Midnight pedestrian It’s a fusion of unexpected influences. The hardcore survival and extraction elements of escape from Tarkov. Dead Island character-based zombie killing 2. A background of a squid game style entertainment show. It’s a strange mix on paper, but it’s a much better mix than you would expect. Gamescom managed to play around 30 minutes of midnight pedestrians, but was unable to fully enjoy the competitive extract-driven gameplay loop, but we saw some early signs from the already incredibly atmospheric zombie game.
Inside the Liberty Grand Center – more than a dozen tower blocks connected to the stairwell and elevators – midnight pedestrians abandon the vast open world in favor of something more compact and vertical. A group of bent elites in this post-defeat world has gathered survival gauntlets that throw several teams into buildings filled with booty. The goal is to grab as much booty as possible and reach the extraction pod without dying. Once you die inside the Liberty Grand you can say goodbye to what you had at that point. This is also an interesting concept for fans of the best zombie and extraction games.
I was unable to experience the chaotic multiplayer elements of Walkers at Midnight (my Gamescom demo was a solo, PVE-only event), but I was swept right into the atmosphere. From the parking lot at the foot of the tower to hospitals, casinos and TV studio levels, the sick squid game behind Liberty Grand did a decent job that produced challenging and dark levels that avoided being felt repeatedly.
Imagine the scene: the corners and doors of the elevator slide to reveal what was once the office space of your average corporate, but now devastated by the undead (and past contestants, undoubtedly). The zombie pops up from behind the capsized desk, swipes its feet as it crazes the vents and crushes the ceiling tiles. Playing as a character lockdown, I have a deadly compound bow, but for all enemies, I feel like I’m taking it out with a properly positioned arrow and three or four more appearing. It’s not overwhelming, but it’s certainly intense. I was a bit disappointed with the various zombies from both visual and gameplay perspectives, but considering this is still an early version of the game, I hope there will be more work done in that department. But the environment is another story – all the levels I had to explore were very creepy, excellent at mixing open spaces with tighter choke points, packed with grizzly details.
Before the inevitable thing happens, I grab as many high value items as possible and put Tetris in my Tarkov-style inventory. A warning message and a timer appear on the screen, saying the floor is off limits as soon as toxic gases are pumped. It’s not the repeated, predictable “storm closure” seen in many extractions and battle royale games. The floors are randomly selected with spaced spaces during the match, so it’s not clear whether they’ll be forced to untapped floors or already looted floors. Elevators and stairs stairwells allow you to move between levels and bypass toxic floors if necessary, as they are safe space from gas. However, please note that it may not be a safe space for enemy teams lying in ambush.
The extraction mechanic uses a scanner to find the escape pod. This will beep within a few meters and begin to guide you in the right direction. These took a few seconds to unlock, and one room with the pods was extremely crowded with zombies. Therefore, when you are waiting for you to escape, expect some busy situations from both the Som and the other players.
When it comes to combat, midnight pedestrians want a hero-style approach with a selection of characters with unique loadouts. As mentioned before, lockdown is an option for range, and his bow will result in effective damage in exact cases. However, he felt a bit clunky and one note since my Gamescom demo and the rework of this class was announced. It also took me a few minutes with a massive hammer-wielding brick. Shaking this melee weapon was undoubtedly more satisfying, and really highlighted the impressive flesh damage and cutting of the game, but I never called it refined or smooth.
I think the overall loop here is fantastic. Initially I thought the pod scanner and the gas immunity stairwell would navigate the game a little easier, but of course I was experiencing this without any other players to kill me. Combat certainly requires some work and you wouldn’t think that some variations in the enemy’s point are weird, but I would like to experience the midnight pedestrian again, again in the team, and some PVP moments. Liberty Grand creates an intense, immersive place for apocalyptic entertainment, so we hope the action is as good as the arena.
