Recently released for early access Have a nice death. This is a standout bagel with cool art and a dynamic combat system. The trailers have attracted a lot of attention and millions of views on YouTube – no wonder gamers have been waiting for the game. But how did she become? I’ve spent a lot of time at Have a Nice Death and I hasten to share my impressions!
What is a nice death?
Once upon a time, the roguelike genre was only of interest to rare fanatics, but everything has changed. after success Dead cells and Hades, which became one of the best games of the year upon release, even Sony wanted to release a similar project. In which Returnal turned out to be a good match and was well received by the public.
The developers at Magic Design Studios also decided to give the genre a try and thanks to the trailers, they quickly gained a fan base – it’s a matter of borrowing. The visual is very similar Hollow Knight: The tones felt warmer and lighter, but the attack and skill animations clearly referenced the Hollow Knight. The gameplay, on the other hand, copied Dead Cells: the hero rushes through the levels, fights enemies, pumps and starts the race all over again when he falls to the death of the brave.
However, was this enough to make the game good? Difficult question. Passing Have a Nice Death is fun, but falls short of inspiration in everything.
Do you love bagels?
The Plot of Have a Nice Death
Once upon a time there was a fear of death for everyone. She came independently for the poor fellows, whose time was right, and handled all duties responsibly. Unfortunately, when the old woman with the scythe got tired of taking lives, she created powerful creatures called Sorrows, and took a long vacation herself.
Time passed, death began to lose power, and sorrow, on the contrary, only grew stronger. Then the subordinates got out of hand, began to knock down mortals to the right and left, and then completely seized power.
Fortunately, the Sorrows underestimate the maker. Tired of lawlessness, Death picked up a scythe again. She will have to walk through her possessions, teach a lesson to her subordinates who have strayed from the hands and pile on forgotten villains. However, this will not be easy to do.
The plot of Have a Nice Death is banal. Gamers don’t need to collect bits of information and figure out what’s wrong in the world, like in Dead Cells or Hollow Knight. Magic Design Studios delivers a straightforward story. Unless the workers who stayed on Death’s side periodically share the details of the lore, and the boss likes to exchange a few sentences before a fight.
The trick is that the story is presented with humor. The characters often joke with dignity, and the performers skillfully maintain a light atmosphere. A few times, Have a Nice Death is sure to make the player smile.
Gameplay Have a nice death
The gameplay of Have a Nice Death is not much different from Dead Cells. Death begins a long journey in his personal account, going after the heads of his enemies. At the same time, she goes from boss to boss.
The trick is that the bosses are separated from each other by five floors that must be conquered. There are many enemies, but they pose no particular danger – it is worth remembering their attacks, because the mobs no longer cause a nuisance. The only exceptions are arenas, where the hero is locked up alone with a crowd of enemies.
In this case, you should not run through the floors and pay attention to nothing. Better to go all the way to the boss as efficiently as possible. On some floors, you can find an essence that allows you to pump weapons and increase damage. Others will have equipment useful in battle. Somewhere you will meet a mini-boss, for defeating which you will get a bundle of valuables.
It is curious that the gamer himself chooses which floor he goes to. Should he run to the essence and gather resources? Or is it better to go to the workshop and pump weapons? Should I risk going to the mini boss? Thinking about the route will make the fight with the most powerful enemies easier.
The main feature of bagels is also in place. Just like in Dead Cells, if the hero dies, all progress is lost. You can put together a cool build when blows set enemies on fire, hit the scythe with a larger radius and deal huge damage, and the acquired skills allow you to bring meteor showers on the heads of your opponents. But once you die, this will all disappear.
You will have to start a new race from the starting point and without any skills. In this case, even the defeated bosses will rise and demand revenge.
The only concession is that Death receives gold bars after a failed attempt. They can be spent on unlocking new weapons that can fall during the passage and improving their quality. This doesn’t make gameplay much easier, though, as there’s no guarantee that the gear you want will fail in the near future.
To beat the game, you need to understand the moves of enemies and dodge attacks skillfully, relying on luck. It just depends on fortune if you can put together a suitable build. Someone likes to keep their distance and shoot at enemies with a bow, while someone prefers to keep reptiles close and hit with a heavy hammer. But will your favorite weapon fall out? Who knows.
For the diversity of developers, unfortunately, it is impossible to praise. Death, for example, has one main weapon – it can be upgraded and even transformed by changing its base properties, but by the tenth run they get tired of swinging. Yes, and the amount of secondary gear is only impressive at the beginning: not all options are suitable, but reweapons and abilities are a regular occurrence.
But all is well with the bosses in Have a Nice Death. They don’t have as good a moveset as the feisty critters from the hit game. Elden Ring, but the variety of attacks is enough to entertain and not make you burn with irritation. Remember that the path to the final boss can take a few hours – few people will be happy when he works as hard as Malenia.
Unfortunately, common enemies aren’t as resourceful as they are in Dead Cells. There are about four types of mobs in every boss’ domain, and they are distinguished by nothing but design. But you will have to fight with them more often than with Sorrows.
Overall, the gameplay of Have a Nice Death turned out to be cool, but the novelty can’t stand comparisons to Dead Cells. One of the best games of 2018 is many times more variable. But for a bagel, variety is very important.
Visual, System Requirements and Sound
Have a Nice Death looks great: the performers have clearly earned their salary. The design of opponents, well-developed locations, fun animations, colorful effects – you can enjoy this for a long time. Of course, the borrowing of Hollow Knight does not stand out, but the cheerful atmosphere and warm tones make the image stand out.
System requirements should also be attributed to the benefits. To play the game, all you need is a computer with a GTX 970 graphics card, 4 GB of RAM and an Intel i5 processor.
The soundtrack is also quite good. Again, it’s not as catchy as in Dead Cells, but the songs still set the mood well. While exploring the floors, pleasant relaxing melodies play in the background and the driving potions accompany boss fights.
If you’ve avoided Dead Cells far and wide, or can’t accept the pixelated design of the popular roguelike, try Have a Nice Death. The novelty lacks variety, but otherwise the game turned out to be cool. And remember, we’re talking about early access – maybe the developers will add more equipment and other features over time.
Are you going to play Have a Nice Death?
Source: VG Times
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.