Dead
- April 6, 2018
- Alec Smith
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Dead" is a single-player action game centered around boss fights, featuring 10 spooky bosses and a perfect soundtrack. The game offers tight controls, challenging yet fair gameplay, and the option to customize difficulty in NG+ mode. It strives to provide a rewarding experience by pitting you against formidable foes, pushing you to master their moves and tactics. The game's success lies in its ability to deliver the satisfaction of a hard-fought victory.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a challenging and rewarding gameplay experience, with unique and interesting boss designs that require skill and strategy to defeat.
- The soundtrack and visuals are highly praised, enhancing the overall atmosphere and enjoyment of the game.
- It's considered a hidden gem, offering great replayability and a fair difficulty curve that keeps players engaged.
- Some players find the lack of invincibility frames and inconsistent dodge mechanics frustrating, leading to unfair deaths during boss fights.
- The game can feel tedious at times, with certain bosses having excessive health pools that make battles feel prolonged and grindy.
- Technical issues such as frame rate drops and optimization problems have been reported, detracting from the overall experience.
- gameplay34 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its solid mechanics and unique boss fights, offering a fun and engaging experience despite some criticisms regarding clunky controls and design choices. While the game features a straightforward combat system with dodging and shooting mechanics, players note inconsistencies and challenges that can lead to frustration, particularly for those less skilled. Overall, the gameplay is enjoyable and rewarding, especially for those who appreciate a challenge and the opportunity to master various mechanics.
“The fights are all unique and interesting, the controls feel good, the gameplay is very fun and the music is great.”
“Alongside straightforward gameplay, sublimely themed arenas and backgrounds, and a classic soundtrack, this game is highly enjoyable for me.”
“Amazing game, although a few minor bugs, and a particular boss that lacks a voice, I thoroughly enjoyed this game; it's fair, fun, and challenging, with many fun and unique mechanics.”
“Slightly clunky dodge mechanics, weird layout choices, slightly annoying design choices, inconsistencies with the explosion mechanic, random slowdowns on Steam Deck, lack of i-frames, and either boring or overly tedious fights.”
“Especially when sadistic developers likely get their jollies watching people fail over and over again, and not because they're not doing the right thing, but because the RNG, mixed with the blurred game design and frustrating boss mechanics, literally will take you from a near flawless victory to an instant death.”
“I try not to refund inexpensive games, but this game is so broken on a basic mechanical level.”
- music18 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- 6 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its intensity and ability to enhance the gameplay experience, particularly during boss battles. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as both atmospheric and immersive, with unique themes for each boss that contribute to the overall enjoyment. While some noted that certain tracks could have been better utilized, the sound design is considered a key element that effectively communicates in-game actions and elevates the overall experience.
“Music is intense to match the feeling of the battles.”
“The fights are all unique and interesting, the controls feel good, the gameplay is very fun and the music is great.”
“Pros: music for most of the bosses were atmospheric and fitting, really setting the scene for an intense confrontation; each boss was unique with their own themes, attacks, and designs.”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“Solid soundtrack, solid boss design itself.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are a mix of retro pixel art and modern aesthetics, creating a unique atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience. While some players appreciate the clean visuals and menacing boss designs, others note issues with visual clutter that can obscure gameplay elements. Overall, the art style is praised for its appeal, though it may not be the most graphically advanced, and it can be demanding on system resources.
“The graphics are clean looking, I love how menacing and blighted each boss appears, setting an atmosphere that feels dreary and dilapidated, which fits so well. However, some bosses have visual clutter, particularly Glass Master, where it's difficult to spot attacks due to the overwhelming cyan color scheme.”
“This is an amazing hidden gem, and I hope everyone talks about this game someday. The visuals are stunning, and I love every bit of it!”
“The art style is fantastic, and the game nails its aesthetic perfectly.”
“A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
“There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
“Some bosses have visual clutter, mostly Glass Master, where you can barely spot one of his attacks coming because everything from the background, floor, boss, and attacks are cyan-colored, resulting in a mess.”
