Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

The game is played as a first-person shooter, but when zombies get too close and grapple Daryl, he is able to perform a brutal melee attack with various weapons as a quick time event. Many confrontations can be avoided by sneaking around. Next to the regular weapons such as shotguns, pistols and rifles, a crossbow can be found later on for silent kills. Stealth melee kills can also be performed by sneaking up on walkers.

Travelling between locations is done with a vehicle and the route can be determined by the player. In the menu the player can choose to drive fast without stopping, or slower with the option to plunder. Back roads are slower but offer more opportunities to plunder, while highways are faster but can cause the vehicle to break down and then new car parts have to be found in mini-missions.

While on a looting mission, the other characters can be tasked to look for supplies (but risk injury) or to wait by the car. Room in the vehicle is only limited, so at various points a certain character can be dismissed when someone else offers to join the group. Characters are managed in menu screens. The player can review traits, health, equip a weapon, provide a task and determine the risk.

The game uses the GamePad on the Wii U for managing the inventory or for off-screen play.