The upcoming Extraction game "The Midnight Walkers", which is slated for Steam Early Access launch on November 21 is participating in the Steam Next Fest 2025. Anyone interested in the game can install the demo on Steam and check out the trial build until the 20th.

This game, which is being developed by Oneway Ticket Studio, is a vertical PvPvE extraction game set in a skyscraper called the Liberty Grand Center. The building, which consists of multiple floors, is filled with survivors and various zombies who are lost and wandering around. Players must eliminate other survivors and zombies, collect the loot they've gathered, and safely escape.

The fundamental rules themselves are not very different from the many recently released extraction genres. Then, what makes "The Midnight Walkers" special? We decided to take a look through this Steam Next Fest version demo.

▲ Ah what a surprise!

Abandoned Buildings and Echoing Footsteps... The Atmosphere Is Spot On!

First of all, the most noticeable first impression would probably be the unique setting where it's hard to see even an inch ahead without a flashlight. Moreover, since all situations occur in a closed high-rise building, the echoing footsteps in the empty space also come across as quite terrifying. Additionally, the gradually but surely approaching zombies towards the survivors further reinforces the overall atmosphere of the game.

The multi-story structure of the system is also an interesting point. The "Liberty Grand Center" is a huge complex building that would have attracted a lot of people before the zombie apocalypse. It seems to have had a hospital, a casino, a hotel, and even a shopping mall and a botanical garden.

▲ Be careful since we don't know what's happening outside the elevator

Each floor has a concept based on the original use of the building (?). For example, the basement is a parking lot, and the upper floors have luxury facilities such as hotels and casinos. Each floor shares a theme, and the resources and surroundings you can expect vary greatly accordingly. The botanical garden floor, for example, is so overgrown with foliage that it's hard to see ahead.

Players can freely move between floors using stairs and elevators. Being on the second floor doesn't mean you can only move up or down one floor at a time, you can take the elevator straight up to the highest floor you can currently reach. It's also worth noting that the staircases (like in most Survival games) are not blocked in the middle, making it very easy to move between floors.

 ▲ The size of a single floor is quite large, and it's not easy to explore recklessly because zombies are lurking around.

Of course, the map is too large to explore the entire "Liberty Grand Center" in one game. If that happens, the extraction game with up to 12 players could become loose. "The Midnight Walkers" divides the floors that players enter into two stages depending on the time of the match. One section from the B1 floor to the 7th floor, and another section from the 8th floor to the 15th floor.

In this way, The Midnight Walkers differentiates itself from the many recently released extraction genres with its rather trustworthy (?) horror atmosphere and vertically structured map. The various survivors and their special abilities add depth to the gameplay.

The Service Was Delicious, and the Cocktails Were Very Attentive
A Charming Twist on Survival, Where Cocktails Pack More Punch Than Zombies.

In "The Midnight Walkers", each survivor is not just different in appearance. Each has special abilities, and players can choose abilities to suit their taste. It's a bit of a stretch, but the differences are so pronounced it's reminiscent of a hyper FPS based on operators.

In the demo Build, you can play as 'Brick', 'Crow', 'Lockdown', and 'Bartender' depending on the difficulty level set by the developers. The easiest and most intuitive Brick is equipped with more health and a powerful large hammer than others, Crow uses agile Weapons and can apply poison to their Weapon or use smoke bombs. Lockdown is equipped with a bow and arrows from the start, and finally, Bartender can instantly create drinks that help in combat.

 Each Character has different Weapons and Equipment they can equip, and they each have Active and Passive Skills that suit their unique traits. Even if you're playing the same Character, you can customize them to suit your playstyle by combining different Skills.

For example, you can remove Crow's Smoke Skill and add Dash to increase mobility, or use a passive that deals additional Damage to poisoned enemies to focus on the poison meta.

▲ How would you like to taste a cocktail?

The survivor who was the freshest and most fun here was definitely the 'Bartender'. If you put 'Drink Making' in the Active Skill slot, you can apply various effects depending on the drink you make.

The Bartender Character screen has a 'Unique Skill' tab that you won't find on other Characters. This is where you choose the Recipe of the drink you want to take, and how much of the ingredients you want to take to make it. The ingredients are divided into three categories, and you can take up to the maximum cost of each category. Each Recipe requires a different number of ingredients.

▲ Combine various Active and Passive Skills to build your own build.

Once you enter the game, the bartender starts shaking by pressing the Drink making (E key for default). By pressing the keyboard arrow keys in order according to each Beverage Recipe, you can create a mixture with specific effects. The mixture can be a Buff that restores the drinker's health or increases their attack speed, or it can be a poison that inflicts unavoidable DOT damage to the enemy.

Due to this mechanism, the difficulty of manipulation is very high compared to other Characters, but it was quite an enjoyable experience to see them making cocktails even in tense moments. In the early stages, it wasn't easy to obtain recovery potions unless you were on the hospital floor, so the ability to make recovery potions yourself is quite useful. Since they are primarily designed to provide Buffs to allies, they have great potential to shine in squad play.

