Roguelike Have a Nice Death starts strong — can it maintain momentum?

Are roguelikes today’s defining video game genre? It’s a hard argument to oppose.

Indie darling turned multiplatform powerhouse Hades all but dominated 2020’s award season; Retoural showcased the PlayStation 5’s staying power in 2021; Cult of the Lamb, Vampire Survivors, Rogue Legacy 2And The World is not Saved by Anyone Last year I combined roguelike mechanics to a wide range of other genres. Just this week Dead Cells, one of the early staples in the roguelike resurgence, received a new DLC in partnership with one of the medium’s most revered series.

Let’s get started. Enjoy a Nice DeathMagic Design Studios has released a new project called, after it was available for a year. Death, the game’s protagonist, has been burned out and depressed by endless office politics and paperwork. I played three hours of the game this week, during which I slashed my way through the first two areas of Magic Design’s bureaucratic hell, gathering macabre new weapons and fighting dark yet cartoonish manifestations of corporate culture. Enjoy a Nice Death I was immediately hooked by the tight combat and smooth platforming of this game, as well as the variety of imaginative enemies. But I’m still not sold on its long-term progression loop. In a genre that is becoming increasingly competitive, the long-term progression loop could be life or death.

Image by Magic Design Studios/Gearbox Publishing

You will be playing Death and must travel the departments of Death Incorporated. On each run, you begin with Death’s trusty scythe, and build a loadout from there. Accordingly, the scythe is a permanent-equipped item. Over time, you may find a spear which doubles its attack to get past larger enemies. You can then add a pair of hornets to the spear so that it will take out the bad guys. You might change to a combination of a huge hammer with an area-of effect fire attack after you die. While weapon stats change between runs, they can also be changed by running. All each run, so you’re encouraged to be flexible with your arsenal and swap out any weapon that’s not getting the job done. As Death, you’re nimble, able to chain slashes of your scythe into midair dashes that bring you to the next flying enemy, before slamming into the ground beneath you and crushing an otherwise stubborn opponent (decked out in a Dwight Schrute-esque getup, of course).

Mechanically speaking, Enjoy a Nice Death You are immediately responsive and satisfy. The majority of fights in this area, which is the Hall of Eternity, were a breeze, even with Brad (the Chad who handles office security). Even the Industrial Pollution Department appears to lack major challenges. This is except for the last boss, Mr. Gordon Grimes. There are upgrades called “curses” that can improve a weapon or ability but also bestow a debilitating nerf, along with challenges and modifiers that might make future runs more difficult — but all in all, I’ve found Enjoy a Nice Death It’s a lot You can also forgiving, right up to the point where it’s brutally tough. It’s possible that I just need to change my thinking with regard to my loadouts in future runs, but as it stands, Gordon is an unwelcome difficulty spike at the end of a diverting cruise.

Image by Magic Design Studios/Gearbox Publishing

Jarring? Enjoy a Nice Death’s humor ranges from satirically incisive (interns are barred from using any powers or garnering any useful abilities) to downright cringey. An example of the latter: I encountered a miniboss named “W. Hung,” and, as it turns out, the name was not an attempt at innuendo, but a reference to the fact that he was an office worker hanging from an actual noose. Wait! You should read the journal entry of Mr. Hung following his defeat. ropeIt was not him who is strangled, but the myth that he believed it. This misconception was an ongoing thorn in his side.

My trek will continue through the rest of Canada. Enjoy a Nice Death’s morose corridors, the better to understand its upgrades, uncover its secret rooms, and improve Death Incorporated’s various vending machines and employee shops. But as of now, I can’t help feeling like my journey thus far has been unremarkable. Roguelike is an extremely competitive genre these days. While I do appreciate the diversity of this niche, Enjoy a Nice Death’s wonderfully tight combat mechanics, I’m not optimistic that they’ll be enough to set the game apart. Its long-term progression loop hasn’t grabbed me, and its humor is pushing me away. Maybe Death has something else in his bag.

Enjoy a Nice Death On March 22, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC will release the game as an early access title. Gearbox Publishing gave a pre-release downloading code. The PC version of the game was tested. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. Although these partnerships do not impact editorial content, Vox Media could earn commissions from products sold via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.