Have a Nice Death achieves the basics of any great roguelike, featuring tight controls and fluid combat. It's excels through an implementation of a clever setting, amazing art, and superb skill combinations that make it a must-buy for fans of the genre.
After nearly a year of PC and Switch exclusivity, Have a Nice Death is finally arriving to PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
Since its reveal, Have a Nice Death has intrigued me not only because I’m a massive fan of roguelikes but due to the game’s striking aesthetic. Because the genre has been so massively crowded these past several years, developers are having a hell of a time differentiating their game from a vast ocean of similar titles. Games like Hades, Dead Cells, The Binding of Isaac, and Rogue Legacy are just a handful that have broken through not only the mainstream but have established themselves as pillars of the formula.
Have a Nice Death is an excellent roguelike, possessing all the admirable qualities that a game of its type should. Thrilling combat, thoughtful progression, and clever use of randomization are packaged in a dour but fantastical workplace setting. And it’s that setting which delivers a mostly unforgettable experience.
Earlier this year, Will dived into the PC version of Have a Nice Death after having played the game both in early access and in its full release. And honestly, sharing the same sentiment is easy. Players experienced with more than a handful of roguelikes are going to be able to see the bright spots of a game like this well within a first death.
Often I reserve judgment on these games until I’ve died at least a couple times. Much of that is due to the crucial progression of a genre that often uses randomization as a means of challenging and diversifying its content. Its one thing if a game is bursting at the seams with creative locations and inspiring enemies. But what is going to inspire the player to continue through a rather difficult experience or, better yet, incentivize them to make it all the more difficult?
On my first run through Have a Nice Death, I tackled three of its end level bosses referred to as Sorrows. By the time I had reached the third Sorrow, I was fighting tooth and nail to maintain shreds of health and gain the advantage on increasingly sinister foes. And like most after their first time, perished soon after. It was after this little death that I felt accomplished but knew that the next time I could last longer and do better.
Exploring Death’s main hub at its headquarters, I saw that I could use gold ingots collected to unlock more useful spells for next time. Better yet, the more times I defeated a boss, the cheaper the unlock cost would be. This is a feature I don’t think I’ve noticed in another game of its type. Typically players want to just kill as many bosses and clear as many levels as they can while collecting currency that lasts past a death. Have a Nice Death gives players a specific goal to invest in. After clearing a floor, players have the option to take an elevator to a new area and a specific boss, possibly giving more direction to a greater purpose than simply winging it.
On the whole, Have a Nice Death is not exponentially hard on its optional forgiving difficulty and the “normal” one. As such, multiple difficulties can be unlocked over the course of the game with the final referred to as “Breakdown XV” that ramps up the pain to maximum. I loved making it as far as I did the first time around, especially being told that the game could get harder and there was more to look in store for.
Death has a number of scythes it can use, allowing players to attack with speed or from a distance. From there, two spells can be combined that use a pool of magic that can be replenished quite rapidly. Whether magic melee hammers or homing bees, finding the right combination or a favorite is done through time and luck. Being a roguelike, each run will have players at the mercy of whatever dice roll is happening. What bonus abilities–referred to as Curses here–do players equip? What do they spend money on at the shop? How do they manage healing items?
It may take a handful of runs to become acclimated to the particular nuances of Have a Nice Death but the speed of combat and its ease of use mean that figuring out enemy patterns and level structure becomes the absolute focus. This is an extremely accessible roguelike and I can’t praise that aspect of it enough. Rather than being bogged down in menus and systems, players can get to the meat of the experience, and that’s what any game of this type should strive for.
But I think any player who watches Have a Nice Death in action or sees a screenshot will become charmed by its mere presence. Focused on a grayscale aesthetic set in a workplace where Death became shriveled and complacent, Have a Nice Death is so easy on the eyes. Rather than being a drab experience, however, the cartoonish appearance lends a lot of charm to characters that have a touch of spooky but are usually just fun to witness. Deeper into the game, more levels have a swath of color in them to give personality to the environments. Just don’t expect an extremely important story. There’s a lot of jokes and humorous moments but its nothing particularly deep or overly special, meaning you won’t get something as in depth as Hades or Returnal.
Have a Nice Death should satisfy any player looking for a roguelike that excels at being more than merely competent. Bolstered by an incredible art style, accessible combat with a taste for encouraging lengthier and harder playthroughs sets Have a Nice Death firmly amongst the heaviest of competition.
