Urban Strife

Lots of potential with this game and for me a strong successor to Dead State (which I loved!). Looking forward to see how the game develops :)

Absolutely loving the game... some comparisons to Dead State in reviews so I had to reload Dead State and refresh my memory. But contrary to those saying Dead State was better, I am feeling Urban Strife already shows promise of outshining Dead State easily. Great game.
Major con - the game is not yet finished, so I have to wait for the complete game play experience

hope it gets updated more

I love this game! It's like combining XCOM 2 with Dead State. I wish there are more maps and longer game time, as it's now quite quick (some players said they just need 20-25 hours to complete the game, Early Access version).

I was waiting for this game for a long time after playing Dead State a long time ago. Its a great combination of role play, turn based tactical combat and base building. The game runs well in its early release state of the early release.

Enjoying the game. Nice little tactical apocalypse themed, squad-based, community builder game.

I do wish there were more zombies. Like shit loads more!

I thoroughly enjoyed Urban Strife. It feels like a compelling blend of XCOM and State of Decay, combining turn-based tactical combat with stealth-based survival mechanics. The pacing can feel a bit slow at times due to the turn-based movement (reminiscent of XCOM) and the need for silent progression (similar to State of Decay), but I found this dynamic rewarding rather than frustrating.

As the game progressed and I gained access to better weapons, armor, and improved character skills, I found myself leaning more into the "guns blazing" approach. In one memorable mission, I set up a perfect firing line across a long, open killing zone. Waves of zombies poured in, yet not a single one managed to lay a hand on my team. It was glorious—a true power trip that rewarded my earlier patience and preparation.

The game's graphics are simple yet effective for its price point, and I found the story engaging enough to keep me invested. The base-building mechanics and faction management add enjoyable layers of strategy. Deciding which faction to support, which resources to prioritize (food, medicine, morale, or power), and which base improvements to build all kept me thinking. Every choice felt meaningful, often forcing me to weigh the benefits of short-term gains against long-term stability.

What stood out most was the game's moral ambiguity. There are no clear "good guys" or "bad guys"—just shades of grey. Even after choosing a side to 'win,' I found myself questioning whether I had made the right call. I didn't feel entirely satisfied with the faction I supported, nor particularly proud of my own decisions. And honestly, that's for the best. In a survival dystopia—especially one ravaged by a zombie apocalypse—no one should emerge clean. Victory feels hollow, and surviving often comes at a cost.

If you're looking for a tactical survival game with meaningful choices, challenging combat, and a morally complex world, Urban Strife is well worth your time.

I played this game for a little under an hour. As someone who has played many turn-based strategy games like the X-Com series and Jagged Alliance series, I feel that's a sufficient amount of time to make a judgment call on this game. Upon watching several review and game play videos, content creators were transparent in explaining and I quote, 'This is not a completed game.' I knew there would be some bugs, issues, etc. and I opted to try it anyway.

If you read the DEV notes, they go back to mid-2020. Based on where the game lies now, I would honestly ask these people what they have been doing with their time. The internet says that this game has an over-watch mechanic, but I don't see it. You-tubers were saying that the story was poor and the base management was subpar which I 100% agree with. They did, however, try to pump up the combat calling it, and I quote, 'solid.' It's absolute trash. A team of four survivors with automatic weapons and crossbows gets absolutely nuked by a group of scavengers while both in cover, and not landing a SINGLE SHOT the entire time. That's ridiculous. This was on multiple legs of the story-line.

I understand that this game is unfinished, but as far as turn-based strategy games, XCom: Enemy Unknown came out nearly 15 years ago and is light years ahead of this game that's been in development since 2020. While they continue to work on it, I'm sorry, but I don't see a future where this is able to compete with XCom or the Jagged Alliance series in the turn-based games arena.

This is not worth the $30 price tag. If you do opt to get this game, I strongly recommend getting it at a substantial discount of 50% or more. The fact that this was even released in a Beta or early access capacity is embarrassing.

