[PREVIEW] The Midnight Walkers is a zombie-twist on the PvPvE extraction genre

I’d long since forgotten about games like Dark and Darker and Dungeonborne, titles that seem promising at first but then fade away. While Dark and Darker had a more troubled development, these types of games, though often free, can quickly become broken and unfun. The Midnight Walkers reminded me of that pattern. If you’re a fan of dungeon PvPvE adventures, this game offers the same premise, but with zombies.

I had a 30-minute session with The Midnight Walkers at gamescom, a first-person PvEvP extraction shooter from South Korean developer Oneway Ticket Studio. While the name might suggest a simple zombie survival game, it’s a complex, high-stakes experience that blends elements from Dying Light, Escape from Tarkov, and PUBG. And I’ll be damned, it offers a lot.

You can play the game solo or in trios as you explore various floors, including shopping malls, hospitals, and casinos, each with its own unique challenges. There are also multiple characters to choose from, and they have their own skills and movements. The Midnight Walkers does an excellent job of creating a constant sense of dread and spookiness, as you never know what’s going to jump on you or crawl out from below. Plus, you’ll get hooked on the thrill of not knowing what you’ll find in different chests, on shelves, or in other places.

The Midnight Walkers is currently planned for an Early Access release on Steam in Q4 2025.

Tarkov mixed with zombies

The core gameplay loop is an unforgiving risk-reward cycle. You enter a massive abandoned complex overrun by hordes of zombies and other desperate survivors. Your objective is to scavenge for gear and loot, complete objectives, and, most importantly, successfully extract with your spoils. If you die, you lose everything you brought with you and everything you collected on that run.

Inventory management is going to be crucial in this game. You’ll need to prioritize items based on their rarity and drop anything you don’t need. From what I’ve seen, bandages and various crafting materials are vital. I also liked that you can pick up items from anywhere, not just from chests. However, chests do contain more valuable resources and, like in Tarkov, take time to open and search.

The zombies themselves range from slow-moving “Walkers” to dangerous, mutated variants. However, the most unpredictable and lethal threat is other players, who are also fighting for survival and loot. I don’t know why, but the zombies gave me a strong 7 Days to Die vibe. Also, you have to move quickly, as a spreading poison gas forces you to abandon certain floors and constantly move to new areas, so there’s constant action.

A different kind of combat system

The game’s combat system places a heavy emphasis on melee weapons, and they are far from secondary items. Although I only got to try a few, like daggers, katanas, and sledgehammers, I was surprised by how useful they were. Sadly, I didn’t find any proper ranged weapons, though I did see a makeshift bow. But, I did get to play with two in-game classes.

The first is a slow but tanky character who specializes in close-quarters combat. He’s not entirely useless, as he has skills like Power Strike and Accelerate to help him. The second is a stealthy class with abilities like Quick Step and Poison Coating, which means you can’t just go fully invisible and wait for the opportunity to strike.

The only downside I experienced was the lack of other players, which could be frustrating, especially when playing solo. As a tanky character, for example, it was easy to get overrun by hordes of zombies. I soon realized, however, that normal zombies aren’t a real threat; once you learn their attack patterns, they’re easy to handle. Since there’s no typical “run” mechanic, you’re forced to either face them head-on or try to dodge their attacks.

Right to be cautious?

I have to admit that 30 minutes was too little time to get a full sense of the game, but I did notice some familiar elements. You have a typical stash and items with different rarities, and the first ten minutes are spent trying to figure out what to do. Essentially, everything you’d expect from a game like Tarkov is present here. While the game looks solid right now, it’s hard for me to tell how good it will be in the long run.

I’m going to be cautious about this game because these titles often have balancing issues. The Midnight Walkers won’t be a free-to-play title; it will be a premium one. It also remains to be seen what kind of anti-cheat system they will implement. Since the game is launching in Early Access, it will have constant updates, upgrades, and post-launch support. So, if it learns from its predecessors’ mistakes, it could be a really good game.