Day of the Shell

About

Day of the Shell is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Duper Games and was released on July 29, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Day of the Shell is a fast-paced tactical roguelite where each turn is completed with a single click, blending simplicity with strategic depth. Players explore monster-infested islands, collecting treasures and powers to challenge the gods' wrath and destroy the mysterious Shell. Death resets progress but allows permanent upgrades and new strategies.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 182 reviews

gameplay33 positive mentions

grinding11 negative mentions

The game features a clever 'one click, one turn' mechanic that makes gameplay intuitive and engaging.
The art style and music are charming, creating a pleasant atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
The game offers a satisfying progression system with various upgrades and synergies that keep players coming back for more.

The game suffers from a lack of content variety, with only a few weapons, enemies, and maps, leading to repetitive gameplay.
Meta progression feels slow and uninspired, often resulting in minimal impact on gameplay and strategy.
Balancing issues exist, as players frequently experience frustrating moments where low percentage chances result in unexpected hits or misses.

gameplay
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
48%
4%
The gameplay has been praised for its engaging core loop and intuitive mechanics, blending turn-based tactics with roguelike elements, making it easy to pick up and play. However, many reviewers noted a lack of variety in weapons, enemies, and biomes, leading to repetitiveness after a few hours. While the game offers a solid foundation and enjoyable mechanics, it requires more content and balance adjustments to enhance its long-term appeal.
- “The gameplay loop is fun, it's simple enough in terms of gameplay while having complex and fun build systems (think the way Hades boons build off each other throughout the run and you're not far off).”
- “It's a rogue-lite with exceptional, satisfying gameplay and strategy, few - almost no - bugs that I've found and interesting ideas for build types and even synergies.”
- “The gameplay is captivating and fun, and it also makes my brain tingle nicely whenever you engage with it.”
- “It needs more mechanics, more enemy variety, more biomes; it needs more of everything to make it really worthwhile.”
- “The core gameplay loop can be mastered pretty quickly, so the lack of run variety becomes apparent 20-30 hours in.”
- “Cover mechanics are unpolished, weapons lack variety (the pistol outshines all), and replay value is near zero after six hours.”
graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
32%
12%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their beautiful art style, which is described as clean, colorful, and fitting for a post-apocalyptic atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the high-quality visuals and animations, noting that they enhance the overall gameplay experience and contribute to the game's distinct personality. Overall, the graphics are considered a standout feature, complementing the engaging mechanics and aesthetic appeal of the game.
- “The art style and graphics are beautiful!”
- “The aesthetics, from the visuals to the music and sound design, are top tier.”
- “This is an instance where the quality of the graphics matches the quality of the game.”
- “The visuals are right up my alley and everything else is also well done (animations, sounds, menus, ... ).”
- “There’s a distinct personality to the visuals that elevates the experience far beyond 'just another indie.'”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
17%
25%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its ability to enhance the gameplay experience by providing a calming atmosphere or matching the action's intensity, while others find it serviceable but lacking originality. Overall, many players appreciate the high quality of the soundtrack and its contribution to the game's aesthetics, though some feel it could benefit from more complexity and inspiration.
- “The soundtrack sets the perfect rhythm for this type of game: calm when you need to think, punchy when the action heats up.”
- “The aesthetics, from the visuals to the music and sound design, are top tier.”
- “Awesome game, music and visuals are super high quality, and gameplay is fun and challenging!”
- “The art and music are serviceable but not particularly inspired, which is a huge problem because originality in the art, writing, or music are usually how games of this scale try to compensate for small budgets.”
- “The art and music are serviceable but not particularly inspired, which is a huge problem because originality in the art, writing, or music are usually how games of this scale try to compensate for small budgets.”
- “I am giving 'Day of the Shell' a thumbs up because the concept design and music have passed, now we just need a little more complexity.”
grinding
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and repetitive, with significant player power gated behind extensive grinding for upgrades. Many reviews highlight that the grind can lead to overwhelming and monotonous gameplay, particularly during boss fights and enemy encounters. Overall, the game's progression feels unnecessarily difficult and time-consuming, detracting from the overall experience.
- “Sufficient player power to complete a run is gated behind grinding out permanent upgrades.”
- “The game is really grindy, and the levels (environment and enemy setups) are extremely repetitive.”
- “Point being: worth a shot, hope the devs wildly streamline the unnecessary difficulty at the start due to the best upgrades taking a lot of grinding.”
replayability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
Overall, the game suffers from a significant lack of replayability, with many players expressing disappointment in the limited content and variety after initial playthroughs. While the core gameplay loop is enjoyable, the unpolished mechanics and lack of diverse weapons contribute to a near-zero replay value, leaving players hoping for future DLC or content updates to enhance longevity.
- “A DLC or big content patch could add a much longer replayability lifecycle.”
- “Some suggestions that would add more replayability:”
- “Honest review, it's a really fun roguelite, but it's sort of hard to justify long-term replayability.”
- “Cover mechanics are unpolished, weapons lack variety (pistol outshines all), and replay value is near zero after six hours.”
- “But my disappointment is immeasurable, now that I've gotten a taste of what I would have been surely ready to call my favorite new rogue game of the last five years, if only there was replay value.”
- “Overall, while it's a fun concept, it's missing too much content/replayability to recommend it.”
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The story in the game is criticized for being simplistic and lacking depth, with many reviewers noting it feels lazy and fails to evolve as players progress. While the gameplay offers satisfying mechanics, the narrative does not provide the engaging experience found in more polished titles like Hades, leaving it feeling repetitive and underdeveloped. Overall, the story is considered mediocre and does not significantly enhance the gameplay experience.
- “You won't find the story of Hades in this game, but it will still bring that satisfying feeling when you one-hit an enemy tank.”
- “It's really just a grind; the story and writing are as lazy as possible.”
- “The game does suffer from not having as much content; while you can grind for better starting bonuses, the story doesn't change.”
- “This game could greatly benefit from a story that actually builds as you clear runs.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been criticized for its lack of polish and numerous bugs, with players reporting random freezes during gameplay and specific issues with certain mechanics. While some users noted that the frequency of these problems was relatively low, the overall impression is that stability remains a significant concern.
- “This game is not good, not polished, and sometimes buggy.”
- “This is the most buggy game I have played in a very long time, and I have played a lot of games.”
- “Game freezes randomly in the middle of a run (only 2 times in 3 hours, not bad).”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its visually appealing art style and graphics, which effectively convey a post-apocalyptic setting. Players appreciate the combination of engaging gameplay and immersive sound design that enhances the overall experience.
- “Efficient gameplay and a great atmosphere!”
- “I love the atmosphere of the game.”
- “The design is easy to look at while also giving a very post-apocalyptic atmosphere.”
- “Sound and atmosphere.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Overall, the game's optimization is generally strong, with smooth performance and quick load times reported about 95% of the time. However, some users have noted the presence of bugs that may occasionally disrupt gameplay.
- “Bugs: this game runs smoothly about 95% of the time.”
- “Performance was smooth with quick load times, and the pistol’s extra hearts added a neat tactical twist.”
- “Is this performance art?”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the amusing interactions between enemies, who frequently eliminate each other by accident, adding a layer of comedic chaos. This lightheartedness, combined with the motivation to explore various weapons and perks, enhances the overall enjoyment of the gameplay.
- “Enemies are very funny since they often kill each other by accident, and the different successes unlocked kept me going and trying all weapons and perks available.”
- “The humor in the dialogue is top-notch, making even the most intense moments feel light-hearted and enjoyable.”
- “I couldn't stop laughing at the quirky character interactions and the absurd situations they found themselves in.”