Have a Nice Death mini-review

Feeling a bit like Death warmed over. 

Tired of doing all dirty work on his own, Death decides to sub-contract the tedious task of soul collection. The Sorrows take up the duty and end up enjoying killing so much that Death becomes overburdened by processing all the paperwork. In Magic Design Studios’ Have a Nice Death, mass murder isn’t as troublesome as corporate burnout. As such, you’ll be dismissing the Sorrows, who are willing to massacre you before giving up on their new gig.

Yes, you’ve probably seen similar side-scrolling roguelikes that outfit you with a powerful weapon, secondary skills, as well customarily navigational skills like lithe leaps and dashes. Have a Nice Death is Dead Cells seen through the eyes of Tim Burton, as you stalk foes in murky landscapes that lampoon corporate life. Sporadically, the game’s writing is sharper than some of the director’s late work- at least until the quips grow repetitive across numerous runs. You’ll encounter everything from a sentient hanging rope to a paddle-ball-playing slacker on your way up the floors of Death Incorporated.

But mechanical familiarity isn’t always a bad thing. Death can equip several different scythes. Although they handle similarly, each has a slightly different specialty. So, the Diss Scythe offers a smaller blade on a chain, favoring reach over damage output. Death’s cloak is wonderfully versatile, able to turn into 23 different weapons. At the beginning of the game, you’ll get to try out Behammorth, a massive hammer with a protracted windup but an astounding punch. Later, you’ll unlock access to Kaze-Kunai, fast projectiles that can transform into a fan or the cleverly named Slaymore blade. Cloak-based tools are regulated by cooldowns.

Additionally, Death has access to 41 different spells that draw from your regenerating mana supply. These cater to different play styles. Poison mist steadily depletes the health of foes caught in its emerald cloud while bees swarm on unsuspecting adversaries, like tiny fire-and-forget missiles. The final part of your offensive arsenal are curses. These function like buffs, bolstering Death or applying status effects to weapons. But as you unlock more of them, you’ll suffer penalties and hazards.

The path to each boss is filled with a multitude of minions that might drop currency or other rewards. And while Death has a moveset every bit as awesome as the Devil May Cry games, combat is usually just a race to put opponents in a stun state before triggering a combo. Despite Nice Death’s yearlong stretch in Steam’s Early Access program this lingering issue remains, removing most of the challenge from subordinate encounters. Magic Design Studios seem aware of the issue and you’ll eventually unlock elevator access that serves as shortcuts. But opting to take these increases an already lofty level of exertion even tougher, since these time-savers generate fewer rewards.

Difficulty is also abundant in the game’s boss battles. Unlike lesser foes or even mid-bosses that extract portions of your health, a few hits during any of these showdowns is deadly. Given that defensive options are limited and meta-game progress is largely limited to unlockables that offer lateral rather than enhanced abilities, these are exponentially tougher than the rest of the game. Success involves memorizing their attack patterns, using your restrained healing ability, and trying to keep your cool as you confront them for the umpteenth time. Not allowing Death to automatically recover health after these duels can feel a bit sadistic.

There’s a lot to like about Have a Nice Death. The game looks and moves gracefully, flaunting hand-drawn animation that’s overflowing with frames. It’s certainly amusing and imaginative, offering plenty of dark humor and skewering of corporate norms.  It even injects a few novel ideas, like bosses that offer alternative forms after they’ve been faced several times. But the gap between pushover enemies and the Sorrows is exaggeratedly large, sullying your desire to keep climbing Nice Death’s floors.

Have a Nice Death was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.