So i don't write review that often and i wasn't sure if i would recommend it or not but I genuinely can't recommend it do yourself a favor and go play dead state reanimated instead which is most likely the inspiration.
It's basically a stripped down version of dead state with better graphic, all the QOL and improvement of the genre are not implemented.
-missing 5 bullet out of 8 in point blank,
-no clear visibility on how far you can move before starting to use the AP you will need to attack or crouch
-no rebind option beside few basic camera and control
-the highlight for loot is barely visible
-combat is slow very slow and no option speed it up.
-you have 2 aim mode both have 2 bar with dot one is green one is grey there is no explanation on what it is i had to figure it out by trial and error.
The devs said they didn't implement any movement indication because they find it intrusive that maybe so but it serve a purpose at least give the option to enable disable, and i could go on and on with all the QOL/improvement/basic of the tactical genre that made the genre great.
If you like to suffer and want nice graphic i guess the game is not that bad, sure it is still in early access but if even the basics are hidering the game and it seems to be on purpose i doubt it will change,
and then come the price of the game 30 buck is too much in my opinion 15 or 20 would be much suitable, so in the end the choice is yours but either go buy dead state reanimated or wait for a -50%off

To start, I’d recommend this game, if you finished X-Com, Phoenix Point, and liked Rebuild 1-3.

That said, this is more like “act One”, as it’s not a full game yet.

Things for the Devs:
Look to Rebuild, as to how to make a community balanced, zombie income, type game.
State of Decay for more simple base expansion ideas.

Increase the Shelter Inventory size. I found it maxed out on day 2, since each weapon holds a unique spot, each stick, each tool, etc. Or allow us to expand the shelter storage though build options.

Other options, to build up your base, instead of ONLY getting blueprints from gangs. I ran out of the starter blueprints (2 for each section), and only get 1 BP per gang boss.

Maybe Build section, then upgrades to those sections (ie. build a garden for 50 materials, then expand garden for another 50)

More team members. Yeah, adding the soldier was nice to get to 5, but it just gives the 5 people forever. Think X-Com, where you have a team, and need to select people for their skills for a mission, or use their skill at home (ie. have Jim train townsfolk to increase defense. Or Have tom help with making medicine. etc)

Having a car is nice, but almost useless. Considering how much gas it uses, and how little time it saves, I don’t use it. Why would it take 8 hours to walk somewhere, but 6 hours to drive? A bicycle would take less than that. Maybe 2 hours. (figure 8 hours, 4mph = 32 miles. A car doing 32 mph would take an hour, and that’s going really slow.)


Since you don’t have a repair shop yet, why not have the military or the bikers have a guy who can repair weapons/armor, for a price?

Would be nice if the inventory changed in gang shops, each day. Does not have to be 100%, but there could be a 20% that updates/ refreshes, etc.

Having people Stand up to reload, is nightmare. I lost people, who were out of sight, crouched, and safe, and then stood up to reload, then didn’t have enough AP to crouch again.

In base, send some people out to chop trees for wood. You can send a currently not in the team party member out with them for a better chance to return unharmed. Do this while away on missions, to have your roster always in use, and material gathering having more options.

The game opens with you being on a highway, and zombies are among the cars.
But.. at no time during the game, are your travels interrupted by roaming zombies.
Many times you will get interrupted by a story element, or traveling merchant, but this is a zombie game, and should contain these types of interruptions. Maybe even running into bandits, or raiding party from a gang that hates you.


this game has a lot of potential, but it is not a game YET. It is a test of concept, or ‘chapter One’ at best. I did like it, and can’t wait for the updates.
It really got me wanting to go back and revisit Rebuild 3.

The same is fun. It was worth the 20 bucks i spent to buy the game. It is in "early stages" who know for sure if they will release more content. Three main factions you have to work with and fight against. Missed opportunity with allowing the factions to work together. Worth the play though would recommend.

very good game

Game plays closer to the good old jagged alliance style, its follows most of what makes Jagged Alliance great except its in a zombie and human survival rpg game this game is a must buy especially on a 20% discount for an EA title as it helps the developers out!!!!

I've been looking for a spiritual successor of The Last Stand: Dead Zone for years, and this game really scratches that itch.

I had to refund this game after 17 minutes of playtime because I crashed 5 times.

Sometimes the game would crash before the startup screen.

This is an extreme example but not entirely unheard of for me. Tons of ram, blazing fast processor, and a 4090 means I get engine errors fairly common on games developed for and tested on lower end PCs, particularly from smaller dev studios.

Sometimes it is resolvable with massive tweaking but other times it isn't and unfortunately I've been burned too many times to risk going outside of the refund window by refusing to "pull up and eject" in time.

Happy to repurchase and try again in the future. Looks cool and loved Dead State.