- story5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as minimal yet poetic, focusing on themes of renewal and struggle against corrupt forces in a dying world. While some players found it engaging and emotionally impactful, others felt it lacked depth, leading to mixed interest overall. Despite its challenges, many players enjoyed the narrative experience, which contributed to their overall enjoyment of the game.
“Anyway, it was hard, it was fun, it had a great story, it made me rip my hair out, it made my heart beat so fast doctors are now concerned about my new resting heart rate.”
“But so far beating 5 of the story mode bosses, I am absolutely enjoying the game.”
“Hardly a success story; gamers just weren't all that interested in the game.”
“The story is minimal and surprisingly poetic: the world is dying and is begging to be born anew, so it's up to you to kill the corrupt spirits that keep this universe going.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight a significant issue with grinding in the game, describing it as tedious and frustrating due to clunky mechanics and inconsistent design choices. While some players appreciate the challenge and the satisfaction of eventually defeating bosses, many find the experience more boring than rewarding, especially when compared to the more engaging gameplay of the developer's previous title, "Mini Dead." Overall, the grinding aspect detracts from the enjoyment of what could have been a thrilling boss rush experience.
“Difficult is definitely one way the game could be viewed, but I ended up finding it tedious more than anything.”
“This game suuuuuucks if you think it's anything like their fun 'demo' game called Mini Dead. You are so wrong because, unlike Mini Dead where killing bosses is satisfying and fun, in Dead the bosses are boring and grindy. There is nothing more to say about it other than Mini Dead feels like it was made with passion, whereas Dead was made to make money, so do not buy this game if you want to play a fun boss rush game.”
“I'm a huge fan of the boss battles of games, but it cuts out all the boring grinding and brings you straight to the front doorstep of all the boss battles you could ask for.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by clean graphics and a menacing, dilapidated aesthetic that enhances the overall experience, particularly during boss encounters. While the music and unique designs contribute to an immersive environment, some visual clutter, especially with certain bosses, can detract from clarity. Overall, the combination of engaging lore and a captivating hub world makes for a compelling atmosphere.
“Pros: The music for most of the bosses was atmospheric and fitting, really setting the scene for an intense confrontation; each boss was unique with their own themes, attacks, and designs; the lore really had me engrossed and led me to make a few theories; bosses Furnace and Glass Master stood out to me the most, really nice job on those two.”
“With a sweet hub world and an incredible breathtaking atmosphere, it is well worth the $5.”
“The graphics are clean looking, I do love how menacing and blighted each boss looks. It sets an atmosphere that feels very dreary and dilapidated, which fits so well. However, some bosses have visual clutter, especially Glass Master, where you can barely spot one of his attacks coming because everything from the background, floor, boss, and attacks is cyan-colored, resulting in a visual mess.”
“With an eerie atmosphere and plenty to do.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is notably inconsistent, particularly with the dash ability, which can lead to frustrating moments where players either evade attacks or get hit despite apparent dodges. Additionally, there are various bugs that affect gameplay, making it necessary for players to adapt their strategies, such as retreating off-screen to avoid unpredictable boss attacks.
“The dash is one of the most inconsistent abilities I've used in a game. There are times when I should have blatantly been hit, yet I dashed and the game was okay with it. Other times, I've dodged every single pixel of an attack and still got hit. No idea what's up with it, but it really got on my nerves after a while. The game generally has a lot of buggy issues too, so be warned.”
“Most of the time, if you take the gamble, you'll have to run away until the boss is off-screen (now you can't see its pre-attack wind-up) and pray it does an attack that momentarily freezes its position.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users highlight the game’s high replayability value, recommending it for multiple playthroughs.
“High replayability value, definitely recommend.”
“The game offers endless possibilities, making each playthrough feel fresh and exciting.”
“With multiple endings and diverse character choices, I find myself coming back for more.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that Gamemaker Studio is often associated with the creation of low-effort, retro-style games that are perceived as cash grabs, suggesting a negative view of its monetization practices.
“Gamemaker Studio is most commonly used to make retro pixel shovelware and cash grabs.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with the emotional impact of instant deaths in the game, noting that a significant portion of their deaths feels unfair, particularly when caused by unavoidable mechanics like flash attacks. This leads to feelings of helplessness and disappointment, detracting from the overall experience.
