Death as a Business
Magic Design Studios paints a unique version of the grim reaper in Have a Nice Death. In it, players take on the role of Death himself at the point in his career where he is just simply burnt out on harvesting all those souls. Having created Death as a business with Death Inc, the grim one had trained employees and staff to help handle the mundane. But like kids who party when the parents leave, his staff has decided to do their own thing and now Death armed with his scythe and book of names has to whip them back into shape.
MSRP: $24.99
Platforms: Switch (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $24.99
Have a Nice Death has an amazing art style going for it, each of the procedurally generated levels look as though they were pulled from a Pixar film. With a ‘noir’ soaked world full of shadows and pops of color which really make the level sing, evoking the same feeling of the style used by Batman: The Animated Series. The various floors of Death Inc will double as the battlefields where Death will provide the hands-on retraining of his staff. Each floor mimicking the types of departments found in any office building in America, stuff like HR where there will be desks filled with papers and various reports flying around the rooms as Death swings his scythe.
Using the scythe won’t be the only weapon available to players as Death’s cloak can morph into various other weapons like heavy swords among other things. Throughout each run players will come upon curses, which in this case are good things. These are how players will upgrade and augment Death’s abilities like giving more health or adding burn to a weapon. All of these things are standard when it comes to rougelites nowadays but even though the combat is tight and focused in Have a Nice Death I just found myself getting bored with the game well before the credits rolled.
The story commentary on working culture, specifically office workers, comes through loud and clear. And having spent my time working in an office building I could relate and even laughed at quite a few of the jokes but what makes roguelites truly enjoyable is the loop that makes having to restart over and over again a joy just simply didn’t seem to be in Have a Nice Death. By a handful of runs I felt as though I had already seen everything the game had to offer, and the upgrades earned just didn’t make me feel as though I was really getting more powerful.
Despite having some of the best combat I have seen in a 2D game and loving the dark and dreary art style I just couldn’t vibe with Have a Nice Death the same way I have with other games in the genre like Hades. While there are a few weapons to try and some combos to create with curses, It just never reached the same heights as the latter did for me. I will say that the writing here is top notch, and the commentary on display whether on purpose or not was genuinely funny. While I may not have loved this game personally, I do think there is a lot here for others to love not the least of which is the jingle that plays when Death spawns back in his office after having to RIP (Rest In Paperwork).
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
