A Pleasant Passing Quiz: Gorgeous and Hilarious.

« Eeeeeet I’m gaining another 37 followers on my Instant Death page because I’ve already folded you five times, biiiim! “, balances one of the employees of the company Death Inc. to his own boss, with an asserted arrogance. It’s been a hell of a mess since the workforce decided to do as they please in the face of the accumulation of tasks. Faced with the rebellious spirit that hangs around the premises, Death is on the verge of burnout and the best way to regain control is to calm his minions once and for all. In Have a Nice Deathwho sows death is called Death.

Another rogue-like, some will think. Have a Nice Death, developed by a studio located in Montpellier, wants to flourish in a genre that the indie scene has transformed into a real Eldorado. It therefore enters into direct competition with productions such as Dead Cells, Hades, The Binding of Isaac or Rogue Legacy 2. Sizes that it is not easy to shake up. This requires solid support to consider rubbing shoulders with them. Have a Nice Death is still well prepared: it has been available for early access on PC for several months and March 22, 2023 is finally judgment day.

Have a Nice Death avoid bankruptcy

To stand out, there is nothing better than to catch the eye. Visually, it must be recognized that Have a Nice Death touch the divine. Brilliantly animated, this dive into the daily life of a company in crisis is adorned with exquisite artistic direction. The general design, both gloomy and endearing, exudes a job well done and the desire to give birth to a universe that is as credible as it is atypical. The 2D production is really high quality and there is paradoxically a lot of life in this world celebrating death.

Have a Nice Death relies on an undeniable charm, both in the design of the characters and in what they tell. Death Inc. becomes the scene of the quirks of the professional world, with an ever-present humorous argument. Disrespect for the hierarchy, multiple complaints about wages or working conditions, gossip, do you want some, here you go… Sometimes it’s like being at the coffee machine with a colleague you pretend to like so much he spends a little too much time throwing up his too routine and ordinary life. Except that there, we play a CEO ready to break everything.

Have a Nice Death also feeds on a form of paradox, linked to a tone that is both cruel and cute. With his face, his small size and his quickdraw, Death is not credible for a penny in his role of tyrant wishing that his subordinates spin straight. That’s the slightly absurd side of the simplistic story that multiplies the funny dialogues. But there are also real scenes of sadness, especially when poor French fries start crying in the corridors of the food department. This place is defined as a conglomeration of machinery, conveyor belts and vats filled with anything that can be melted or cooked to give the appetizing appearance of a snack enriched with filthy substances. »

Gameplay maybe a little too nervous

Death’s determination to restore order can easily be read in the gameplay of Have a Nice Death. From the first seconds, we realize that this anti-hero, yet jaded as ever, is hyper nervous in his movements. The result is a punchy experience, which gives the impression of embodying an elusive flea, capable of jumping everywhere with incredible vivacity. It’s very disconcerting at first and it’s a hell of a blow to take: Death moves so fast that it can lead us to make mistakes.

In Have a Nice Death, errors are paid for in cash. Indeed, the life bar tends to empty in a flash. To avoid having to start all over again, it is necessary to place your dodges well and to shorten the fights as much as possible. Of course, as you progress in the adventure, you get ever more powerful weapons and powers, in the purest tradition of games of the genre. On gameplay, Have a Nice Death does not really seek to stand out, prefers to concentrate on the fruit of a job well done.

Rogue-like oblige, Have a Nice Death spice up the experience by integrating Die&Retry mechanics. You may often fail in the game, but that’s on purpose. Climbing from floor to floor implies knowing failures, which turn into lessons for subsequent attempts (the nature of the rooms crossed is important). In the learning curve, Have a Nice Death quickly reaches its ceiling but, at least, it is never discouraging. of a run on the other, you keep the gold collected and you gain experience to unlock permanent advantages.

The levels of Have a Nice Death are obviously procedurally generated, with a fairly small sample of different parts. Similarly, the skills that can be accessed are random. It is nevertheless possible to mitigate this facet of the game by selecting the type of room in which you want to enter or by redistributing the power cards. In this way, you can better orient your adventure, until you see one of the two endings.