Vraiment nice comme jeux. Hate de voir la version final

I wanted to give the game a "positive" but man that game just wasted 2 hours of my time cause the A.I. is so bad that even dogs pressed my door bell and asked my why i wasted MY TIME using tactics while the A.I. seem to cant handle


-climbing down ledders when there is no other choise to get a shoot on your chars.

-using molotov to denie them moving makes them just move out of the fire and then it TOOK 15 MINS
"waiting" spoiler i pressed alt+f4...

-If they dont know how to reach you they dont move and block you into waiting mode.

So gas station i tried to be clever with the fight but i wasted 2 HOURS, TWO HOURS cause i was stuck in turn based....the A.I. was not able to just run towards you to get in shooting sight.

Iam surprised that i didnt read anything like it in the forum. If the A.I. cant shoot at you it seems it breaks, "cant reach/cant move" instead like other games just give the A.I. a time limit instead of wasting MY TIME in "waiting".

I cant remember a game i played starting with c64 that an A.I. froze in turn based.....

It's still very Early Access. The game isn't finished, you get blueprints for things you can't build, your equipment degrades and you can't fix it. There are quite a few bugs, mainly in how quests spawn. That said the game play is quite sound, the balance is good and the story concept is good. It is very similar to a game that came out a few years ago called Dead State, in fact it could almost be it's sequel, only it's more punchy with less time wasters and a better crafting system.

Something they need to change however is that when you get back to base, you have to run to each of the different NPCs to hand in resources. This needs a central management screen as running around, up and down stairs is cool for the 1st or 2nd time, after that it just becomes annoying. Perhaps once you have made your first base upgrade, a tab unlocks to let you do it all centrally rather than having to run to each NPC.

I haven't got that far yet, but I think they also need some simple options that either don't use electricity/power or that can upgrade the efficiency of the generator. As many of the base things you unlock need power, you can get to a point where the fuel consumption is prohibitive. Perhaps they could make it so you can upgrade from a petrol to diesel generator to add +10 power or something.

Ok fallout tactics is the closest thing I can think of to this possibly that wasteland 3 game too and wasteland 2. But this is much more casual. I like it. good tactics too.

Is a fun, challenging game with an interesting story.

I've had this on my wishlist for AGES.. was sad that it released in EA. I was for some reason under the impression it was further along.. Anyways. I finally got around to getting it..and I regret not doing so earlier just to do so.

The gameplay is exactly what I wanted. 'like Jagged Alliance' means different things to different people.. I'm a 1.13 player these days- won't go back to 1.12. Didn't hate BIA.. didn't love it. This scratches my JA itch.

I love Xcom and everything like Xcom, and I'm reluctant to leave a negative review on a smaller dev trying to make an Xcom-like, but

I can't handle the speed of the game. Everything is so slow, I feel like I'm rotting in my chair waiting for an enemy turn to finish.

The base management and tactical elements all seem very interesting, but unless they can add animation speed control and eliminate some unnecessary UI hangs, there's no way I can enjoy this.

This game has is a great idea and is based off the "Dead State" style of building a group of survivors and and a base but it feels like a heartless AI generated knockoff.

The story, characters and even character art are hollow missing a human developers touch. I really tried to enjoy it but I cant get on board.

Not recommended.

Game is amazing.. only getting better ! still need some more fixes and upgrades.. but its already a great game !

Finally i have come across a nice turn-based squad tactical game with a storyline that offers different outcomes (non-lineair). JA fans will appreciate this!

It can be something amazing, supporting with all my ak47

Cannot recommend, repeated crashes a couple hours in, and the worst thing, if you have more than 2 hours on and you will by the time the crashes start, you cannot get a refund - so you are stuck!!!!

OMFG this game is awesome, and I think it should get your funding/support, it's basically a modern BG/BG2 game but zombies -post apocalyptic-like Fallout 1-2. You can play real time or tactics-like with pause (when in combat and your NOT in stealth or you were disovered/seen/heard)

Your stats increase as you use them, but feels like a good way too, not fast but steadily and making ssense. The injuries are easy to forgive, but also add up, and time recovers your injuries, I love the base building and resource mechanics.

This game might very well be the best game I've played in 20 years !

I can't wait for an end-game/developement version with mods !

100% this game will be in those bins where games that were not discovered go but have a cult following and are infact INDIE-but really really good and well worth the time and money to play them !

Great turn based squad tactical RPG, very much in the vein of Jagged Alliance, X-Com, Dead State, etc.