▲ The fun of The Midnight Walkers is in the CQC.

Not a Battle Royale, but Just as Terrifying as One

The Midnight Walkers is an extraction game. If you manage to gather enough loot to fill your bag, you must escape to safely store it in the warehouse. If you die to a zombie or another survivor before that, you won't be able to take anything with you.

Escape Pods, the game's escape mechanism, are scattered across all the floors the player can reach. However, in the beginning, it's nearly impossible to spot an open Escape Pod, and they open sequentially over time. Each survivor is given a machine that can detect open Escape Pods, and the detector will sound an alarm when you get close to them.

Each Escape Pod can only be used by one person. This means that if someone has used a Pod, you cannot escape from that location, and when playing in a squad, you must secure as many Pods as there are squad members. If you don't want to ride a randomly opened Escape Pod right away, or if you want to leave a Pod for your teammates, you can extract the code and forcibly open another closed Pod.

▲ Thank you for kindly leaving the Ford open, goodbye!

Some survivors may want to hide safely until they can escape, but the game doesn't make it easy. After a certain amount of play time, toxic gas starts to spray on random floors. As a result, floors begin to close one by one in turn, meaning the last floor will also close if you wait until the end. If you don't escape somehow before that, you have no choice but to die from the toxic gas.

The closure of the floor soon causes survivors to be crowded into a specific floor, and those who want to escape at the last minute are inevitably forced to fight the final battle with the Escape Pod. It's not a battle royale, but it inevitably becomes a battle royale situation. Depending on the player's inclination, they can hunt for prey until the end to gain a big reward, or they can escape in advance without taking risks.

Of course, the Escape Pod isn't the only thing that brings survivors together. The various vendors in the Main Lobby also offer colorful quests that fit the Extraction genre. In order to complete various quests, such as bringing items from the hotel room they stayed in or bringing specific items, you are likely to encounter survivors who are also doing the same quests. Also, you should know that physical strength is basically necessary to win in combat.

▲ Demo build with deep gameplay, including crafting stations and quests from various vendors

Setting Enthusiasts, Take Note! Detailed World-Building Adds Depth and Anticipation

The fact that meticulous details make the world more solid is true not only for games but also for any entertainment. In some games, the presence or absence of details can determine the completeness of the game, to the extent that they are scattered throughout the game to allow players to explore the world on their own.

Another thing that impressed me about "The Midnight Walkers" was the meticulous attention to detail. If you carefully examine the development diary that is periodically released, you can see why the game is set in a building called "Liberty Grand Center", why the zombies wandering around the building ended up in that fate, and what considerations were taken into account when designing the weapons used by the protagonists.

▲ Junk Sledgehammer made from a piece of railroad track

For example, the developers designed the 'Junk Sledgehammer' and expected what role this weapon would play in the game. They also introduce in detail what materials and processes the characters in this world can use to complete the weapon. Not only that, they also mentioned about how the Katana and Bolt Action Rifle were distributed and found in this building.

Of course, it's information that's hard to find if you don't look for it, and it's not really related to the actual gameplay, but if you think about the meticulous design process that goes into making a game, you'll be more excited about the end result.

▲ In addition, it was impressive that the distribution process of firearms was meticulously planned.

Early Access Set to Launch on November 21

With its creepy building with a different atmosphere on each floor, its quirky survivors (the bartender is hilarious), and its solid core mechanics, gamers who have played the demo released at this year's Steam Next Fest will be eagerly anticipating the Early Access version, which will be released on November 21.

Even with this trial version, there are many things to enjoy in depth. If you successfully escape with the resources, you can use the crafting bench to make stronger Weapons, and you can also challenge more difficult matches depending on the score of your worn Equipment. If you have gathered enough Resources, you can join the Market to purchase the Weapon you want, sell the remaining Equipment, and optimize your gear.

As much as I'm looking forward to the future, there were some regrets like, "I wish there were more of these." Although they plan to add more in the future, I couldn't shake the feeling that the special zombies were a bit cliché. Also, while they made the unconventional decision to include cigarettes as a health recovery Item, it was puzzling that they didn't allow smoking while walking (so-called "street vaping"). In such a tense situation, wouldn't it be more unusual to light up a cigarette in a standing position?

▲ Even zombies don't allow smoking on the street, so let's smoke quietly on the stairs.

Of course, I did experience some optimization issues, such as the building object not loading properly right after getting off the elevator or a ping spike at a crucial moment, but since the purpose of the trial version is to check these things in advance, I try not to be too disappointed. I look forward to seeing more improvements during the remaining development period.

Even gamers who don't prefer zombie-themed games should take advantage of this Steam Next Fest period to experience the Bartender at least once. Watching your opponent fall to the ground after being hit by a poison you brewed is much more fun than you might think.

I hope that "The Midnight Walkers" will be a fun extraction game that is scary but also has its own humor.

▲ Elements You Can Encounter in the Steam Next Fest Build

▲ Various updates are also scheduled for this year

This article was translated from the original that appeared on INVEN.