The Dead Await: Prologue (2023) key art
Key art © indie.io / the developer, from the game's Steam page
Game2023Published by indie.io

The Dead Await: Prologue

IndieRPG

Developer Shotx

Get ready to experience the thrills and chills of The Dead Await: Prologue, a free and fully functional demo! Build your deck and try to survive in this deck-building survival RPG set during a zombie apocalypse. From the Steam store page

27 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest May 26, 2026 · last updated Oct 7, 2026 · How this works

Audience score

83
LovedLoved

20 positive · 4 negative
95% range 64–93%

Source+−=
Steam reviews2040
Bluesky *000
Mastodon *000

* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).

3 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.

Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
48 of 63 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)

What people are saying

Mostly positive reception for a free prologue with unique genre blend.

Players praise the game's unique mix of tactical card combat, survival mechanics, and exploration, calling it a promising prologue. Many appreciate the free achievement and short playtime, with some noting the art style and concept are cool. [3][7][13]

Critics complain the prologue is too brief and feels like an ad for the full game, with some calling it store pollution. Others report bugs like crashes and dislike the art style or boring gameplay. [18][22][23][24]

Praised genre fusion · free achievement · art style
Criticised short content · bugs · misleading marketing

Summary drafted by an AI model from the 24 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 7, 2026. Method

Reactions

27 of 27 · most liked first
  • Steam user Steam user …0221Steam reviews · Jul 19, 2023

    +++ easy, fast & free 100 % Steam Achievement + nice Idea/ Concept - No F12 Screenshot Good Prologue to test if the Gameplay makes Fun & for Achievement Hunters too

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Duck AI Slop!! @duckaislop.bsky.socialBluesky · May 26, 2026

    The Dead Await Shotx. Steam disclosure -y

    unlabelledView post →
  • Hardcase - The Indie Bloodhound @hardcase72.bsky.socialBluesky · Feb 27, 2025

    Two are the things I like the most: turn-based games and zombie games, so when you find by chance a game like THE DEAD AWAIT, you feel like the luckiest guy in the world 😉. TDA is a promising deck-building RPG set during a zombie apocalypse. Now on sale! shorturl.at/uGJFl #indiegames #turnbased

    unlabelledView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8176Steam reviews · May 8, 2023 · 6 h played

    Never played a game like this before, and I finished this short prologue, so that's saying something. It kept me interested long enough, for sure. The writing is acceptable. On the negative side, random encounters can "surround" you while traveling on the map, giving you no real options for escape; and some of the encounters can become very challenging, especially when you have to face them one after the other. Some option to make such encounters easier would be appreciated by some of the…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8217Steam reviews · Jul 19, 2023

    Promise Deh Billy to wishlish The Dead Await, don't break your promise <3

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3332Steam reviews · May 3, 2023 · 1 h played

    Very interesting synthesis of genres. You have tactical card battler turn based combat, world map exploration evoking Fallout 1,2 and wasteland vibes, survival mechanics like you need fuel, water, food. Tons of regular skills and perks, combined with deck cards. Towns with quests and from what I understood from the camping scene unlockable companions. There is a lot more stuff going on mechanically than I first expected. It gave me this cool feeling of not knowing what to expect, I felt like…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …8472Steam reviews · Jul 20, 2025

    ---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☑ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☑ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☑ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4205Steam reviews · Jun 21, 2023

    Pretty Decent, I look forward to seeing the progress they make towards a full release.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0242Steam reviews · May 17, 2023

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …5198Steam reviews · Dec 29, 2024

    The art style and general concept feel really cool. However, I came to this game for the easy achievement, and that's what I got. Might check out the full game at some point in the future but who knows.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1357Steam reviews · Nov 7, 2024 · 1 h played

    A nice little glimpse into what The Dead Await game has to offer! I love the whole aesthetic and art direction that was taken! Of course I made that promise to Deh Billy! I see that the full game has recently been released too, I will absolutely be playing it soon! If you like this demo, then I strongly recommend checking out the full game too!

