When you complete a game the same day, is it because it’s too short, you’ve got it on the easy setting, or it’s the marginal gains of unlocking another perk that means that just ‘one more run’ and you might finish it? Answer: all of the above when it comes to Death Kid.
Not knowing anything about it other than it not being a child with hearing impairment or the offspring of Satan, the rogue-like tag and cool pixel art visuals were enough to prompt a request for a review code to fill up the new Switch 2. Again, this isn’t a Switch 2 exclusive, but that’s what this review is based on.
As the titular Death Kid, you head into the forest to enter a mysterious well and reach the bottom. Usually, that means stacking it by jumping arse first or jumping in a bucket and lowering yourself down. No, no, no. You see, this is a special well that features several seals that must be broken to reach the end, and what lies beyond…? I know. I finished it, but considering how long it takes, I suggest you give it a go.
Death Kid Review (Switch 2)
Our gaunt hero is quite the enigma. First, we’ll deal with the obvious and assume there’s something to do with mortality rather than him on his way to a Grim Fandango convention. Yep, he’s immortal. There’s no health bar so that he can take unlimited damage, but if the jar of souls he bears is extinguished, he has to start again. But start what exactly?
Death Kid is a rogue-like/lite action game where you have to defend three of these souls while they attempt to break through the ground seal to descend onto the next. The well is circular – conveniently circular – and waves of enemies will come out of the shadows to stop the souls, so you have to protect them as if defending your base. There’s a prominent timer indicating how long until they break through, but kill as many as you can; this can expedite things a little.
As the souls don’t hit back and keep the same life force as the floor that precedes it, it’s imperative that they take as little damage as possible. There isn’t any way to replenish their health, so once they’re put out, you have to start again without any shortcuts. There are eight seals in total, and bookworms can make a nine circles reference if they like. Expect to die a fair amount of times, but remember that as it’s a rogue-like, you’ll be picking up skills along the way.
Skill Tree Of Death
Death Kid’s actions are melee attacks – a three-button-mashing combo and a second with a slightly delayed third press of the button to release a power punch. Holding a shoulder button and attacking also fires off a projectile at enemies far away. Ammo is infinite, but you have to ensure you have enough energy to do so, and that’s achieved through a Super Saiyajin stance and red flame aura.
Range attacks are a bit fiddly – even if you upgrade them, so my unsolicited advice is to steam through, level up, use your skill points to invest in basic attacks, and then dodge damage. Enemies in the game don’t target you save for a few hero units that only go for Death Kid, so being able to dodge is a bonus, but the skill is far better when upgraded, so you can dash across the screen and kill enemies swiftly.
Aside from the upgrades to power, charging speed and additional charged projectile moves, you can engage in a rage mode where Death Kid whips out a sword and does additional damage for a short space of time. There are also windows where the souls give you triple XP if you keep defeating baddies. Wait… aren’t you one of those?
Repetition Is Hell
The Switch 2 joy-cons aren’t the best, so my experience was mostly limited to bashing away at the basic attack and the dodge. Even after the first run, the game felt manageable, and it didn’t take long to invest in the skills best suited to my place. After a couple of hours, I was at the end, but the sequence was way too difficult, and upon dying, I had to repeat from the beginning. The additional skill points made no difference, as I wasn’t using the ranged attacks.
However, after the second attempt, I’d beat the game and was pretty darn satisfied with myself. After a brief credit sequence where Crooked Games thanks all their mates, there’s the suggestion to try again but with a more challenging experience. Do you know what? I take them up on the offer, and challenging is the correct terminology, but it’s also enjoyable. And for that reason, Death Kid is getting a thumbs up.
