Have a Nice Death is a 2D action roguelike that proves you can’t escape work burnout, even in the afterlife. Playing as Death, the CEO of Death Inc., players set out to reign in their rogue employees and save the company. With your scythe in hand, you’ll make your way through each department, taking on each area’s boss. The game is strong out of the gate with early runs highlighting its snappy combat, challenging bosses, and dark comedic tone. These highs don’t last long. Later runs fail to keep this momentum going as progression falls to the wayside and burnout sets in more and more with each passing run.
Magic Design Studios explores the touchy subject of work burnout through the lens of a roguelike. Death’s burnout is the result of his employees, who have started amassing way too large body counts. Their new methods of collecting souls, while efficient, are also unethical. Even worse, they’ve left Death buried in mountains of paperwork. Going into Have a Nice Death, I worried about the narrative limitations of exploring burnout from the point of view of the CEO. What got me on board was Death’s repeated attempts to clean the mess up himself. Furthermore, his willingness to accept responsibility for the mess is refreshing. I still think the theme would have been better explored from the point of view of a new employee or an intern, but enough is done here to make Death likable through the campaign.
Combat is easy to pick up, feels great, and adheres to many different playstyles. Death’s scythe is a staple in combat, with different variations available. The Twinscythe is a longer two-sided scythe that gives players a little more range with their basic attack. Players also have access to a wider arsenal, including the likes of broadswords, warhammers, and magical spells. I was well into my double-digit runs and still discovering new weapons. Each weapon also comes with an ultimate attack, known as a cast frenzy. These attacks can help level things out when fighting large mobs or in the middle of a boss fight.
The campaign takes you through eight colorful and creepy departments of Death Inc. The game does a great job of making each of these standout with unique enemies and themes related to death. Over processed food-shaped enemies lurk each level of the Toxic Food-Processing Department. Pill influenced enemies run rampant in the Addictions Department. There are a few enemy types that repeat, but these don’t detract from the uniqueness of each department.
Have a Nice Death’s dark art style, and goofy humor evoke animated dark comedies such as Invader Zim or The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. It’s a direction that tries to balance the dark with the goofy and it for the most part works. There are a few questionable character decisions that cross the line for the sake of crossing it. My prime example is the Thanager (the game’s mini-bosses), Will Hung, a sentient noose with a worker at the end of it. The running joke is that everyone assumes Will is the person and not the rope. It’s a joke that doesn’t land, especially when you consider the depth of some of the other characters. For example, the Head of Security, Brad, is a stand-in for low level managers ready to push their way to the top, regardless of the skills they may be lacking. He’s a gym rat, a narcissist, and a wannabe influencer all wrapped up in a muscular package. Adding to the humor is the fact that Brad is a gargoyle, whose main purpose is to wait in watch. It’s this level of detail that makes characters like Brad likable. It also helps the jokes associated with him land, as opposed to someone like Hung, who feels like a one-note joke.
Have a Nice Death wears its comedic influences like a badge of honor. Anyone who has ever binged The Office will get the game’s vibe when Death Inc’s Receptionist finds his stapler in jello. These conversations with employees are one of the highpoints early in the game. Employees constantly beef with one another. Squabbles range from an impending strike, to disagreeing over the building’s thermostat setting. These spats add life to Death Inc. and give you something to look forward to between runs. Some have certain requirements, such as asking an employee to raise the temperature in the rest of the building. I do come away wishing there were a few more ways to interact with employees, outside of dialogue exchanges. You’re equipped with an employee handbook that is helpful in tracking who you’ve interacted with. Outside of catching up on company lore, there’s not much else to find here.
Navigating Death Inc. in my later runs, I could start to feel the fatigue set in. Each department contains seven floors that must be cleared before taking on that department’s Sorrow (the boss). You reach each new floor with an elevator ride that lets you select what reward you will receive for completing the next floor. Outside of a few special choices, like the Relaxation floor and the Experimental floor, not much changes between these levels. You enter, take out enemies in an arena area, collect your reward in the form of one of the game’s currencies or a curse that buffs your abilities, and then head for the next elevator to do it all again.
I found myself wanting to skip entire departments to get to the boss. It’s an inclination the developer was well aware would be there. Leveling up between runs, unlocks permanent perks that can be accessed for later runs. Some perks include elevators that take you directly to bosses. This is both a gift and a curse. You can skip a handful of floors and jump right into a fight. The tradeoff is that you’re giving up resources you would gather on those floors to help improve your build. I am all for skipping levels to save some time, but when I am skipping them out of fatigue, there’s something wrong.
This leads into my biggest issue with Have a Nice Death. Even with permanent perks unlocked at later levels, I never felt like I was making progress between runs. The boss fights are each unique and challenging, but the fun evaporates when I realize I am ill equipped to go toe-to-toe with a Sorrow. You expect this in early runs as you learn the ropes. There is no reason you should feel weak when going in to fight an early boss for the fortieth time. Skipping departments whole and missing opportunities to upgrade doesn’t help either. The game mitigates some of the difficulty with the Self-Fulfillment Mode that can be activated between runs. This mode makes recurring enemies easier to deal with. It also hands out some Animas (health kits) at the start of each run. Bosses go unaffected in this game mode, so while you may breeze through some of the earlier floors, your false sense of security vanishes as Waldo or one of the other Sorrows bring you back down to reality.
Have a Nice Death captures the experience of trying to survive burnout in the workplace. Death Inc. feels alive with its colorful cast of employees and their antics. Yet, even with combat that feels great and a look and tone that pulls you in, Have a Nice Death can’t escape the trappings of its progression issues.
