Best Characters in The Walking Dead: Destinies

It hasn’t exactly been the best homecoming for GameMill Entertainment’s The Walking Dead: Destinies, what with it being in receipt of some pretty underwhelming critiques and a web of technical faults. Having said that, the love letter to AMC’s cult series clearly has the potential to become something much greater—a reality that, with any luck, it will look to secure at some point in the foreseeable future. But as it currently stands, there’s a lot to learn from, and not to mention an enormous amount of elbow grease to apply to the half-baked infrastructure that is Destinies. Can we say the same about the characters? Perhaps. But more on that shortly.

The good news is, fans of the series are sure to find something to love in the latest choice-based survival IP — particularly when it comes to its characters and their emulated traits. The question is, which of them being their best selves to the video game adaptation, and which of them are actually worth spending time with? Well, if you have just secured a copy of The Walking Dead: Destinies, then here’s what you should know about its top-shelf survivors and the components each of them bring to the table.

5. Rick Grimes

The poster child of the series, Rick Grimes, is arguably one of the most sought-after survivors in Destinies — and understandably so. As the first character to take to the center stage, the loyal deputy has the power to not only right a few wrongs in the opening chapters, but also alter the course of the first four series and shape its overachieving narrative, too. Suffice to say, Rick is a character you’ll want to keep close to the chest, if not as nostalgia fodder, then as a beacon of hope in an evidently trying time.

Of course, Rick’s legendary prowess is undisputed, and a real boon to anyone who employs him into their fold. In addition to his advanced skills in melee combat, the faithful officer also delivers fatal blows in ranged situations, too. Is he the best character in The Walking Dead: Destinies? No. That said, he’s definitely a league or two above the likes of Lori, which is another story altogether.

4. T-Dog

I think I speak for everyone when I say this: T-Dog was robbed in AMC’s The Walking Dead, both of screen time and a drawn-out character arc. Fortunately for those who’ve felt robbed of the character themselves, Destinies grants them the power to claim redemption for the survivor, and even the permission to escalate his career to the point of being the all-seeing leader of the Woodbury troupe. About time, too.

Aside from the secondary survivor being one of the most faithful characters in The Walking Dead: Destinies, T-Dog also has some of the best melee-focused abilities — and even a ludicrously powerful sledgehammer to boot. And so, for what it’s worth, we think ‘ol Theodore deserves a spot on this particular roster; AMC clearly thought otherwise. We still haven’t forgiven them for that.

3. Michonne

There isn’t a character who’s more emotionally finessed and as determined as the katana-wielding Michonne. It’s a shame, really, that the natural-born survivor doesn’t have the opportunity to explore some of the latter plots that escalate in the fifth season. Nevertheless, Michonne still plays a crucial role in the first four seasons of the series, and thus, proves herself as a real contender in the Destinies roster.

Of course, when it comes to applying force to a combat encounter, Michonne avails like no other, and it’s mostly down to the fact that, where another survivor may favor a knife or a machete, the lock-and-cloak killer brings the full strength of a full-blown katana. To put it bluntly, there’s only one Michonne — and we’re all for casting her as our go-to survivor in most, if not every episode, regardless of how colossal the goal is.

2. Shane

Sure, he might’ve been responsible for several communal disasters and deaths. And yes, he also might’ve been partly responsible for spoiling an otherwise relatively healthy post-apocalyptic marriage, but when all’s said and done, Shane wasn’t all that bad, to begin with. On the contrary, Shane was way ahead of the times, and not to mention one of the only characters to have a survivalist mentality.

Shane’s traits in The Walking Dead: Destinies aren’t all that different from those featured in the AMC counterpart: abrasive, irrational, and above all, lionhearted. That’s quite the web of nodes, for sure, and yet, when meshed together, they actually go on to produce a pretty solid candidate—a survivor who, while slightly less likable than the vast majority of alternatives, is essential for any given team.

1. Daryl Dixon

Let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room here: Daryl Dixon is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most approachable character in The Walking Dead, period. Armed to the teeth with his signature crossbow and furrowed brow, the cloak-and-dagger hunter brings the best of brute strength and power to an otherwise mediocre roster — and does so with style and grace.

What’s good about Daryl, really, is that he cannot die, no matter which choices you make along the way. In fact, he’s one of two protagonists who makes it through the ringer and out on the other side thrice as strong as before, which means, you can’t really go wrong with Dixon. To put it simply, he’s durable in combat situations, and a bit of a know-it-all when it comes to hunting — two essential traits that anyone in a post-apocalyptic world must have in order to survive. For these reasons alone, we’re inclined to give Daryl the top spot on the list.

So, what’s your take? Have you managed to find the perfect survivor in The Walking Dead: Destinies yet? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.