give him a real chance at a normal life.

Critics called it a return to form after A New Frontier, and it carries a Metacritic score of 78. It does not reach the heights of Seasons One and Two, but it gives Clementine's story an ending, and for many fans that is reason enough to play it.

3. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (2020)

Saints & Sinners is Skydance Interactive's VR take on the franchise, set in a ruined New Orleans. It is built around scavenging, crafting, and close-range fights, where every swing and every sound matters. Having to physically aim, reload, and search through drawers makes the world feel tense in a way a flat screen often cannot.

It holds a Metacritic score of 81 and is one of the best-reviewed games in the franchise. Its sequel, Chapter 2: Retribution, arrived in 2022 and 2023 with a score of 72 and some technical problems, but the original is the one to start with.

2. The Walking Dead: Season Two (2013 to 2014)

Season Two moves Clementine into the lead role, and that single choice changes the entire feel of the game. She is a kid forced to make adult decisions, caring for baby AJ while trying to find a place with groups that rarely trust her. The tension is constant and the choices are hard.

It earned generally positive reviews, with a Metacritic score of 83, and its final episode reached 87 on PS3. It does not have the same impact that Season One had by surprise, but it deepens Clementine in a way that makes her one of the most memorable characters in games.

1. The Walking Dead: Season One (2012 to 2013)

Season One is the best of the Walking Dead games, by a wide margin. You play as Lee Everett, a convicted man who finds Clementine at the start of the outbreak in Georgia and decides to look after her. The relationship that grows between them is the heart of the game, and every decision about it feels like it matters.

It received over 80 Game of the Year awards and holds a Metacritic score of 94. Telltale's episodic format, short timers on dialogue choices, and a story that never lets you feel completely safe all work together. More than a decade later, it still sets the standard for choice-driven games.

How Do the Walking Dead Games Compare Side by Side?

Here is a quick look at how every game on the list stacks up. Scores are the Metacritic numbers cited above, and they can vary by platform.

Rank	Game	Year	Metacritic
7	The Walking Dead: Destinies	2023	29 (PS5)
6	The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct	2013	32 to 38
5	Overkill's The Walking Dead	2018	51 (PC)
4	The Walking Dead: The Final Season	2018 to 2019	78
3	The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners	2020	81
2	The Walking Dead: Season Two	2013 to 2014	83
1	The Walking Dead: Season One	2012 to 2013	94

Which Walking Dead Games Should You Play First?

If you are new to the series, start with Season One and play the Telltale games in order. Season Two and The Final Season continue the story, and the three together make up one of the most complete stories in gaming. That path covers the best Walking Dead games for new players. If you own a VR headset, Saints & Sinners is a great standalone pick.

If the series has you hooked, you can bring a piece of it home too. Our Lucille bat replica and bloody lead pipe replica are both inspired by weapons from the franchise, and you can browse the full Walking Dead replica collection to see what else we carry.

Weapons are a big part of why survival games stick with us. If you want to read more about the ones that people never forget, check out our list of the most iconic video game weapons of all time.

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