If there’s something I’ve tried to move past in recent years, it’s using other IP as a way of describing something. For example, once Persona became more popular in recent years, a lot of games with dungeon crawling and heavily focused character development is likened to it. Add in a school setting, and it’s practically a ripoff. This is not only not helpful in describing the game to someone that’s unfamiliar with the property, but also comes with preconceived notions/thoughts. Having not looked into Death or Treat, the email I received had a subject of “Ori meets Hollow Knight x Nightmare Before Christmas;” the actual experience was far different.

Based on the two games listed in that subject, I thought a difficult Metroidvania sounded fun. And here we are again, a genre actually defined by a combination of two game names that doesn’t say anything to someone unfamiliar with those games. I digress. Mix in some Halloween themes (I assumed it just meant aesthetic, not any of the games) and it sounded like it’d be enjoyable. Of course, if I actually researched the game, I would’ve found that the comparison was like saying Fargo was based on a true story.

The game has an enjoyable aesthetic, and the characters are definitely drawn and animated well, but that’s all there is to the Ori portion. There are enemies that will one-shot you, so I guess that’s the Hollow Knight part. Lastly, the candy you collect looks like Jack Skellington, so that’s the trifecta. Again, if I did my due diligence, I would’ve known more of what to actually expect, but I just wanted to point out how this tactic can negatively impact expectations versus reality.

The game is a rogue-lite hack and slash that’s surprisingly linear, despite its random nature. I suppose this style of game has been spoiled for me by others that develop the story on each run, opposed to providing the exact same narrative screen as you progress and replay sections. And as each section comes to an end, the game funnels you exactly where it wants – while there are multiple paths, only one is ever available. Even if all the paths took you to the same room, the illusion of choice would be nice, given that’s a big part of these games.

When you die, which you will do as you learn the boss patterns, you’ll be sent back to the village that you must rebuild. You’ll do so with items you collect, as well as the candy that serves as currency. You can only bring back so many item types per death until you upgrade your stash, so it’s important to know which items you need to unlock other stores and the upgrades themselves. Bringing back 10 batwings may not be worth it when compared to something more rare, depending on what you intend to buy. Do you need a weapon upgrade, more health, or better regeneration? It’s important to understand your options and focus on what’s going to benefit you most. The items you find throughout the levels are generally satellite characters or increased stats/drops. You’ll also have a chance to buy mysterious potions before each boss that will increase/decrease your damage, health, and skill gauge.

The game’s story is not at all important to the experience, although it may make you laugh a couple times, depending on if you understand what it’s parodying. It’s hard to be in the dark on everything it’s making fun of, so there should be at least a few smirks, even if it’s environmental. The enemies are generally in mobs and not overly difficult to kill, it’s just a matter of learning the controls, move sets, and avoiding the deadeye aim of projectile throwing foes. The damage you take varies widely to the point of seeming random at times, and many deaths left me wondering how they happened. The bosses are more or less puzzles, and will drop a wide array of items that will help with progression. After a boss fight, you’re given the option of continuing with an extra item slot for when you die, or returning to the village with additional candy. In addition to upgrades, you can use the items to unlock shortcuts to levels.

There were lots of issues in the game that were supposed to be remedied day one, including dropped frames (this was obnoxious while playing, especially with how often it happened) and incorrect animations during boss fights. There was also text populating incorrectly in the button options following a boss or at vendors. However, none of these were game breaking, and should be easy enough to patch out later if they still exist.

Death or Treat is a pretty barebones entry to the growing pantheon of rogue-lite hack and slash games. It looks nice and plays well enough, but it isn’t sticky. Usually I’m itching to come back and play more after the first couple runs of a rogue-lite, but each time I played this, I was left longing for more. My daughter would ask if I could play something else, and while I did my best to keep playing, I would find myself succumbing to the allure of other games. It’s by no means a bad game, it’s just not one that clicked with me.

5 out of 10

Pros

• Aesthetic and Style
• Fairly Quick to Complete

Cons

• Feels Unpolished/Unfinished
• Cheap Deaths
• Lack of Agency

Death or Treat was developed by Saina Studios and published in conjunction with Perp Games. The game is available on PC, PS5, and XSX, with NS and PS4 versions coming later. The game was provided to us for review on PS5. If you’d like to see more of Death or Treat, check out the developer’s site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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