The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Factions - The Reclaimed
The waterlogged and zombie infested world of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is filled with living people. People fighting and struggling to survive even after a year of trying to live in a world where everything is upside down, even the cycle of life and death. In the city of New Orleans most of these people are part of one of two societies. That of the Tower, or that of the Reclaimed. Those lost souls that are left to fend for themselves and are considered doomed to become another member of the hordes of the dead which roam the city streets are called “Exiles”.
The Tower has already been covered here in a previous article. So let’s delve into the product of The Tower’s heavy handedness, and it’s worst enemy, The Reclaimed.
Rebels Without a Cause
The Reclaimed began with the exile of Jean-Baptiste for insubordination. He, being a ruthless person of great will, did not simply perish like so many others. JB, as he is also known, was not one of the weak who were kicked out for not pulling their weight, and not one of the strong who were willing to do anything just to remain in the Tower fold. After his exile he began raiding Tower supply lines and depots. Other exiles began to join him, and as the ranks of what would become known as The Reclaimed grew, Mama of The Tower took notice.
They sent messages, and threatened him to stop or suffer the consequences. Jean-Baptiste refused. So naturally The Tower began to send death squads to hunt him down and kill him. JB outfoxed them time after time, and left their bodies behind. One was someone who used to be a friend of his during his time in The Tower. Trip was his name. While Jean-Baptiste slept, Trip tried to sneak up and cut the rebel’s throat. He was not successful, and after besting Trip JB dragged his still living body to the Southern Bump, a highly trafficked exit from The Tower, and hung him upside down. Trip bled out there, with a note pinned to his chest saying “Keep ‘em coming.”
With that the people of The Tower began to fear Jean-Baptiste, and more exiles who hated The Tower and its ever growing heavy-handedness and totalitarian practices joined him. The more The Tower exiled and killed, the more fled to the ranks of The Reclaimed. Skirmishes erupted all over the city of New Orleans. The Reclaimed ambushed Tower patrols and supply runs, killing many and hanging their bodies upside down just as JB had done to Trip. Mama and Georgia retaliated, but could not destroy the rebels. As Mama secluded herself and Georgia grew to greater leadership, then the reprisals became bloodier and crueler. The Reclaimed answered in kind, leading to the conflict over The Reserve that dominates The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.
The Reclaimed are the opposite of The Tower. While Tower policy focuses on extreme organization and the preservation of authority and order at any cost, The Reclaimed are basically anarchists. They are loosely organized at best, and receive little to no instruction from their de facto leader Jean-Baptiste, except through the form of his philosophical rants broadcast on the radio. While they are fierce they are more insurgents than a society.
The Reclaimed and The Tourist
The Reclaimed are not as hostile to The Tourist as The Tower are. While The Tower hold bases all around New Orleans, and will not shoot unless The Tourist attempts to enter. The Reclaimed can practically be seen as allies for most of the game. Where The Tourist must attack Tower strongholds in order to acquire parts or caches critical to finding The Reserve, often Reclaimed patrols will also attack those same strongholds. Unlike The Tower the Reclaimed never shoot The Tourist simply for occupying the same space as them. Of course they will retaliate if threatened or attacked, but who wouldn’t? It would be foolish to fight The Reclaimed for most of the game, because they pose no threat and do not bar the way to any resources or loot.
The Reclaimed are few in number compared to The Tower, and the results of their attacks can be seen in the upside down corpses dressed in Tower blue. As the game progresses this is seen more and more in buildings that were once Tower strongholds. The Reclaimed slowly reclaim New Orleans, and you help them in that by fighting The Tower. Though in the Aftershocks DLC all bets are off. The Reclaimed fight the player just as The Tower do, as they are just as desperate for the remnants of The Reserve scattered around New Orleans.
Conclusion
According to Jean-Baptiste himself The Reclaimed simply wish to “Live purposeful lives, reclaim the world and our humanity…” That is doubtful from the actions of The Reclaimed throughout the game, and Jean-Baptiste’s own. The Reclaimed live as The Tower do, simply without a single authority to hold them together. They scavenge New Orleans and fight The Tower over supplies. They do not start farms or schools, or reclaim any semblance of society or culture. They are simply rebels driven purely by hatred for the cruelty of The Tower that cast them out. If The Tower collapsed and ceased existing, then The Reclaimed would likely fight each other over resources or drift away into the flooded streets of New Orleans.
JB’s philosophy rings false, especially since his followers do not share it. He states a hatred for Survivalism and a dependence on doing whatever it takes to eke out a bare existence on the scraps of a world destroyed by the undead. It is clear in the actions of his followers that they do not share those views. They fight over The Reserve and, later, the Reserve caches, just as The Tower does. JB himself only lived through stealing Tower supplies. They are survivalists just as much as The Tower are, and the only thing binding them together is not a desire to reclaim or create, but to destroy. Since Jean-Baptiste does not have the control to direct The Reclaimed to a better path, then they will fail in time just as surely as The Tower will.
See our previous article on The Tower for the Stalinist police state that started this rebellion. For more on The Reclaimed, see what Jean-Baptiste has to say for himself on Youtube.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is available on Steam for 39.99$. It is also available on the Oculus Store for 39.99$. This is one of the best Virtual Reality experiences out there right now, with extremely polished survival gameplay and a compelling story. Not to mention an unmatched melee combat system, focusing on piercing the skull of course, because zombies. If you like zombie games then this is one you should not miss. Even if you aren’t a huge zombie culture fan, this is a game that is well worth its price tag for even a single playthrough. There’s even an Arena Survival Mode, and more free updates.