The Walking Dead: World Beyond slammed for ‘lack of gore, urgency and fresh ideas’

THE Walking Dead: World Beyond has struggled to win over critics ahead of its official release.

The spin-off series promised a different take on the zombie apocalypse, following a group of teens as they navigate the new world as a coming-of-age story.

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However, based on the commentary so far it seems the show has failed to deliver the action and fear factor that the franchise is famed for.

A critic from CNet wrote: "There's at least one deliciously dark image in each of the first two episodes shared by AMC, which is surely what zombie fans crave. But the action is otherwise reined in from the irresistibly inventive and notoriously nasty goriness of the main show and previous spin-off Fear The Walking Dead."

TV Line echoed the sentiment, writing: "Those of us who tune in to the other two shows in the franchise have already been here, seen this — and we’ve seen it done with greater artfulness, efficacy and urgency. Adding this third series to the rotation, even temporarily, feels more than a little bit like beating an undead horse."

While Digital Spy complained: "Sure, this show is basically the YA equivalent of The Walking Dead and should therefore appeal to younger fans. Still, did we really need to see some tacky CGI fireflies flit around a walker while the kids play board games in their treehouse?

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"World Beyond was never going to be a gore-fest like its older counterparts, but we could have forgiven the pilot's tame approach to horror if it had something new to say."

It's not all doom and gloom though - the community at the heart of World Beyond is set to feature prominently in the upcoming Rick Grimes movies, which no doubt will bring the stunts, CGI and copious amounts of gore fans have come to expect.

Given that the main franchise is officially coming to an end the pressure for the spin-off series to deliver is greater than ever, so no doubt audiences will be hoping that World Beyond can turn things around.

Earlier this month AMC revealed that the popular show would end with a supersized 24-episode series to be aired over the span of the next two years - with 12 in 2021, and the rest in 2022.

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Fortunately the broadcaster also confirmed that the saga will continue in the form of two new shows, one of which will focus on the characters Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride), both long-serving characters beloved by fans.

The Walking Dead's season 10 finale will air as a special episode on Monday, October 5 on FOX in the UK and previous episodes are available to stream on NOW TV.

In the US, the season 10 finale will air on Sunday, October 4 at 9pm on AMC.

Fear the Walking Dead will return later this year on AMC in the US and on AMC UK in the UK.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond will premiere on Friday, October 2 on AMC in the US and Amazon Prime Video in the UK.