Since I first started playing videogames, I’ve had one mantra relentlessly drilled into me: don’t let your character die. Sure, you can kill of hundreds or thousands of NPCs, but should your protagonist die, that’s it, game over. In Life Goes On: Done to Death, the rulebook is thrown out of the window, and you’re positively encouraged to lead your character to their doom, so long as it aids those who follow.
As the story goes, a nameless king is searching for the Cup of Eternal Life, and it doesn’t matter to him how many of his knights die in pursuit of this goal. With a vibe that is reminiscent of Lemmings, you’re required to sacrifice knights in pursuit of the greater good. Each level requires you to reach a jeweled goblet located behind any number of doors and traps, and to do this, you’re going to have to kill a number of knights. If there’s a pit of spikes that needs to be crossed, throw your body in there, so that the next knight can use your corpse as a handy platform. If there’s a door that needs unlocking, maybe you’ll need to use your own body as an electricity conductor to open it. You soon become numb to the death of your knights, and quickly begin seeing them as a commodity, rather than as living beings.
Life Goes On does attempt to remind you that these aren’t just anonymous grunts being sent to their deaths, as each knight is given a unique, and often elaborate name, such as ‘The Over Eager Maiden Holly Crimper the Second’ or ‘The Elastic Crown Princess Monique Ertl’. This personalization is expanded upon with the appearance of each knight, as progressing through the game unlocks extra hats and weapons for them to carry, including firefighter’s helmets, berets and horse heads for headwear, and fish, baguettes or shovels for weaponry. Unfortunately, these additions serve no purpose other than distinguishing one knight from the next, but both these, and the various names, go a long way to adding to the generally charming nature of the game.
Through Life Goes On, you’ll tackles puzzles in various areas, including mines, castles, mountains and ancient ruins, and though early puzzles can be completed fairly quickly and with minimal planning, later stages become much more elaborate, requiring forethought, multi-step planning and some dexterity on the controller. You’re challenged to complete each level with the fewest number of knights possible, and as quickly as you can, but you’re soon attempting to manage multiple environmental dangers, moving corpses to the right locations, and spawning new knights in the right place. While some levels can be completed in a couple of minutes, there were a number of puzzles that took significantly longer, though the game never felt unfair.
Though it’s becoming less rare for a game to encourage you to play with a smile on your face, it’s still a welcome realization when one does. Life Goes On: Done to Death, isn’t an easy game, but it exudes a level of charm and humor that allows you to brush aside the frustration that often comes from puzzle games, especially when you just can’t quite figure out the solution to a particularly tricky puzzle. The general hook of being able to use the corpses of your allies to progress is a novel one, and there’s enough content here to keep serious puzzle fans busy for a number of hours. It’s not a truly perfect experience, but Life Goes On: Done to Death is recommended for anyone looking for an enjoyable, light-hearted puzzle game.
