We Who Are About To Die

About

"We Who Are About To Die" is a unique combat game that features physics-based directional attacks and complex inputs. You'll need to slow down and carefully strategize your movements to hit weak spots and defeat your opponents. There are no pre-determined animations, giving you full control over your gladiator at all times. Mastering the combat system will take practice and patience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 6,044 reviews

gameplay291 positive mentions

stability115 negative mentions

The combat system is fun and engaging, with a unique physics-based approach that adds depth to the gameplay.
The game offers a variety of character backgrounds and victory conditions, enhancing replayability and strategic planning.
The developer is actively updating the game, showing dedication and responsiveness to community feedback.

The combat can feel janky and unresponsive at times, leading to frustrating moments during fights.
There are issues with AI behavior, particularly in team battles where allies may not assist effectively.
The game lacks a sense of permanent progression, as players lose most upgrades and items upon character death.

gameplay
823 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
59%
6%
The gameplay of "We Who Are About to Die" is characterized by its unique and physics-based combat mechanics, which can be both rewarding and challenging to master. While many players appreciate the addictive gameplay loop and the depth of character progression, there are significant criticisms regarding the clunky controls, inconsistent mechanics, and a steep learning curve that can lead to frustration. Overall, the game shows promise with its innovative ideas, but it requires further refinement to enhance the overall experience.
- “The gameplay is simple but effective and fun.”
- “The combat mechanics are refreshing and not too serious while being life or death.”
- “The gameplay loop is addictive and makes me want to do just another run, and another one…”
- “Wrong if you drag your mouse from left to right, the character swipes his weapon from right to left; it makes absolutely no sense and is the most unintuitive and unnecessarily badly designed mechanic I have ever seen. All they had to do was make something that makes sense.”
- “I really wanted to like it given that it's unique and made by a passionate solo dev, but when its core mechanics are so unpredictable and annoying to use, it's simply not fun.”
- “The gameplay loop gets repetitive quickly, but the nuts and bolts of a very fun game are there.”
graphics
161 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
54%
7%
The graphics of the game are generally described as charming and aesthetically pleasing, with a unique art style that complements its gladiatorial theme. While some players appreciate the visuals for their creativity and coherence with the gameplay, others note that the graphics could benefit from improvements in clarity and polish, particularly regarding lighting and textures. Overall, the graphics are considered decent for a game developed by a small team, though they may not meet the expectations of players seeking cutting-edge visuals.
- “Incredible gladiator game with a wonderful art style, enjoyable physics, and a made-up but still reminiscent historical setting.”
- “The aesthetics are beautiful, and the gameplay is very engaging.”
- “The graphics are well done - there are some downright beautiful effects happening in some places.”
- “Graphics from a mobile game, janky mechanics.”
- “Clunky controls, terrible camera, and tons of graphical glitches; not polished enough for a game that's been out for almost two years now.”
- “Not very nice graphics combined with the fact that the game runs from 30 to 130 fps makes it unplayable for me.”
story
144 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
80%
3%
The game's story aspect is largely minimal, with players noting a lack of depth and overarching narrative, relying instead on character backstories that provide unique traits and win conditions. While some enjoy the emergent storytelling that arises from gameplay, many express a desire for more substantial story elements and lore to enhance the experience. Overall, the game offers a variety of character backgrounds that contribute to replayability, but it falls short in delivering a cohesive or engaging narrative.
- “Whether you rise as a champion or fall in the sand, every moment is an epic story worth telling.”
- “Each character backstory requires mastery of a different aspect of the game.”
- “You feel the pain of every randomized character story, but you must figure out a way!”
- “There is no story in the game, and so with each death, there is less and less motivation to even continue playing.”
- “Not much lore, generic ChatGPT-level soulless backstory.”
- “The game's main issue is the lack of content; there's not much to do end-game after you've secured the legacies for each backstory.”
stability
126 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
1%
91%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many players reporting significant bugs and glitches, particularly related to physics and combat mechanics. While some users find it enjoyable and playable despite these issues, others express frustration over the unpredictability of the gameplay and frequent crashes. Overall, the game shows potential but requires further polish and bug fixes to enhance the player experience.
- “Overall it's very polished, bug free so far... and is generally fun.”
- “Its a game by 1 guy, relatively bug free and complete game experience.”
- “The combat is intuitive and the game runs great!”
- “The concept of this game is solid but is so janky and buggy it's more of a pain in the ass to play.”
