YMMV / Dead State

• Complacent Gaming Syndrome: On any replay, any player will time and again go on their first expedition to the Truck Stop and recruit Mark, Michiru and Ryan, and then on the next day go to any of the spots that can hold the Japanese-English Dictionary for later use (when there can be more urgent needs). That's because Mark is one of the best cooks in the game, Michiru is the best doctor and the sooner the lengthy job of her learning basic English is started, the more useful she will be in the long run.
• Diagnosed by the Audience: We never learn exactly what Jennifer Strong's problem is, but given the symptoms, she's near-textbook example of schizophrenia. And she needs anti-psychotics badly to function properly. Of course suddenly going cold turkey with them can cause psychotic behavior much worse than being untreated at all.
• Disappointing Last Level: A persistent explorer will clear the entire world map weeks before the end of the game, leaving nothing to do but sit around and watch survivors get angry because you ran out of chocolates and deodorant to give them. The ending which is arguably the "best" also has a requirement that you have 40 spare fuel sitting around, and if you don't it is possible to get to the end phase of the game just to realize that you have literally no way of winning the game. The giant, epic last fight of this ending helps make up for it though.
• Fan Nickname: Gallagher for Anita Cass due to her perk with hammers and the animation of hammers making it look like she's smashing the "melons" of the zombies.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Dead State's Take That! regarding Rick Perry's Day of Prayer and Texas' record breaking drought becomes a lot less funny after finding out Texas' drought ended with record breaking rain fall and flooding in 2015, drowning at least four people.
• Heartwarming Moments: You forgiving The Flight Attendant for inadvertently causing the plane crash and you falling into a coma.
• Jerkass Woobie: Pretty common considering the setting. Max Getz, who's Ax-Crazy and impersonal, stands out in particular. He had to slaughter his way through the zombified bodies of his students, co-workers, and his wife. He wants to die while taking out as many of the zombies with him.
• Moment of Awesome:
  • In the early build of the game, with no leveling system, managing to clear out the heavily armed home of looters with shotguns.
  • Clearing out the hotel in Abilene Outskirts. The mercs are well-equipped, both with armor and weapons and they don't go down easily. They can chew through your entire roster with ease. Get enough gear to tip the odds or even them, and it's still a hard fight. But once you take them all out... the location is also a goldmine for supplies and equipment.
• The Scrappy: Clifford, Grant, and Effrem are considered this. Effrem because Everything Is Racist, N-Word Privileges and Hair-Trigger Temper quickly gets annoying. Clifford because he's incredibly creepy, has anti-social tendencies, and attempts to rape the female survivor. And Grant because he will kill those he considers "dead weight" around the shelter. He will go after Jennifer, Lane and Mia at certain dates if you do not choose to intervene, which will also tank the trust with Vic, as he loses respect for you when others get accused of the crime. Note that the Rich Bitch, Jerkass former meth dealer, the racist former militia member, and the Murderous Yandere aren't even close to these guys. That's how bad they are.
• Spiritual Successor: It was developed and written by some of the people who worked on Fallout, Arcanum and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, and has been all but explicitly declared to be a successor to the first two in terms of dialogue and gameplay style, albeit with zombies.

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