Death by Scrolling

About

Death by Scrolling is a single player hack and slash game. It was developed by Terrible Toybox NZ and was released on October 28, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Welcome to Purgatory, now under new management! Death by Scrolling is a rogue-like vertically scrolling RPG where you kill enemies, collect gold, and avoid the Grim Reaper long enough to pay the Ferrymanʼs exorbitant river-crossing fee to the afterlife.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 113 reviews

gameplay13 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

The game features a fun and addictive gameplay loop that encourages players to keep coming back for 'just one more run'.
The pixel art graphics and soundtrack are well-received, adding to the overall charm and enjoyment of the game.
It offers a good balance of humor and challenge, making it suitable for casual play while still providing depth through character upgrades and strategic choices.

Many players find the gameplay repetitive and lacking in depth, with limited weapon variety and upgrades that feel uninspired.
The tutorial is overly lengthy and can overwhelm new players, detracting from the initial enjoyment of the game.
Some users report issues with the game's pacing and difficulty, feeling that it can become frustrating due to slow movement and unbalanced enemy encounters.

gameplay
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
41%
11%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the fun mechanics reminiscent of "Vampire Survivors" and appreciating the simple yet addictive nature of the gameplay loop. However, many critics find it lacking depth and engaging content, leading to a boring experience after a short period, compounded by poorly designed mechanics and frustrating resource management. Overall, while the game offers a nostalgic arcade feel and some enjoyable elements, it struggles to maintain player interest over time.
- “This game has a fun mechanic - auto-attack while constantly moving up - that reminds me of Vampire Survivors.”
- “Get as far as you can, collect as many coins and gems as you can, build your deck of abilities, try to outrun death all while the character auto-battles the enemies - that's the gameplay loop.”
- “Gameplay is simple and addictive.”
- “The game lacks depth; the gameplay is boring after the first half hour. There is a lot here that is poorly designed and balanced.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay loop is boring... One Way Heroics from 2014 is way better in every regard.”
- “The gameplay is extremely straightforward, unrewarding, and uninteresting.”
music
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
33%
20%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while many players appreciate the energetic and fitting soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience, some find it repetitive and grating due to its looping nature. The option to adjust music settings is a plus, but the overall consensus suggests that the music can become overwhelming over time. Despite these criticisms, the soundtrack is generally considered enjoyable and complements the game's fun style.
- “The soundtrack is great as well, with a rock earworm during runs and a calmer variant between.”
- “Very addictive, great and powerful music, absolutely worth the (modest) asking price.”
- “Graphics are a joy, music and sound are great and the gameplay is really fun.”
- “I turned off the music because it looped every 10 or so seconds.”
- “There is one loop of music going constantly over every level, and it's not subtle, so it gets grating after a few minutes.”
- “The music can be a little overbearing at times.”
story
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The story aspect of the game is described as having a promising premise with a quest system that encourages exploration and strategic planning, though it lacks depth in character design and narrative. Players appreciate the variety of challenges and mini-quests, which keep them engaged, but some find the quest mechanics frustrating due to issues like disappearing items. Overall, the game offers a light, enjoyable experience suitable for short play sessions, with hints of deeper storytelling potential as players progress.
- “Curious to see where the story goes once I can unlock some more characters and get it moving again.”
- “It's going to be tough to get to the end goal of paying the ferryman, but there is enough variety in the challenges and mini quests to keep me coming back.”
- “Perfect for small breaks, but it also has that 'just one more round' feeling, and I have an inkling that the game might have a trick or two up its sleeve story-wise.”
- “There's no real character design or storytelling.”
- “There is a quest system, if you can call it that.”
- “Time and again, you have to weigh up whether to take the risk of collecting a valuable quest item or choose the safe route to survive longer.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
15%
21%
Overall, the graphics of the game have received positive feedback, particularly for its impressive pixel art style that evokes nostalgia for classic games. Many players appreciate the visual design and its fit with the game's concept, although some note a lack of atmosphere and variety. The combination of cute graphics and a fitting soundtrack enhances the overall experience, making it enjoyable for fans of retro aesthetics.
- “I gave this game a few rounds, and I have to say, the graphics and overall visual design are impressive. I'm a big fan of pixel art.”
- “It feels like a good old vertical scroller in a beautiful pixel-art style.”
- “The graphics are awesome in my opinion, and the soundtrack fits very well, too.”
- “Maybe it unlocks some other character that is only different in graphics and has a lame '+5% movement' bonus or something like that.”
- “Visuals are okay.”
- “Endless scroller with classic style graphics.”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever writing, quirky characters, and amusing scenarios, reminiscent of classic titles like Monkey Island. Players appreciate the blend of dark humor and lighthearted gags, which enhance the overall experience and make it enjoyable for short play sessions. The combination of funny dialogue, cute graphics, and engaging gameplay contributes to a fun and addictive atmosphere.
- “You're a lost soul in purgatory, constantly running up the screen to avoid a fiery death at the bottom while fighting off funny and strange monsters and collecting gold to pay off a greedy ferryman.”
- “In short, it's a very chill, good-humored experience ideal for playing in short bursts.”
- “The humor is brilliant, the pixel art very nice and the soundtrack is well done as well.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious and boring, despite the presence of upgrades that aim to alleviate this. Many feel that the game fails to effectively communicate its more engaging mechanics, leading to a lack of motivation to invest additional time in grinding. Overall, the experience is perceived as lacking excitement, with a missed opportunity for more intriguing environments.
- “Yes, there are upgrades for health, melee range, damage, and so on, but that's just making the grind less tedious by a small amount.”
- “If that was not the case, then I apologize, but the game did a very poor job at hinting at the awesome mechanics and gameplay that I perhaps missed by not grinding for 10 more hours.”
- “Seemed like it could have been fun, but in practice was somehow tedious and boring.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's pixel-art style is appreciated, but many users feel that it lacks sufficient atmosphere and variety, resulting in a less immersive experience.
- “The game looks okay; I like the pixel-art style, but it feels like there isn't enough atmosphere or variety.”
- “The environments are bland and lack the immersive quality I was hoping for.”
- “Despite the interesting concept, the overall atmosphere feels flat and uninspired.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is generally good, but players have reported some bugs, particularly on launch day.
- “It's good but buggy in some spots as it's launch day.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it hard to enjoy.”
- “I experienced several glitches that disrupted my gameplay.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers significant replayability, but some players feel it diminishes over time due to a lack of meaningful progression with each playthrough.
- “A lot of replayability so far.”
- “The game unfortunately loses its charm as the replayability does not seem to be granting the player any kind of progression.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the game lacks depth in character development, with minimal character design and storytelling elements, resulting in a less engaging experience for players.
- “There's no real character design or storytelling.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users have reported performance issues with the game on the Steam Deck OLED, indicating that optimization may not be fully effective on this platform.
- “However, there seems to be something off with the performance on the Steam Deck OLED for now.”