Worse Than Death

About

In "Worse Than Death," attend a high school reunion that turns into a horror adventure. Evade shadowy creatures, solve puzzles, and delve into Holly's past in this action-packed game. Features 3D positional audio, three difficulty modes, and support for keyboard/mouse and gamepads.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 45 reviews

story15 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game features a unique blend of pixel art and comic book-style graphics, creating a visually appealing experience.
Puzzles are engaging and well-designed, providing a satisfying challenge without being overly difficult.
The story, while short, has intriguing elements and character development that keeps players invested.

The narrative has several plot holes and lacks a satisfying resolution, leaving players feeling unsatisfied.
Stealth mechanics are simplistic and can feel tedious, detracting from the overall horror experience.
The game is relatively short, with limited replay value and little variation in gameplay across different difficulty levels.

story
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
62%
6%
The game's story receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and well-crafted, while others criticize it for being flat, poorly paced, or filled with clichés and plot holes. Many appreciate the intriguing atmosphere and character development, but some feel that key elements remain unexplained, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the narrative is seen as a significant aspect of the game, though its execution varies widely among players.
- “The atmosphere and the story are exceptionally well-crafted; they had me hooked, and I couldn't put the game down.”
- “This game has a compelling story, lovable characters, action segments, stealth segments, detective segments, plenty of gore and horror—something for everyone!”
- “The mystery surrounding the story will get you hooked.”
- “The story is where the game struggles the most.”
- “The story is a mass of clichés that aren't even that well put together.”
- “It's not that the story is bad, per se, but more so that it's executed in odd ways or badly paced.”
graphics
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
35%
13%
The game's graphics receive mixed reviews, with many praising the pixel art and unique blend of 2D visuals and comic book-style cut scenes, which create an engaging atmosphere. However, some players find the overall presentation clichéd and the combination of art styles inconsistent. While the pixel graphics and artistic design are appreciated, they are often overshadowed by issues in gameplay and storytelling.
- “The art work is excellent and the atmosphere is terrifying.”
- “I really like the art style and animations; I think they're quite nice and the grainy filter the game has is a nice touch.”
- “The pixel art/graphic style is really good with well-designed backgrounds and levels.”
- “Almost nothing in its cliched mystery, cookie cutter puzzles, bland writing, nor its cartoony art style feels fresh.”
- “Being a thriller game, you might think that using sprite images for the in-game visuals is a bad choice, but the game seems to think otherwise and deliver.”
- “The story is intriguing and I really like the art style but the awful 'stealth' sections absolutely killed it for me.”
gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
67%
17%
The gameplay of "Worse Than Death" is characterized by simple mechanics that involve navigating a sidescrolling environment, avoiding enemies by hiding in dark areas, and solving straightforward puzzles. While the game features an engaging art style and effective audio that enhance the atmosphere, many players find the gameplay loop repetitive and lacking depth compared to other horror titles. Overall, it offers a blend of horror elements and narrative, but its mechanics may not satisfy those seeking a more complex gaming experience.
- “Worse than Death's gameplay is simple: you just need to walk in a sidescroller format, interacting with everything that you can find along the way.”
- “The primary gameplay elements besides puzzle-based ones are rooted around a series of interactions with Lovecraftian horror elements that Holly has to avoid via hiding in darker spaces and keeping her heart rate low.”
- “Worse than Death won't win any awards on its gameplay alone, which consists of scrolling left to right through areas, avoiding enemies by hiding in convenient dark spots while also managing your stamina and solving puzzles along the way, but with the pixel art/drawn close-ups presentation and excellent audio, the sense of urgency is convincingly presented.”
- “I was really excited to play this game on my birthday at night, and I was really into it for the first 10 minutes, until the mechanics of the gameplay loop were introduced (15 minutes in, it's basically: press a button to hide within the background, wait until the enemy passes by, pop back out).”
- “Worse than Death won't win any awards for its gameplay alone, which consists of scrolling left to right through areas, avoiding enemies by hiding in convenient dark spots while also managing your stamina and solving puzzles along the way, but with the pixel art/drawn close-ups presentation and excellent audio, the sense of urgency is convincingly presented.”
- “While the pixel-art visuals are nice and atmospheric, bland gameplay and an outright bad story prevent enjoyment of the game.”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
18%
27%
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its spooky and well-crafted environment that enhances the storytelling and engages players, while others criticize it for lacking coherence and depth, leading to a less immersive experience. The art style is often highlighted as a strong point, contributing to the eerie ambiance, but issues with gameplay and narrative detract from the overall impact for some players.
- “The atmosphere and the story are exceptionally well-crafted; they had me hooked, and I couldn't put the game down.”
- “The artwork is excellent and the atmosphere is terrifying.”
- “Great atmosphere and intriguing puzzles!”
- “There are too many things that seemed to just want to create a scary atmosphere or puzzle situation that just doesn't make sense in a town I'm supposed to believe exists and functions.”
- “But that doesn't save the bad writing, almost no horror/suspenseful atmosphere, and a really boring and tedious gameplay.”
- “While the enemy mechanics are similar to Lone Survivor, Lone Survivor is a much better game in all aspects (gameplay, story, atmosphere, etc).”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
The music in the game is highly praised for its quality and contribution to the overall experience, with particular highlights on the catchy intro track and effective ambient sounds that enhance the atmosphere. Reviewers appreciate the custom feel of the music, noting that it complements the game's art style and animations well.
- “The music is excellent and it really adds to the whole experience.”
- “The sounds and music in the game were also really good.”
- “I really like the art style and animations; the sound and ambience are quite nice. The intro music especially is a bop, and it makes me wonder if there's a full version somewhere out there.”
- “The music feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I found the soundtrack to be uninspired and forgettable, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
- “The background music is too loud and often drowns out important sound cues in the game.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unengaging, with many expressing frustration over the lack of rewarding achievements and a generally boring gameplay experience. The absence of a compelling atmosphere further exacerbates the grind, making it feel even more monotonous.
- “But that doesn't save the bad writing, almost no horror or suspenseful atmosphere, and a really boring and tedious gameplay.”
- “My second and third (to hunt achievements) were more tedious.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Overall, the game has limited replayability due to its short story length and minimal incentives to replay, although different difficulty settings offer some variation. Players note that while the higher difficulty mode adds a layer of challenge, it primarily requires more caution rather than enhancing the overall experience.
- “Each playthrough offers unique choices that significantly alter the outcome, making you want to experience it all over again.”
- “The variety of character builds and strategies keeps the gameplay fresh, inviting you to replay and explore different approaches.”
- “There is no replayability value, and the higher difficulty mode just encourages you to be more careful with its lower health and longer checkpoints.”
- “The story is pretty short (can be beaten in a night or two), though the different difficulty settings encourage some replay value.”
- “Somewhat on the short side and little to no replay value, but at the price I got it on sale, I'd say it was a great bargain anyway.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is criticized for being underwhelming, with some reviewers feeling that the appealing character designs are not matched by meaningful growth or depth in the characters themselves.
- “Honestly, it's really kind of a shame they wasted such a pretty character design on this schlock.”