In Death

About

"In Death" is a challenging roguelike VR game set in a gothic medieval universe. You'll face an onslaught of enemies while exploring procedurally generated levels, and your only tools are a variety of ranged weapons and your agility. As you progress, you'll gain new abilities and weapons, but death is permanent and sets you back to the start. The game emphasizes strategy, as conserving your arrows and using your movement to dodge attacks is crucial to your survival.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 693 reviews

gameplay113 positive mentions

stability9 negative mentions

In Death offers a unique and immersive VR archery experience with excellent graphics and sound design.
The game features a rewarding progression system where players unlock new arrow types and face increasingly challenging enemies.
The teleportation movement mechanic is innovative and enhances the gameplay, allowing for strategic positioning during combat.

The game has been abandoned on Steam, with updates and new content focused solely on the Quest version.
Players have reported issues with the bow mechanics, including difficulty aiming and inconsistent hit detection.
The game can feel repetitive due to limited enemy types and environments, leading to a lack of long-term engagement.

gameplay
217 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
45%
3%
The gameplay in this VR archery game is widely praised for its smooth and satisfying mechanics, particularly the bow and crossbow controls, which are considered among the best in the genre. Players appreciate the combination of challenging combat, strategic movement mechanics, and roguelike elements that enhance replayability, although some note that the gameplay can become repetitive over time. While the game excels in immersive mechanics and visuals, there are calls for more variety in enemy types and gameplay depth to maintain long-term engagement.
- “The archery mechanics are just so smooth and satisfying, the best of any VR archery game I've tried so far, and having a level to progress through with enemies keeps it more interesting than just target practice or a wave shooter.”
- “In Death provides an experience that is incredibly fun, has great physics, and realistic arrow mechanics to accompany the fantasy aspects of the game like demon slaying and crazy archer fights.”
- “The gameplay is addictive, fun, and rewarding.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay sucks on the Steam version.”
- “Never had a run without a bug or broken mechanic ruining my experience by the end.”
- “The gameplay is one-dimensional, environments sparse and lacking interactivity.”
graphics
123 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
76%
22%
2%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful visuals, polished aesthetics, and immersive atmosphere, particularly on PC versions. However, some users criticize the graphics on the Quest version for being inferior and dated, noting a lack of content and graphical options. Overall, while the game showcases impressive art and smooth performance, there are calls for further enhancements and customization in graphical settings.
- “Amazing game, visuals are gorgeous, especially for being almost 3 years old.”
- “The graphics are stunning, sound design and enemies are believable and frightening - you don't want them close so shoot them!”
- “The visual design is fantastic, with a coherent art style and a real polished feel to the game, it's a treat to walk around in.”
- “The bad thing is, since the game runs on the headset, it looks like crap compared to the Steam VR version, despite some very recent graphical updates.”
- “The graphics are not something to praise.”
- “It's like low quality realistic looking graphics.”
story
79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
77%
9%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its absence, with many users noting that there is no engaging narrative or motivation to play beyond the gameplay mechanics. While the game offers solid rogue-like elements and enjoyable bow shooting, it feels incomplete without a storyline, leading to a perception of it being more of a demo than a fully realized experience. Users recommend the Quest version for its additional content and updates, further highlighting the neglect of the PC version in terms of story development.
- “The way it progresses by adding new monsters and weapons (as well as increasing max health and number of slots for special arrows on your bow) as you unlock achievements is nice, and doing runs to get specific achievements gives you some missions of sorts to go for, like speed runs, or making it through a level without taking damage, things like that.”
- “I can see how the teleporting movement system could be great when you play a lot, and the mechanics of the game were pretty good, but without any type of story or real substance to the game and the only weapons being a bow or crossbow, it just feels empty to me.”
- “I'm hoping they put in more content, story (there really isn't one) and more items, weapons, etc. at this time it plays more like a VR demo but it's still one of my favorites.”
- “There is no story, no motivation, no reason to play outside of curiosity as to how your time will be wasted next.”
- “The game is quite beautiful and I like the church theme, but there is no story to speak of or anything else, it's just a target arrow shooter.”
- “If you are looking for a story and lore behind the game, you won't find it here.”
atmosphere
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
26%
5%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and haunting qualities, combining beautiful graphics, effective sound design, and a unique setting that enhances gameplay. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke feelings of tension and tranquility simultaneously, with many noting its captivating and polished environment that contributes to a rewarding experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered one of the standout features, making it a compelling choice for players seeking an engaging and atmospheric gaming experience.
- “The atmosphere in this game is fantastic.”
