We have rounded up a good number of reviews for the first State of Decay DLC, Breakdown, which aims to offer a challenge for veteran players of the title.
Eurogamer, 6/10.
I’m no fan of the gross sense of entitlement displayed by some gamers, but when the core game is still blighted by outrageous glitches and glaring bugs it’s hard to see how State of Decay justifies charging almost 50% of its original asking price over again for a game mode that arguably should have been implemented at launch.
Quarter to Three, 4/5.
That said, there’s no game like State of Decay for dropping you into a zombie apocalypse, and now there’s no survival game quite like Breakdown’s score-based challenge with its inevitable failure bearing down on you. It’s all futile, but what a grim drama you’ll unfold on the way to your demise.
The Controller Online, 9/10.
State of Decay’s Breakdown DLC may not come with a ton of new content, like most DLC, but it does add an interesting new mode that extends the life of the game for however long you want it to. It’s challenging, but it also allows you to move at your own pace and only face the more difficult levels when you’re ready. It’s an endless supply of killing zombies, managing your community, and exploring the deadly countryside of Trumbull Valley. What’s not to love?
Jump to Gamer, 8.5/10.
Breakdown is a great piece of DLC for State of Decay and I would recommend it to anyone who owns the game. While it doesn’t change the game up a whole lot with regards to features and gameplay, what it does do is allow the player freedom to survive the apocalypse how they wish. Want to speed through level to level? No problem. Want to take your time and survive as long as possible before you need to move? You can do that to. If you want a medium between the two, Breakdown allows for that also. Some may enjoy experiencing the same location time and time again, but you can equally get as much fun by staying on level 1 for hours on end. Want an open-world sandbox zombie survival game? I suggest grabbing State of Decay with Breakdown.
Examiner, 4/5.
Breakdown doesn’t bring a new story or add new maps to State of Decay, but it does provide a new way to play the game that continues to challenge players wanting more. Those who enjoyed the campaign mode of the undead survival title will also love its first add-on which manages to offer fans even more zombie action inside a new endless game mode. Breakdown uses the same mechanics that made State of Decay a success and presents them in a new sandbox package.
ReviewMango, 8/10.
By doing away with a pre-determined approach and giving you the reigns with which to steer your own destiny, Breakdown has managed to complement the original game’s tense, atmospheric setting with a rather more scary and dangerous world which is yours to conquer though never truly. Whilst I may be temporarily stuck on the fourth level, I’m sure I’ll be surrendering my lovely home to the zombies any time soon, and I can’t wait to see how much crazier things get.
GrizzlyGaming, scoreless.
State of Decay: Breakdown doesn’t change up the formula too much from the story mode but is just different enough to offer fans a reason to return to the Valley. However, if you grew tired of State of Decay’s gameplay or just burnt yourself out on scavenging and surviving, Breakdown will offer little incentive to revisit the Trumbull Valley. But if you’ve been considering a return to State of Decay but don’t want the hassle of story missions, Breakdown is definitely worth your time and money.
SubSpaceReviews, 9/10.
Breakdown is a direct response to the players that claimed that the original game was too easy, or those that didn’t care for the story, and Undead Labs have done a brilliant job in answering them. There are new weapons and survivors, and a lot of the original’s glitches and bugs have been ironed out. The difficulty increase is noticeable and surviving gets a lot tougher. For those who want to challenge themselves in this manner, this is perfect. For those who don’t care so much about the challenge and just want to enjoy surviving, it’s still a more than worthwhile purchase. Just find a valley that suits your difficulty requirements, and see how long you can last. The only real criticism that can be made is that exploring the same valleys can get a bit boring and it would have been nice to have some more maps to visit, but it’s an understandable omission, and the DLC is still definitely worth the purchase.
IncGamers, 7/10.
But while Breakdown hasn’t really smoothed out any of the original game’s rough edges, it has cleverly carried over the strong sense of character attachment. In fact, it’s gone further, giving players even more people to settle on as favourites, and forcing a moral dilemma about which six survivors should continue to fight the futile fight on the next stage. That’s an impressive achievement for an open world title, where, all too often, interest in the world starts to ebb once the main narrative is completed. By maintaining that link to individual characters and gradually upping the challenge, Breakdown’s endless loop of sandbox scavenging remains as fraught as ever.
FrontTowardsGamer, 7/10.
State of Decay Breakdown tears down storytelling for an infinitely replayable, almost roguelike, experience. As enticing as it sounds, it hinges heavily on how much you enjoyed the miles of dust and pavement treaded before, again, and again, and again.
God is a Geek, 7/10.
Unfortunately, however, it’s a technical shambles and there’s nothing in it you haven’t already faced. New zombies and weapons, a new location or two and a better, more powerful engine are needed before State of Decay can fully realise its potential. It’s a shame too, because with the right tools and resources, Undead Labs have the groundwork, in both the vanilla game and Breakdown, to produce the greatest zombie apocalypse simulation ever created. As it stands, however, there’s a long way to go.
StickSkills, 5/10.
In the end, Breakdown adds an interesting wrinkle to the State of Decay experience, but that experience is still fairly bland and lifeless (pardon the pun). If you weren’t wowed by the game over the summer, there’s nothing here to change your mind.
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