Summary
Steam’s Early Access period is a great way for players to get to experience newer games while simultaneously providing developers with valuable feedback intended to drive polish and iteration prior to their 1.0 release. One such Early Release title arriving this week on the platform isDeath Must Die, a new Survivor-like from developer Realm Archive, and in addition to its obvious comparisons toVampire Survivors, the game also happens to showcase inspiration from bothDark SoulsandHades.Death Must Dieis the latest entry to the growing Survivor-like subgenre and is already establishing itself as being one of the better attempts at recapturingVampire Survivors' “lightning in a bottle” via its potent mix of inspirations.
Vampire Survivors' near-immediate success and legitimate Game of the Year candidacy in 2022 all but ensured that other developers would try their hand at the game’s “reverse bullet-hell” style of gameplay. Sure enough, the intervening months betweenVampire Survivors' early release and now have seen several new games entering the ring to compete with it. One of the more successful of these isHalls of Torment, which mixes itsVampire Survivorslineage with an obviousreverence for the earlyDiablogames, butDeath Must Die’s use of similar dark fantasy design and atmosphere as FromSoftware’sDark Soulsseries helps the game to stand out in what’s quickly becoming a crowded subgenre of roguelikes.
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Death Must Die’s Inspirations Combine to Make Something Exciting
LikeVampire Survivors,Death Must Diefollows a fairly straightforward premise to frame its self-described “Bullet-Heaven” action. Players assume the role of a variety of different heroes, each of them adhering to one of the classic class archetypes common in RPGs, and set off to destroy Death himself. Prior to facing off against Death, the player will need to prove their worth by fighting through the endless hordes of enemies at his command, all while receiving various boons from the pantheon of gods who aid the player in their quest. And,likeVampire Survivors, each run inDeath Must Diehas just enough randomness and variety to keep players coming back for one more attempt at its addictive loop.
One of the main things helping to setDeath Must Dieapart from its contemporaries are the deities that assist the player in each run, with the various boons and blessings they provide serving the same purpose as those given to Zagreus by theGreek pantheon inHades. Mixing and matching the various blessings, each with their own gameplay-affecting bonuses and levels of rarity, has the potential to greatly shake up each run through Death’s gauntlet, and they each have their own pros and cons depending on which of the warriors the player takes into a run.
The most obviousinspiration fromDark Soulscomes courtesy ofDeath Must Die’s visuals and character designs, including the use of the iconic bonfires as randomized healing spots on the map during each run. Additionally, the game has a fair and adequate challenge for fans of both Soulslikes and Survivor-likes and is not for the feint of heart. Thankfully, the blessings bestowed upon players by the various helpful deities in the game have the potential to provide a significant leg-up in battle, including boons empowering the player’s dash or adding elemental affinities to each attack.
Developer Realm Archive has a clear-cut roadmap forDeath Must Die’s 1.0 release, anticipating that the game will spend roughly a year in Early Access before its official launch. There are currently only 3 different warriors available for players to choose from, but the sheer variety in the designs of the enemies and the 6 gods and goddesses assisting the player promises plenty of creativity coming in future content additions. Along with other similar gamessuch asHalls of Torment,20 Minutes Til Dawn, andSoulstone Survivors,Death Must Dieis another must-play title for fans ofVampire Survivors.
Vampire Survivors
WHERE TO PLAY
Vampire Survivors is a time survival game with minimalistic gameplay and roguelite elements.Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you.Hell is empty, the devils are here, and there’s no place to run or hide. All you can do is survive as long as you can until death inevitably puts an end to your struggles. Gather gold in each run to buy upgrades and help the next survivor.The supernatural indie phenomenon that lets you be the bullet hell!