- “When you get hit, sometimes your character will half-ragdoll uncontrollably for anywhere from 2-6 seconds where your swings become laughably useless, leading to an exceedingly frustrating experience that will have you losing characters you were finally making good progress with to stuff that feels like it's completely out of your control like a buggy unpredictable physics-based control system.”
- “It's a buggy, crashing, stuttering mess.”
humor
105 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is primarily derived from its janky ragdoll physics and chaotic combat mechanics, which often lead to unexpectedly funny moments, such as characters flying into the air or performing absurd movements. Players appreciate the lighthearted tone and comedic elements, describing the game as both entertaining and immersive, with many expressing a desire for the humorous glitches to remain untouched. Overall, the game successfully combines intense gameplay with a whimsical sense of humor, making it a fun experience despite some frustrating elements.
- “The physics system can be hilarious; I once clubbed a dude's head nearly out of the stadium, and another time I sliced a guy in half so hard he flew into outer space.”
- “The ragdoll effects are hilarious, and the combat is a loveably janky take on the combat system that is charmingly hilarious to play around with.”
- “It's a funny gladiator game that is one of my favorites of all time, filled with hilarious moments and engaging gameplay.”
replayability
104 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
37%
3%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, driven by diverse character backgrounds, various victory conditions, and engaging combat mechanics. Many players find the gameplay addictive and enjoyable, with enough variability to encourage multiple playthroughs, although some note that replay value may diminish after completing all character arcs. While the game is still in early access, its potential for replayability is seen as a significant strength, with ongoing development promising to enhance this aspect further.
- “Add in a plethora of items to collect and the replay value is enormous; you'll want to jump back into the arena time and time again!”
- “Finally, there are a ton of different character backstories that all come with their own set of positive and negative perks, and each backstory has a different win condition, which makes for a ton of replayability.”
- “The combat is very fun, with a pretty good selection of weapons and armor, and is replayable with different victory conditions for different runs; absolutely worth it.”
- “There isn't much replayability, because the only real variables are what type of weapons you use, but fundamentally everything else stays the same with each play-through.”
- “However, currently it lacks a bit on the replayability front - after you won with all the backstories (6 or so currently), there isn't anything else to unlock.”
- “To keep this short, the game does lose its replay value fairly fast, that is if you are a cretin.”
optimization
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
75%
16%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, particularly on lower-end systems and during intense combat scenarios. While some users noted improvements following updates, others still experienced frame drops and bugs that hindered gameplay enjoyment. Overall, the game is seen as needing further optimization to enhance performance and stability, especially given its early access status.
- “Moments where I have tons of fame, unlock a ton of auxiliary slots, and simultaneously use all of them to repair my armor while going into a fight that lets me borrow the faction armor is a level of optimization that fires my monkey neurons.”
- “I can only hope to see where the future takes us with a project like this, not to mention how it puts larger developers to shame with how well this game is optimized and runs.”
- “It is very well optimized concerning loading times.”
- “I only play on Steam Deck and had gotten the game on release but refunded it shortly after due to poor optimization and gameplay.”
- “To top it off, the game is not optimized at all; the load screens load so fast I can't read the messages, then the game stutters horribly in fights with a lot of people, meanwhile I can run games like Elden Ring fine.”
- “The game still has some jank and lacks optimization, but it's quite frankly one of the most enjoyable combat systems in a rogue-lite game that I have played.”
grinding
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
2%
94%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and frustrating due to inflated item prices, repetitive character rerolls, and slow progression systems. While some enjoy the casual grind and find satisfaction in character development, others feel that the grind detracts from the overall gameplay experience, making it feel like a time sink rather than a rewarding loop. Overall, the game offers a blend of enjoyable combat and character customization, but the grinding can become overwhelming and detracts from the fun for many players.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “In Souls, you can generally consistently level your gear up to take on the ever-increasing challenge, but there's no grinding to be had here.”
- “The prices for good items feel overly inflated, making progression more tedious than it needs to be.”
- “It's not a bad or terrible game, but it just doesn't have much depth to it and gets very grindy very fast with no benefit to the grind.”
- “This game does not respect your time; every match has a run-in to the arena and some sort of gate-opening animation, which becomes a tedious time sink after many hours of gameplay.”
music