Dead State 2, as if that were a bad thing :)

Still a bit rough around the edges, but that's what early access is for. Makings of a solid indie RPG. Well worth it.

Do not buy this game in its current state as it is dog shit. The devs have decided to go with a combat system that ties EVERY ACTION you take to an AP system but the values you need to do anything are so fucking ridiculous that it's beyond the point of humorous. You know that UI mechanic in XCOM and Rogue Trader where it tells you the hard limit of where your characters can go with a colored border? Yeah, you don't need that shit, move your mouse around and find out. You know that mechanic of pausing the game when the AI is taking their turn? Don't need that either. Have you ever seen on every other tactical shooter where you select a target and it tells you how likely you are to hit that target? Use your imagination and then expect a miss. If you like damage rolls you'll love this because a 12 gauge in this game can either tickle their funny bone or cause a bit of a headache from the same distance; and that satisfying mechanic where you can move one of your squad on a flank and delete an opponent from existence like in XCOM doesn't exist here.

That's not even touching the fact that the combat voices are AI generated and such idiotic characatures of what a foreign dev team think Americans sound like when they talk that it's actually borderline insulting. No AI voices for the cutscene dialogue for whatever reason they made that decision. Since I played for three hours I'm fucked by Steam standards but do not make the same mistake I did.

I will preface this review by stating this is done as of february 3rd, 2025 as it is in early access, so take this with a grain of salt as this is not the final product.

The game is very similar to a game known as dead state, a zombie survival base management game. however, where that game fell flat on many notes this game learned from and is improving upon. The combat is challenging without being insanely repetitive (unless you want that, more later), the loot system is fairly managable and easily intuitive (icons over the item that denotes whether it fulfills a base need or not) and the story once you get into it is not half bad, but it DOES need a layer of spit shine (once again, early access. give it time)

It ISNT all roses and sunshine though. The graphics are a lil stale and i swear the chance to hit with some enemies is heavily skewed in their favor (Devs have flat out told me its not that way but it feels like it when i get hit with a nailgun from across a whole house where if i try the same shot with my high marksman character i NEVER hit), but most if not all my complaints the devs who are highly active in the discussions (they tend to reply within a day or two, 3 was longest ive waited) have stated are currently being worked on.

Do not mistake this for a finished product. Its NOT done. if you go in right now expecting a completed game, you will be highly unsatisfied. If that means you wanna hold off till it is done, devs have stated unless they have to do major overhauls, should be worst case 6 months. Otherwise, i think its good so far and worth the money right now.

I have finished playing the current content and will give a short feedback. I will update my review as development continues.

I recommend the game BUT it is currently not worth the price. At the moment you have about 12 hours of playing time ahead of you. Either buy it on offer, wait or support the developers. It is just important to know before you are disappointed.

The story is good and every decision has consequences. Nevertheless, it feels somewhat linear. It is like choosing between left long or right long. But the result seems to be the same. There is a lot to read. If you don't feel like it, you will wander around a bit aimlessly. A lot of dialogue is important and should be read. It annoyed me a bit.
As all dialogue is in English and no other languages ​​are currently available, you should stay away from it if you have difficulties with English.

I find the voice sounds of the main character extremely annoying. He is the only one who yells while all the others are cool and very well implemented. RELOADING!!! ROGGER!!! Like a startled fighting rabbit. Annoying.

The attributes and perks are not well-developed. Some attributes cannot be improved and some perks cannot be unlocked. Unfortunately, the coolest ones. That also annoyed me a lot.

I created a character with maximum intelligence and wanted to use this bonus to increase the other attributes more quickly. That worked well with agility. It was rather bad with marksmanship and you only seem to increase strength when you walk around fully loaded or travel around the map. I would have had to wait about 5 hours for an attribute point. Kind of uncool.

Some enemies are strange. They dodge every bullet. No matter whether they are zombies or humans. That gets you into big trouble every now and then.

Some lootable objects are also poorly placed on the map and are not accessible. Fortunately, there were no quest-relevant bugs or restrictions.

The storage system... I don't understand it. I go out, loot, come back, expand the camp and try somehow to keep food, medicine, fuel and morale high. But every time I take someone new home from my missions. And I have to because I need workers. But the new person increases the need in all categories. It is impossible to meet all needs and I have not managed to accumulate supplies for 4 days. This is very poorly done and actually led to me becoming very unmotivated.