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …2073Steam reviews · Sep 14, 2024

    I am a self proclaimed "The Prologue Guy" and i approve of this half baked. ( ദ്ദി ˙ᗜ˙ )

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …6066Steam reviews · Jun 24, 2024

    Short introduction to the game and gameplay. Interesting design and nice visuals.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …7247Steam reviews · Mar 24, 2024 · 2 h played

    I really loved the mix of genres and mechanics this game gives us. We have rpg with the character evolution, cards to fight and a board to move around the world, loot, talk, etc. The story looks interesting to me too, and i will buy the game as soon as possible. Highly recommended. Greetings.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9379Steam reviews · Feb 13, 2024

    Looking forward to the Full game. Didnt want to spoil too much after the achievement. +1 Achievement Hunters +1 Deck Builders

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1249Steam reviews · Feb 2, 2024 · 3 h played

    Hits a lot of the right things. Not too difficult either. Has massive potential to be brilliant too... FIngers crossed and send annoying emails to the Devs to hurry the Eff up! :p

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1410Steam reviews · Dec 17, 2023 · 1 h played

    THIS GAME MAKES ME ANGRY. To sum up, the game is a fusion of different game ideas. it has the card game of slay the spire, with the zombie apocalipse of the walking deads and the graphig appereance of darkest doungeon. From this demo, the gameplay looks very boring to me. The characters have nothing intresting to me and i really hate the drawing style. One of the worst parts is the introduction cinematic, that has stop photos that shakes on screen making you very hard to look at them. not only…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0983Steam reviews · Nov 5, 2023

    Crashed when I organized my cards' pool the first time.

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9892Steam reviews · Jul 23, 2023 · 3 h played

    A GREAT GAME KEPT ME BUSY FOR HOURS.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …9915Steam reviews · Jun 24, 2023 · 1 h played

    Fun game! Will be interesting to see what the final game will look like!

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …3706Steam reviews · Jun 13, 2023

    Cant wait to play the full game!

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …4015Steam reviews · Mar 10, 2026 · 4 h played

    "The Dead Await: Prologue" is isn't a game at all, it's just an ad for The Dead Await. Talk about store pollution... Misleading marketing like this is an abuse of the Steam storefront and the "free" category. The product this is advertising, The Dead Await is something that looks like it was made as a browser/mobile game but got published on Steam by shovelware pushers at indieio (they got hundreds of these shovelware games), a CCG zombie survival... thing... but that's not really relevant,…

    negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1272Steam reviews · Jan 23, 2026

    Positive: Free to play and instantly accessible — no purchase needed. Blend of deck‑building strategy and survival RPG set in a zombie apocalypse gives a unique demo feel. Includes exploration, caravan progression, crafting, trading and card combat elements for a varied experience. Atmospheric world that mixes survival tension with RPG progression. Negative: As a prologue/demo, content is brief and doesn’t feel like a full game yet. Some systems may feel incomplete or limited in scope. Story…

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0523Steam reviews · Nov 10, 2025 · 1 h played

    i'm just here for the achievement.. and not to break my promise 8/10

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …0097Steam reviews · Apr 21, 2025 · 4 h played

    its one of the best post apocalyptic survival rpgs i ever saw. its realy nice menagement system. maps and missions. it would be better in my opinion to have 1- a huge variety of weapons - items 2- companion with unique skills 3- dungeon like explorable dungeons , places with loot and deadly random creatures inside. Developers u are my hope for future. i would buy your game anyway but if you have these 3 as a cherry on top it would be perfect.

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
  • Gamernews.it @GamerNewsitMastodon · Nov 4, 2024

    #thedeadawait The Dead Await è entrato in Early Access The Dead Await è disponibile su PC https://www.gamernews.it/notizie/2024/11/04/the-dead-await-e-entrato-in-early-access-18419.php

    unlabelledView post →
  • Steam user Steam user …1529Steam reviews · Oct 6, 2024

    REVIEWING EVERY GAME IVE PERFECTED: Literally one achievement that took 5 minutes, nothing to say about this game but will rate it positively for giving me an easy perfect game

    positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →

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