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
51%
8%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its fitting ambiance and immersive sound design that enhances the gameplay experience. While some find the soundtrack enjoyable and well-suited to the game's atmosphere, others note that it can become repetitive and lacks energy during combat. Overall, the sound effects and crowd interactions are highlighted as strong points, contributing to the game's charm and engagement.
- “From the unique gameplay to awesome music and easy to navigate game flow, it's crazy one dude made this!”
- “The art style, music, and writing is charming.”
- “Music and sound design is clean and enjoyable.”
- “I'm honestly not a lover of music in games.”
- “In particular, mid-combat music only starts after a few minutes of straight fighting and isn't very noticeable.”
- “Sound/music - 7/10 found music getting repetitive after a while.”
atmosphere
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
35%
18%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and detailed environments, effectively capturing the essence of ancient gladiatorial combat. Players appreciate the combination of engaging music, dynamic day-night cycles, and the emotional responses of spectators, all of which enhance the overall experience. Despite some gameplay flaws, the rich atmosphere and attention to detail create a compelling and addictive setting that keeps players invested.
- “What's particularly remarkable is the attention to detail in recreating the atmosphere and tactics of ancient gladiatorial combat.”
- “Models and textures are detailed and varied; the day and night changes add their own atmosphere to the arenas, and the mood of the spectators comes across well and motivates the player during the fights.”
- “It is extremely rare for me to think about the dev teams for many of the games I play, because much of the time they are faceless people who you could not really talk to, let alone feel as if you were in an atmosphere that felt less like a true office.”
- “The world is kind of immersive, and the atmosphere and threat of dying certainly impact your way of scheming, fighting, and choosing skill options all along.”
- “Models and textures are detailed and varied; the day and night changes add their own atmosphere to the arenas, the mood of the spectators comes across well and motivates the player during the fights.”
emotional
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, highlighting the heartbreak of losing well-developed characters after investing significant time in them, which adds to the thrill and replayability. Despite some frustrations with gameplay mechanics, the overall experience is described as addictive and wholesome, evoking a range of emotions from joy to despair. The absence of recurring characters or a morale system means that emotional attachments are primarily tied to individual gameplay experiences rather than ongoing narratives.
- “The multiple backgrounds and their win conditions give the game a lot of replayability, but losing a character you've sunk hours into will always be heartbreaking.”
- “The risk of your character dying and barely making it is a rush and heartbreaking when you die.”
- “God, this game is fun... makes me want to cry sometimes, tear out my remaining hair, despair at my clumsy fingers... probably 100 lives in, I have yet to win a single origin (came real close once though)... but it is such addictive fun.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The monetization aspect of the game is generally viewed positively, as players appreciate the absence of microtransactions, which contrasts with the misleading advertising that oversells the game's quality. However, there are concerns about the game's overall execution and its classification as a rogue-lite, leading to disappointment among some users.
- “Thank god this game has no microtransactions.”
- “This game has no greedy microtransactions to speak of, which is really nice!”
- “Very lazy game with far more of an impressive advertisement than it is as a game.”
- “Unfortunately, the game does not live up to the hype the trailer brings it nor the advertisements that lured me to purchase this game.”
- “The dev lies by advertising this game as a rogue-lite.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The character development in the game is praised for its RPG-like progression from "zero to hero," appealing to fans of gladiatorial and hack-and-slash genres. While it features intriguing mechanics and equipment, some players feel that the unique approach to character development may not be fully accessible or understandable to everyone. Overall, it offers a satisfying depth for those who appreciate in-depth combat and character growth.
- “As an aspiring solo developer myself, it is truly inspiring to play a game like this; it scratches those itches for in-depth combat and character development.”
- “It is possible that there are a lot of interesting mechanics and equipment elements in the game, as well as character development, but in my opinion, the author did it in such a 'his own way' that only he understands.”
- “It is possible that there are a lot of interesting mechanics and equipment elements in the game, as well as character development, but in my opinion the author did it in such a 'his own way' that only he understands.”
- “Character development from zero to hero.”
- “If gladiator, Spartacus, 'hack-and-slash' games, or the sentence 'RPG-like character development' make you feel warm and fuzzy, this is the game for you.”

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11h Median play time

35h Average play time

7-21h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 63 analyzed playthroughs

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