Don't Die, Minerva!

About

In "Don't Die, Minerva!", an 11-year-old girl must fight ghostly creatures in a haunted house using a flashlight and magical stuffed animals. The rogue-lite action RPG offers multiple difficulty levels, with permadeath and unlockable abilities adding challenge. Meet helpful characters, explore different levels, and defeat menacing ghosts in this action-packed indie game. Note: it is currently a work in progress and may change over time.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 45 reviews

gameplay7 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features a unique and charming art style, complemented by a whimsical soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere.
Gameplay is smooth and engaging, with a variety of upgrades and abilities that keep the experience fresh and enjoyable.
Despite being in early access, the game offers a substantial amount of content and replayability, making it a fun choice for fans of the rogue-lite genre.

The game appears to be abandoned, with no updates in over a year, leading to concerns about its long-term viability and support from the developers.
Many players have reported game-breaking bugs and issues that hinder progress, making it frustrating to complete.
The combat and level design can feel repetitive and lacking depth, with some players finding the gameplay to be boring after a while.

gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
29%
21%
The gameplay is praised for its smoothness, engaging mechanics, and whimsical charm, making it both fun and satisfying. While it features simple controls that are easy to learn, the procedurally-generated dungeons add a layer of challenge and variety. However, some players have noted issues with bugs and a lack of a conclusive story.
- “The gameplay is really smooth; I like every second of it.”
- “The gameplay is quite satisfying and whimsical.”
- “The gameplay's simple enough to learn and challenging enough to keep you on your toes, and since the dungeons are all procedurally generated, you won't encounter the exact same dungeon twice.”
- “Gameplay is simple and the game is really cute in general; I really wish I could enjoy it to its end without bugs or an unfinished story.”
- “While the combat can feel simple at times depending on the type of flashlight weapon you have, the developer uses a few mechanics to address that.”
- “The mechanics seem to be pretty similar to some mobs, which can make the gameplay feel repetitive.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The graphics are widely praised for their unique and stylized art style, which creates a dark yet cozy atmosphere that complements the gameplay. Users appreciate the visuals for fitting the game's theme and enhancing the overall experience, although some note that optimization issues can affect performance. Overall, the combination of great art and sound design contributes to a visually appealing and immersive RPG environment.
- “The art style and sound create a dark, mystical, and at the same time cozy atmosphere.”
- “Fantastic graphics, some really enjoyable gameplay, and real potential for something brilliant!”
- “The visuals fit the theme, and the gameplay is spot on.”
- “The cutesy art style that follows your character Minerva banishing ghosts with a flashlight is a step away from violent graphics.”
- “The cutesy art style that follows your character Minerva banishing ghosts with a flashlight is a step away from violent graphics.”
- “I know it's off-season now but the graphics are still very well-done.”
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The story aspect of the game is criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, with minimal world-building and a repetitive, procedural generation approach that fails to engage players. While the gameplay is described as simple and charming, the narrative feels underdeveloped, offering little more than basic dungeon progression without a satisfying conclusion. Players may uncover more story elements as they progress, but overall, the storytelling is considered weak and uninspired.
- “Gameplay is simple and the game is really cute in general; I really wish I could enjoy it to its end without bugs or an incomplete story.”
- “Not a lot of storytelling here, but I reckon you'll be able to unlock more snippets as you play.”
- “A large part of the failure here is that the developer was unable to come up with decent level design or game/story flow/plot, so they opted to try to use samey repetitive procedural generation as a substitute for adding content to the game.”
- “Minimal establishment of the world or what is even going on with the story.”
- “Nothing special about the story, just dungeons and progress.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a dark yet cozy ambiance, enhanced by its art style and sound design, which many players find charming and immersive. However, some critics note a lack of effective exposition, leading to a rushed introduction that diminishes the overall atmospheric impact.
- “The art style and sound create a dark, mystical, and at the same time cozy atmosphere.”
- “This charming and atmospheric game is absolutely adorable!”
- “The overall atmosphere is captivating and immersive.”
- “There's no real opening exposition or establishment of atmosphere; the game rushes players in very quickly.”
- “The overall atmosphere is also very weak.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The music in the game is highly praised, featuring a tremendous soundtrack that enhances the overall experience and contributes to its replay value. Additionally, players appreciate the good options for music settings, complementing the game's strong art style.
- “The art style and music are very good, with excellent options for settings.”
- “The game has a great replay factor as well as a tremendous soundtrack to back it up.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's humor is characterized by a whimsical "spooky" theme, featuring adorable stuffed animals as allies and comically designed ghostly enemies, contributing to a lighthearted and entertaining atmosphere.
- “From cute stuffed animals that fight on your side to silly-looking ghostly enemies, the game features a funny 'spooky' theme that adds a delightful twist to the gameplay.”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch, with clever puns and hilarious character interactions that keep you laughing throughout your adventure.”
- “I love how the game combines absurd situations with witty dialogue, making every encounter a memorable and entertaining experience.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users note that while the game's graphics are impressive, there are concerns about its optimization, suggesting that even visually appealing games can suffer from performance issues if not properly optimized.
- “Yeah, I know from the graphics (not dissing the graphics - they're great), you would expect it to run well, but any game can run poorly if it's poorly optimized.”
- “The game has so much potential, but the optimization issues make it frustrating to play.”
- “It's disappointing to see such beautiful graphics hindered by terrible performance and optimization.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have noted that the game can feel somewhat grindy, suggesting that repetitive tasks may detract from the overall experience.
- “Due to this, the game might end up feeling a bit grindy.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Many users note that the game has limited replayability, particularly after reaching maximum progression, and express a lack of interest in replaying at higher difficulty levels.
- “There's not much replayability once you've maxed out everything, and I don't fancy playing the same game again at a higher difficulty.”
- “After completing the game, I found little incentive to replay it, as the experience felt repetitive and lacked new content.”
- “The game offers minimal replay value; once you've seen everything, there's no real reason to dive back in.”