Death Road to Canada

Death Road To Canada essentially builds on Organ Trail which was a zombie themed Oregon Trail game. The game has simple graphics, simplistic combat and lots of random events. A lot of it comes down to luck, but there's risk-vs-reward decisions, a bit of resource management, and just learning how the game works.

It's a game where if you die, you are thrown back to the start, but you may have earned Zombie Points which can upgrade perks. On repeated plays, your team will be stronger, and you will be better at the game; so have a higher chance of surviving.

You start off with two characters, and you control the designated leader. Each day, you are given a random event which may just involve making a choice then the game tells you what happened. Other events you have to get out of your car and explore a small area which is infested with zombies. You are told roughly how numerous and aggressive the enemies are, but you can't really change your strategy based on this information. The aim of the mission maybe to grab a few supplies, whereas others you are holding out against a horde.

You wander from room to room, grabbing supplies, finding new weapons, and killing the occasional zombie that gets in your way. I say occasional, because swinging your weapon fatigues your character which then slows their attack rate and damage. Zombies spawn over time, so you feel under some time pressure to grab what you can then make it back to your car to progress to the next day.

If you are very lucky, you may meet another character that can join your team. You can even have a dog companion. You can have up to 4 party members and you will need them in order to survive. Each character has a Perk and Trait. Perk often determines fighting style. Traits have both positive and negative effects. The stats are initially hidden but you learn about your characters after each event. For example, if you need to fix a car, you will discover the character's mechanic skill.

I found food to be rather scarce, so when given a choice to go to a Mart or a Pharmacy, I always chose the Mart, but even then, you didn't seem to be able to get a decent supply of food. I thought Zombies were far too plentiful too, even when the forecast was scarce. When they are docile, it is easy to walk past them, but if they show more aggression and you have to fight; then your character gets tired way too quick. During hordes where you need to constantly fight, there's a large chance you will get overwhelmed, especially if you have only two characters. When you are up against hordes determined by a random number, and not a choice you have made; the game does feel unfair.

The simple graphics are fine for the game's style, although I do wish doors were a bit wider; I did find myself hitting the door hinges instead of going through the doors.

Death Road To Canada is a decent game, and you can have enough fun with it as long as you like Oregon Trail style games. Personally, I felt the game was a bit too unfair and your success seemed to lie in the hands of the random number generator.