Bite-sized Review:
Deadly Days: Roadtrip

By Chris Picone, 29 September, 2025

There are so many survivors-like games out there now that it really takes something unique to stand out but I think Deadly Days: Roadtrip does just that, by playing on its  themes to create a sort of survival hybrid. For reference, I haven't played the original Deadly Days, but comparing to gameplay videos this looks like a similar game but with some obvious improvements, and of course the roadtrip theme added in. 

Aesthetics

Straight out the gate, Deadly Days features better graphics than most survivors-likes.  It's 3d, and every level starts zoomed in on your character and surroundings before zooming back out to the isometric viewpoint. As this is a roadtrip-themed game, there's obviously some travelling, and every level is played in a new city or other locale.  Sometimes you'll find yourself on a sort of highway, or farmland with few houses, but other times you'll be crammed into a busy little city, and you'll even find what appears to be the remnants of carnivals and the like. Of course it's post-apocalyptic so there are broken-down cars and things everywhere (never mind the swarms of zombies!), and the vibe hits right, if unusually bright and colourful.  

Gameplay

Deadly Days: Roadtrip's similar to most survivors-like games, except much saner in scale; you can only carry two weapons, for example (or one two-handed weapon). As you kill zombies and collect enough gems to level up, you're provided with random items that you add to your backpack tetris-style. In addition to your two weapons you can also throw as many grenades as you can find and there are a range of other items that boost your other gear through but you have to be careful with placement to make the most of boost zones. Some are normal-ish, like a lighter which adds burning to your weapon. Others are more outlandish, like a bicycle pump that makes any bullets or blast radius bigger.  One thing I really enjoy about DD:R is that, unlike most survivors-likes, in each level you have a goal rather than a time limit.  While roaming the environment killing zombies to level up and searching for loot, you also need to collect fuel, and can't progress to the next level until you have enough. There are also challenge levels, such as trying to clear road blocks while fending off zombies, and of course boss levels. Unfortunately, the bosses have huge hit points while constantly spawning other zombies, which makes them feel grindy rather than unbeatable or interesting. In between each run you have opportunities to purchase perma-upgrades and engage in crafting and you can also eventually earn enough to unlock new weapons and other items. This is the one area I think the game does fall down a little; there are tons to unlock - 50+ survivors, 50+ abilities, 60+ objects... but they take a long time to unlock and in the meantime there are only 10 zombie types, which makes the game feel a little grindy and repetitive. 

Verdict

I thoroughly enjoyed Deadly Days: Roadtrip, I only wish that there was a little more diversity; more zombies, only some of which appear in each level so they don't feel quite so samey, and faster unlocks for more variety faster. Other than that, the core concept is awesome, it's a really fun shooter. 

Links: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3026450/Deadly_Days_Roadtrip/