Kirkman ‘super-involved’ in Overkill’s The Walking Dead shooter

The Walking Dead has seen its fair share of success in the gaming industry thanks to Telltale Games. Despite this, it’s still hard to forget the critically panned Survival Instinct that starred series regular Norman Reedus. Thanks to Payday developer, Overkill, we may finally get a game to rinse that foul taste out of our mouths.

OVERKILL’S The Walking Dead was revealed back in August of 2014, and since then details have been fairly sparse. In an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine, Almir Listo, the global brand director of Overkill’s parent company, Starbreeze Studios, opened up a bit about the undead project. Regarding the input of the series’ creator, Robert Kirkman, Listo assured that he is “super-involved.”

That’s not too surprising, considering Kirkman has had his hands in most The Walking Dead projects, sans Survival Instinct. Listo went on to give us a bit more about the upcoming shooter, finally giving a little insight as to what kind of game it will be:

“It’s going to be a co-op experience, it’s going to be a survival-horror action-RPG, and there’s going to be various different things that you’re going to see. Yes, when you sit down and play it you’re going to say, ‘This is a great FPS. This has elements of surprise and stealth and horror.”

Both survival horror and The Walking Dead fans will likely be pleased to hear the words “survival-horror action-RPG,” especially after Terminal Reality’s failure to deliver even a remotely frightening zombie experience. If Techland’s Dead Island showed anything, it’s that RPG and co-op elements in a zombie title can only help deepen the experience.

If the reveal trailer was any indicator (see below), OVERKILL’S The Walking Dead will deviate more into comic book territory in terms of tone. The show eases up a little with its darker themes while Robert Kirkman’s illustrated series is far more inclined to throw them in the reader’s faces. On this, Listo further explains, “With our mature take on Payday and with our The Walking Dead game being mature as well, you can expect something in line with the comic books. The same level of … disturbance, if you will!”

Anyone itching for more on OVERKILL’S The Walking Dead should keep their eye on E3, as Starbreeze released this tweet back in may:

We’re going to E3 and we’re bringing this sweet lady. More in todays report http://t.co/kivEajzXUp #theroadtoE3 #OTWD pic.twitter.com/vXYuPqyf6P

— Starbreeze Studios (@StarbreezeAB) May 13, 2015

Other notable titles included in Starbeeze Studios’ success are Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, The Darkness, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.