But I’m pessimistic that the new content can make up for the existing diminishing gameplay satisfaction, and even more pessimistic that it will be able to tie a neat bow on such a messy storyline. There will supposedly be a narrative conclusion that launches with the full release of the game when Death presumably, finally, gets PTO following a reveal about who is causing disturbances and turmoil at Death Inc. The beautiful world and tight combat were captivating at the beginning - but the more I gleaned about the story and the world, the less I wanted to keep playing. In Have a Nice Death, however, further discovery only lessened my appreciation for the game. The development of the protagonist’s (and player’s) skill set, alongside the gradual incline in the character’s story arc, is key. What often brings me back to a good roguelike, failed run after failed run, is a careful blend of mechanical improvement and narrative progression. I ended up actively avoiding the branching paths that would bring me to these bosses. I shook my head in disappointed shock when I encountered the Sorrow Christina Imamura, an orientalist geisha standing in for natural disasters, and the disbelief transformed to rage when the animation of a nuclear bomb played after the battle. Hung (a noose) or the Sorrow Maxxx (a personification for addiction with a syringe sticking out of its back). The macabre humor is initially charming but soon sours upon meeting minibosses like W. Image: Magic Design Studios/Gearbox Publishing But in its current state, Have a Nice Death doesn’t strike that balance. There’s a version of this game where Death recognizes his, and his company’s, exploitative practices, and thus, the tongue-in-cheek jokes scattered throughout land harder, as he comes to grips with the pain and stress he has caused. But in his role, as an overseer and exploiter of laborers, it’s hard to wish him well as he yells at his employees. And in some ways, he is - he’s grumpy but charming. In its focus on Death, without any interrogation of his role at Death Inc., Have a Nice Death, wittingly or not, frames the CEO as a sympathetic figure. Instead of building sympathy for labor by playing as an intern in the dungeons of failed startups, or as the son and housecleaner for the god of the underworld, you play as the management. Have a Nice Death’s beautiful world and tight combat were captivating at the beginning - but the more I gleaned about the story and the world, the less I wanted to keep playingīut where Have a Nice Death differs from these other workplace roguelikes is also where it suffers. The levels can get tiresome, with each biome having an average of only three or four main enemy types, but the enticingly designed main boss battles remain challenging over each run. There are currently seven worlds (with one more planned for the game’s full 1.0 release on March 22), each with its own boss, called a Sorrow, including Waldo, a Big Boy-faced killer spider of the Toxic-Food Processing Dept., and Major Warren Pliskhan, an overzealous war general and head of the Modern Warfare Dept., among others. Weapons are easy to unlock and the available storage slot in your inventory makes switching combat styles in the middle of a run easier - the act of building momentum in early runs is satisfying, rewarding, and exciting. I enjoyed mixing a ranged curse with a hard-hitting melee weapon. Death’s cloak can morph into additional weapons, like a gigantic hammer or a cloud of poison. Combat is slick and responsive, not unlike Dead Cells (whose lead designer “worked closely” with Magic Design), but feels more like a hack-and-slash. The fighting mechanics glow neon as curses and slashes and projectiles paint across the dull gray landscape. Roguelike Have a Nice Death starts strong - but does it have a long game?
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