Office Space meets Dead Cells in Gearbox’s new roguelike HAVE A NICE DEATH
Black cloak, massive scythe, the visage of a skull peeking out from the shadows. Death evokes many, many images. Office manager? That one is new. Though Have a Nice Death feels comfortingly familiar.
In a landscape where the roguelike has finally flourished (and perhaps hit its natural peak) with games like Hades, Dead Cells, and Cult of the Lamb, Gearbox and developer Magic Design’s foray into the genre feels expected. Where the game stands out among the crowd of roguelike titans, however, is in a few different ways - some great and some not so great.
From its first loading screen, Have a Nice Death immediately establishes one of its greatest strengths - its immense charm. The screen is simple - Death (albeit much shorter in his burned-out state) holding a steaming cup of coffee and standing in an elevator. No smiles from the perpetually exhausted and overworked Reaper of Souls. The cherry on top? As the lights flash, simulating floor after floor, classic hold-music worthy Musak blares through the speakers of my Switch. Even days after beating my first run, this horribly catchy tune was stuck in my head. This is the best example of the satirical, sometimes on-the-nose humor Have a Nice Death prides itself on.
You play as Death, desperate for a vacation from his job as CEO of Death, Inc. Death, Inc. handles the logistics of any and all things death. Causes of death are personified as Sorrows (each overseeing a specific themed department like Natural Disasters, Addictions, and Modern Warfare - which we’ll talk about later). Souls are processed by an elite team of desk jockeys like Patrick, the rules-lawyer receptionist, and Death’s go-getter intern Pump Quinn. And overseeing it all is Death, who embarks on a quest to put his employees in their place when he discovers that the Sorrows and their departments are “overdoing” it when it comes to creating misery, torment, and all around tragedy. Unfortunately, though you can’t exactly die - you’re Death, for crying out loud! - you do get sent back to your office every time you’re bested in combat.
Thus begins the meat of the game itself. As Death, you are let loose from the shackles of your office and must trek through each department, disciplining your workers (often with the sharp end of your scythe) in classic roguelike fashion. Expect the usual from Have a Nice Death when it comes to the trappings of a roguelike: dozens of weapons to find and use, permadeath, a gradual difficulty spike, the works. There are a few areas where Have a Nice Death shines, however, even if its shining in fluorescent office lights.
One thing must be said above all: Have a Nice Death is one of the most well-designed and beautiful games I’ve played in years. Other reviewers have compared the hand-drawn, cartoonish visuals to watching a Pixar short; I find it hard to disagree with them. Each supporting character has their own fun design choice: the HR manager T. O’Shah - I hope you like work puns, because the writing team sure does - emerges from a coffin in classic Dracula fashion, Pump Quinn is a literal pumpkin, etc. And the Sorrows, which serve as the bosses of each level, are a joy to watch as they try to ruthlessly kill you.
The writing doubles down on the “work to death” humor that the game seems to love so much. Endless puns, quips about the scarcity of coffee, and talk of corporate burnout abound. Difficulty levels are described as “imminent breakdowns”. Special resources like “soulary” and “prismium” (free Paid Time Off) are treated with reverence. And curses - the upgrades you find as you work your way through a run - are similarly named, with monikers like Irritable Boss Syndrome, Social Toxicity, and (my personal favorite) Administrative Penalty. All in all, the relentless “Case of the Mondays!” humor that Have a Nice Death employs works. To an extent. Eventually, it can become grating and overzealous, like that co-worker that needs separate emails for every little update (we don’t need to know what you brought for lunch today!). But if you love portmanteau and talking quarterly reports, you’ll have no shortage of chuckles.
The gameplay is smooth, quick, and rewards experimentation. Your staple moves include a dash and ground-pound, so movement feels fluid and unencumbered. With tons of different weapons to find per run and upgrade, no two runs are the same, which is a great boon toward replayability. Each level is procedurally generated, in pure roguelike fashion, but don’t expect the twisting, branching paths of Dead Cells. While there are different rooms you can choose from within the department itself, the game’s overall direction is relatively straightforward, meaning you’ll most likely do the same departments in the same order over and over again upon death.
And you’ll die a lot. Have a Nice Death isn’t as unforgiving as some other more brutalistic roguelikes out there, but it’s no cakewalk either. Especially toward the end of the run, when enemies are getting bigger and bigger and your investment is growing with it, one or two cheap shots can end a run quickly. And without invincibility frames to protect your precious HP, this is a game I’d recommend taking in breaks. You unlock boss shortcuts as the game progresses, but it’s always better to take it from the top and hoard as many benefits as you can to ensure maximum success.
The big problem with Have a Nice Death? Unsurprisingly for the Switch, now in its sixth year of life, framerates and loading screens can be an issue. Even on my OLED model, which I played the majority of the game on, the game would dip below 30 frames per second every time a new room loaded, which got old quick. Loading times were not abysmal, but they also weren’t lightning fast (even with that catchy elevator music on high). And crashes and bugs were not uncommon either. There were multiple points where Have a Nice Death simply crapped out on me, for lack of a better term. And though there were autosave points per room, if the game crashed in the middle of a big boss fight against a Sorrow (which it did once or twice)? I’d have to take that boss from the top.
That’s the most noticeable problem with Have a Nice Death, and its an odd one. The game’s art direction works against it here, as each background and level is so artfully crafted and dense with material that the Switch simply can’t handle it cleanly. Have a Nice Death is also available on Steam (though I didn’t play it on my infirm Surface Pro laptop), though its not hard to find reviews and complaints airing the same grievances on PC. It’s also unavailable on any Xbox or Playstation platform, next-gen or otherwise, which feels like a major oversight. A game like this would run beautifully on my PS5, but it never got that chance. Maybe a release for those platforms is on the cards down the line, but that feels like wishful thinking.
All told, Have a Nice Death is the kind of game that keeps you hooked from start to finish - when it runs properly. Brilliant art direction, fun writing, and solid gameplay and replayability maintain my attention all the way through, and for only $25 it feels like a steal. Just make sure you’ve got a powerhouse of a PC, or a Switch powered by the Sun. Only then should you visit the dim, poorly carpeted halls of Death, Inc.
FINAL SCORE: 7.5/10
If you want a solid roguelike with a gorgeous artistic flair and charm in spades, Have a Nice Death is what you’re looking for. Though maybe look in a couple months when Gearbox works out the performance issues.