- “The atmosphere is astonishing.”
- “The atmosphere just draws you in.”
- “The music and atmosphere really work to make you think you are in some sort of deranged Catholic nightmare.”
- “The atmosphere of this game isn't that ominous or spooky, but the gameplay is quite fun.”
- “Atmosphere manages to be very gloomy and heavenly at the same time, making for a fairly unique setting.”
music
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
48%
10%
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric and immersive qualities, with many reviewers highlighting the haunting choir and ambient sounds that enhance the overall experience. However, some players feel that the soundtrack can be repetitive or uninspired, and there are calls for more variety and intensity, particularly during combat. Overall, while the music contributes significantly to the game's ambiance, there are mixed opinions on its execution and impact on gameplay.
- “The hauntingly beautiful choir music playing in the sanctuary, the breathtaking visuals of the distant segments of each level unfolding upon each game, and the terrific ambient sounds make this a truly immersive experience.”
- “The music fits the atmosphere, and you are able to hear zombie-like enemies when they are around, which adds to the immersion.”
- “Great atmosphere and music.”
- “The music and atmosphere really work to make you think you are in some sort of deranged Catholic nightmare.”
- “Lastly, the music sets the afterlife mood but lacks something to help the intensity of the fight.”
- “The audio and soundtrack leave a lot to be desired.”
replayability
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
41%
9%
Overall, the game boasts high replayability due to its procedural generation of levels, which keeps gameplay fresh and challenging with each run. Players appreciate the rewarding achievement system and the increasing difficulty, although some note that the environments can become repetitive over time. While many find the replay value excellent, a few suggest that additional variety in settings and difficulty options could enhance the experience further.
- “Its really good and has massive replay value.”
- “The atmosphere is very good and basically it has endless replay value as every time you play the levels and NPCs are randomly generated, also you keep getting more powerful foes as you get better.”
- “Super atmospheric and polished, great controls, and the random layouts add a huge amount of replayability.”
- “But, considering the lack of any depth and replayability, it's one you'll probably set aside after a couple of hours and move on to more interesting things.”
- “Makes replayability near infinite.”
- “The gameplay and concept is fantastic, the achievements add a lot of replayability, but I do think it might benefit from a larger set of worlds.”
optimization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
31%
23%
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for achieving a strong balance between visual quality and performance, particularly on high-end hardware. While some users experienced minor stuttering, the majority noted excellent graphics without significant performance drops, making it one of the best-looking VR games available. The immersive experience is enhanced by well-optimized ambient occlusion and detailed environments, contributing to a captivating medieval atmosphere.
- “It's well-optimized.”
- “Perfect graphics balance between performance and visual quality.”
- “The graphical quality has been optimized quite nicely and the atmosphere of the art style really reels you in.”
- “Played well on the rift, poorly optimized for the Index.”
- “As for performance, I am fortunate to have an RTX 2080 Ti, so I put the rendering at 200% on my Vive and it looks beautiful, although somehow still stutters slightly every few minutes, probably because of my old CPU which is an AMD A-10 at 3.8 GHz with 16 GB memory and a fast SSD.”
- “I guess it can be a problem with performance and/or the dynamic nature of the environment, but if not, it'd be a nice improvement.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous users reporting significant bugs, an unintuitive movement system, and poor controller support. While a few players have experienced no glitches, many have encountered issues such as teleportation errors and unresponsive mechanics, particularly during combat. Overall, the game's stability appears to be a major concern, detracting from the overall experience.
- “Awful, unintuitive movement system, and buggy.”
- “Buggy and bad index controller support.”
- “It is confusing, inaccurate and buggy, which is exactly what you don't want in a combat game.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the initial levels tedious and overly simplistic, leading to a slow sense of progress reminiscent of early Dark Souls experiences. While the grinding for achievements to enhance arrows adds a layer of progression, the overall grinding aspect feels less pronounced, with some players noting that the movement mechanics detract from the grindy experience typical of VR games.
- “The first levels are tedious and way too easy, making the initial experience feel like a chore.”
- “The progress feels slow and your bow feels underpowered, reminiscent of the grinding experience in Dark Souls when you first start.”
- “You find yourself grinding out achievements to improve your arrows, but the improvements are not significant enough to make a meaningful difference.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its ability to elicit genuine reactions, such as friends jumping in surprise at unexpected enemy encounters, contributing to an enjoyable and entertaining experience.
- “I haven't gotten too far into this game, but I am enjoying it a lot so far, and it's pretty funny to watch my friend jump when an enemy runs at him.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the emotional experience of the game can be intense, with prolonged action leading to feelings of nausea, particularly for those new to VR. This suggests that while the game effectively engages players, it may also overwhelm them physically and emotionally during extended play sessions.