Death Stair

About

Death Stair is a multiplayer casual racing game. It was developed by Fun Sponge Games and was released on August 16, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Death Stair" is a multiplayer party game where players race to the top of a staircase while attacking their opponents. Use an array of weapons and power-ups to slow down your rivals and reach the goal first. The last player standing at the end of each round scores a point, with the first to reach a set number of points winning the match.

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75%

Audience ScoreBased on 180 reviews

humor18 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Death Stair is a hilariously chaotic party game that thrives on local multiplayer fun, making it perfect for gatherings with friends.
The gameplay is simple and accessible, allowing players of all skill levels to jump in and enjoy the absurdity of the mechanics and physics.
The game creates memorable moments filled with laughter and friendly sabotage, making each match feel unique and entertaining.

The game suffers from a lack of content, with only a few maps and limited gameplay modes, leading to potential repetition over time.
Technical issues such as bugs, crashes, and unbalanced gameplay can detract from the overall experience, especially for players who take it seriously.
Online multiplayer is unreliable due to a lack of active players, making it difficult to find matches unless playing locally with friends.

humor
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its chaotic and exaggerated physics, leading to hilarious moments as players navigate a massive staircase while using absurd weaponry. Players consistently report laughter and enjoyment, especially in local multiplayer settings, where the game's broken mechanics contribute to its charm and comedic value. Overall, it is described as a riotous party game that guarantees fun and laughter among friends.
- “At its core, the game is built around a simple but hilarious concept: one player sits at the top of a massive staircase armed with ridiculous weaponry, while up to three others desperately try to run, jump, dodge, and scramble their way to the top without being knocked back down.”
- “Every match becomes a story—someone makes an impossible comeback, someone else gets launched backwards for the fifth time, and everyone ends up yelling and laughing whether they won or lost.”
- “Local multiplayer is an absolute blast of hilarious chaotic fun.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The gameplay is characterized by a simple yet engaging premise focused on reaching objectives while navigating comedic obstacles, which many players find entertaining. However, some users report issues with errors and crashes, leading to frustration, while others note that the gameplay can feel stiff and lacks distinct traits, resulting in a mixed overall experience.
- “The gameplay succeeds because it strips objectives down to their most primal form—reach the finish or stop others from doing so—and then injects as many comedic obstacles as possible.”
- “Maps are different enough so that they're all refreshing to play with different weapon mechanics.”
- “The gameplay concept is solid and entertaining, even if it feels highly limited.”
- “Spent more time in errors and crashes than actual gameplay.”
- “The gameplay can be fun but is mostly awful for the gunner.”
- “Having no defining, distinct gameplay traits feels lackluster.”
story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The game's narrative is characterized by dynamic, player-driven experiences that unfold during matches, creating memorable moments of triumph and humor. Additionally, there is a powerful standalone story set in Soviet Russia during the Cold War, highlighting the life of a middle-aged man. However, the game lacks a traditional story mode or campaign.
- “Every match becomes a story—someone makes an impossible comeback, someone else gets launched backwards for the fifth time, and everyone ends up yelling and laughing whether they won or lost.”
- “This story is so powerful.”
- “No story mode”
- “The story tells of a middle-aged man in his 40s living in Soviet Russia during the Cold War.”
- “Moral of the story, I eat ass”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The game's graphics are characterized by a cartoony and exaggerated style that aligns with its slapstick theme, but overall, they are considered mediocre and of low quality, with many users expressing disappointment given the use of Unreal Engine 4. The visuals are often described as amateurish, with some players likening them to poor-quality drawings, leading to a generally negative reception.
- “Aesthetically, the game embraces a cartoony, exaggerated visual style that echoes its slapstick personality.”
- “Stunning graphics.”
- “The visuals are okay at best.”
- “Graphics are also mediocre despite the game being made with Unreal Engine 4, which goes to show you can, if you're bad enough, turn a diamond into dung.”
- “The graphics quality is poor, and the controls aren't explained well enough when you play with a keyboard.”
- “Artwork feels very amateurish and low quality for a game priced over $5.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is characterized by numerous bugs and glitches, which some players find enhance the fun, especially when playing with friends. While these stability issues can be distracting, they are often viewed as minor inconveniences given the game's low price point. However, players do note that the user interface and leaderboard features can be particularly problematic, indicating a need for further quality assurance.
- “The only bad part is the glitches, but for 50 cents, what do you expect?”
- “However, the further you go into the game, you'll start to notice little hiccups and glitches.”
- “The user interface is also a little buggy and wonky.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the ambient feel and quality of the tracks, while others criticize it for being unoriginal and reminiscent of music from other games. Overall, there is a call for more unique compositions to enhance the game's auditory experience.
- “The ambient music and feel of the game is nice.”
- “The music is nice.”
- “While the music is nice, almost every track I thought 'oh, I've heard this somewhere before.'”
- “The background music and sound design were not notable.”
- “The music is also pretty much stolen from other games (see videos for more on this).”
- “The music needs to be more unique.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players indicate that grinding in the game can be quite demanding, often requiring significant time investment or additional lives to progress effectively.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The grinding feels endless and tedious.”
- “I spent hours grinding, and it just wasn't rewarding.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report that the game evokes strong emotional responses, with some feeling deeply affected and overwhelmed by the narrative and events right from the first level.
- “I was an emotional wreck after only the first level!”
- “The story hit me hard; I felt every character's pain and joy.”
- “This game made me cry and laugh in equal measure, a true emotional rollercoaster.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The optimization of the game is polarizing; while some users praise it as very well optimized, others report significant issues, particularly with mouse and keyboard controls, indicating a lack of overall consistency in performance.
- “Very well optimized.”
- “You can't even use a mouse and keyboard because the optimization is that terrible.”
- “The game runs like a slideshow on my high-end PC due to poor optimization.”
- “I constantly experience frame drops and stuttering, making the game nearly unplayable.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The limited number of maps, with only three available, significantly reduces the game's replayability, as players feel there isn't enough variety to encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “The three maps available don't add much to the replayability of the game.”
- “After completing the game once, I found little incentive to replay it.”
- “The lack of diverse content makes replaying the game feel tedious.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game features unique and memorable designs, such as the "dick gentlemen," which stand out despite the overall amateur art style.