It’s been a minute since I sunk my teeth into a new rogue-like game, nor did I know “Death or Treat” even was one before playing. This new 2D side-scrolling action game from Saona Studios, is a very surprising and welcoming new addition to the rogue-like genre. Our adorable lead character is named Scary, a cute and badass ghost who is on a mission to restore the Halloween spirit to his little town of Hallowtown. The game has a hack-and-slash style of gameplay, with Scary fighting his way through various levels to defeat the big evil conglomerates and restore Hallowtown to its former glory.
The game’s overall look and town design are what immediately stand out the most, it is obviously heavily inspired by Tim Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas,” but it’s also different enough for the developers to not run into any legal issues. The level designs are beautifully hand-drawn, and the side characters, such as vampires and Frankenstein’s monsters, are full of charm. The animation is delightful, and the modern tongue-and-cheek humor adds an extra layer of fun to the game, like with their use of characters names, such as “Joe Bite Them” and “Jobs” a pumpkin headed person with a black turtleneck sweater (you know exactly who they’re parodying). There are also places like the skills store named “Necrosoft” and “Deathflix” which I found to be pretty funny, there are easter eggs like this all over. Most of the cutscenes are done in still images and text boxes. While in game dialogue is also conveyed with text boxes and a nice image of the character off to the side. Collecting blue candies with a face on them, reminiscent of Jack Skellington from “Nightmare Before Christmas,” (props for getting away with that) helps players upgrade their skills and max health. They can also purchase potions and upgrades from the Hatter and his Mystery Shop.
When starting a new run, players have a choice of the broomstick as their main melee weapon and one of three different skills: Jump Scare, Boo-merang, and Ghost Explosion. The controls are fairly standard, you have a jump, a double jump, a dash, a main attack. But you also get a few extra goodies such as the ability to use your skill, a secondary attack, an uppercut, as well as a smash attack. Every time I start a new run the level is completely different. Many of the enemies are similar, but the overall design of the map is different, with many different platforming obstacles to overcome. As players progress through the game, they encounter new stages, such as Darkchat, Riptok, Deviltube, and FaceBoo, all of which have their own bosses that need to be taken down. When players die, they return to Hallowtown and can choose which ingredients they want to keep, you have a total of sixteen slots of different ingredients you can carry. Collecting ingredients helps players restore different shops in Hallowtown, the standout for me was Frank’s Forge, where you can purchase stronger weapons like spiked sledgehammers and even chainsaws. Restoring these locations is essential for becoming powerful enough to complete the game.
“Death or Treat” doesn’t break any new ground in the rogue-like genre, but it’s simple enough for newcomers to understand while still providing enough of a challenge to keep veteran players engaged. The game’s overall look and aesthetic are very cool and pleasing to the eye, particularly for Halloween fans, and its cute and welcoming appearance is sure to draw in gamers. With an initial price of $24.99, “Death or Treat” does provide it’s money’s worth and is a spooky and fun addition to the rogue-like family of games.
Score: 7.5/10
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Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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