I'll give the game a chance but I would wait. What is currently being offered for the price is not entirely fair. And no one can convince me otherwise.

Amateur game made by amateur developers. Random chance to completly lose a character during a fight, to then reload and completely mop the floor with said encounter. It's trying to be dead state, but fails horribly in the tone of the game. Everyone has ridiculous voice lines and goofy looking AI art. Most of the encounters are just against human enemies, whereas in dead state, the first 10 hours were mostly just zombie encounters, which ratcheted the tension. Here, it's against constant human enemies with laser point accuracy.

Not much more to say. There isn't much content here and what is here, is extremely dull. Constantly kill human npc's, to then sell that loot to build up your base. None of the characters are memorable and the loop gets dull fast.

Unfinished but fun

1/2 as good as Dead State. If Dead State was able to launch on windows 11 - I'd be playing it over this. Not bad just meh. Clunky, stuff vanishes from ur home loot, crafting is bare bones. Just not as good and payed 2x for this what Dead state cost me. Leaves you 65% satisfied compared to Deadstate.

for 40







For 40$ USD this game should be much more developed thin it is. Don't spend your money on this title until major movement in the finished product.

I regret buying this game.

Take Fallout 2, circa 1999, remove the great story, add horrible voice-acting, toss in a thin, crude strategic level, and you have Urban Strife.

The voice acting is a disaster, the interface clunky, the load times absurd, the plot almost non-existant, and much of the game isnt finished, but they still charge full price. This is a straightforward rip-off.

I think it's a great game. Sure it is true that it is not breaking new ground but does it have to to be entertaining? I have played all the way to the end of the current story and did not run into any kind of glitch or contradiction. It plays smooth and has an engaging but not terrible inspired or original premise. It was exactly what I wanted it to be. I just wish there was more. I am really looking forward to more game play. Good job, I wish you guys the best.

Good story. Fun game play. Well done turn based combat.

I loved playing Dead State, and this feels like a new and improved version. I hope the devs continue to make content, eventually add much more map locations and things to build in base, and sand box. Love the game so far, great work.

Kinda plays like fallout 1/2.

Urban Strife feels exactly like Dead State, one of my favorite games. This is both good and bad. Good, because I would like another Dead State. Bad because Dead State is by now ten years old, and Urban Strife already feels that old. Dead State now costs twenty dollars, while Urban Strife is thirty-four dollars. Should I say thirty-four dollars is too much? It is too much for a game like this. There, I said it. I will keep it on my wish list for when it is on sale and I read that a ton of content has been added.

good game

Finished the completed stage to include the cemetery. The game is excellent, has a wasteland II feel, with enough story to keep you engaged for a early release. Somethings that need to be added as they flesh it out. Stealing has to be a option, if you take something across town and no one can see you, it should not aggro you to everyone. For a early access there were not many bugs, there were occasions where loot would be trapped behind unmovable objects but this was mainly on the Gas Station map. They also need to create a local map (there is a global map but the need a local map). Improve smart travel where if you click to go to the map exist points your team does not move through a aggro zone. Additionally, being able to repair body armor (primarily helmets) and guns would be helpful. But it looks like that is already in the works. Think of adding it where when you recruit players they can join you there verse having to go back to the sanctuary. But the concepts are good, the combat is balanced (it is deadly at close range and are harder levels), the graphics are pretty (I got a high end machine and had no lagging issues or bogging down). I would get this game in early access and try and work through each one having bikers, army, or the church as your allies to give you a idea. I have done that and the church is the hardest in my opinion but they each is interesting. As this expands, there can be tones of replay times and hours of fun. Worth it.

Really reminds me of dead state so far its a good game like the story as well can't wait to see more.

Pros
Game is pretty fun.

Cons
Game is not very fun when you reach the supermarket map and the game crashes every 5th thing you click.

I got shot with a bolt by a cultist through 2 different chain link fences and a wooden wall. This made me believe in God and the cultists.

Looks very promising, has Fallout 1 and 2 + Dead State vibes. That said, I decided to stop after doing a couple of missions cause I want to wait for the release. I don't want to burn myself out on EA for this one, and I'm not sure if this is something with a lot of replayability, which is ok in my book for games like these.

It needs some more time in the oven, but based on the patchnotes & updates since EA release, they are giving it their all. Looking forward to play this fully in a few months from now.

Awsome game so far so ready for the world to open up more