Stupid Never Dies makes a striking, if peculiar, debut by blending roguelite progression with action-RPG mechanics in an inventive, punk-infused monster world. The game’s hook is amplified by its dim-witted protagonist and his quest to revive a love interest, presenting a premise that is equal parts endearing and unsettling.
A World of Monsters and Misfits
The narrative unfolds in a world overrun by monsters emerging from the Earth's crust, drawing heavily from classic cinematic horror and B-movie tropes, all filtered through a distinctive '90s and '00s pop-punk aesthetic. This stylistic choice effectively establishes the game’s goofball, self-aware tone. In the aftermath of the monster invasion, humanity is nearly extinct, and zombies are relegated to the bottom rung of a new monster caste system. The protagonist, Davy, a teenage-looking undead individual with a preference for pacifism, stumbles into his adventure quite by accident. His journey truly begins when he consumes a glowing Phoenix Egg, granting him the ability to absorb power from other monsters. He is spurred on in this quest by Dr. Frank, who suggests this power might be used to revive Julia, a human girl Davy found in a freezer and has become infatuated with.
This premise, while presented with a clear intent towards dark humor, carries a problematic undertone as Julia has no agency in Davy’s imagined romance. The game leans into Davy’s complete foolishness to mitigate this, suggesting the audience should recognize the folly in his actions, though the setup remains ethically questionable.
Roguelite Progression and Combat Mechanics
Davy’s quest to revive Julia hinges on defeating KOM, the King of the Monsters. After the surface world was devastated, most monster races retreated underground, leaving zombies to wander the surface. Davy’s descent through subterranean layers to gather materials for Julia’s revival drives the roguelite structure. Upon defeating a boss or returning to the home base in an abandoned shopping mall before being defeated, players retain their gains for power-up purposes. In these underground segments, Davy’s movement is quick and his attacks are strong, mirroring character-action games. Enemies are varied, ranging from common mobs like lizardmen and skeletons to elites such as cyclopes and harpies. Players can absorb the powers of elite enemies, significantly expanding Davy’s capabilities.
By default, Davy’s attacks feel floaty and imprecise, a characteristic befitting a zombie, but this can detract from the feeling of stylish combat. The game does offer a "stupid parry" mechanic and a leap ability for aerial combat and environmental manipulation. Combat generally has a chaotic, momentum-driven feel.
Upgrades and Transformations
Roguelite progression involves acquiring and upgrading perks. These range from simple stat boosts to specialized abilities that reward specific actions, like knocking enemies off ledges. Davy also possesses a Bite ability, charged through regular attacks, which serves as both a heal and a finisher. Using it on elite enemies provides a significant heal and a power boost, making gauge management crucial.
Elite enemies can also drop skill cores, allowing Davy to transform into powerful monster forms like a werewolf, lich, or snow fairy, provided his Bite gauge is charged. These transformations dramatically enhance his abilities and are often categorized by rarity, adding an element of excitement to discovering potent new forms.
Pacing and Base Management
Progression can feel slow, and early combat encounters quickly become repetitive. The "Go Nuts" mode, which accelerates level progression, can alleviate this, making the game more enjoyable by allowing players to reach the more engaging mid-run gameplay faster. Once back at the home base, players can interact with various systems. Bessie offers permanent upgrades, a monster rewards achievements, Acelino allows for stat-boosting body part swaps, Milo’s ice cream shop trades currency for skill and stat upgrades, and Julia can receive gifts to boost Davy’s ultimate state, Davy Burst. Players can also delve into lore with Dr. Frank, view Julia’s old social media posts, or change the soundtrack.
Design Quirks and Frustrations
Despite the multitude of systems, their integration can feel unwieldy. Davy’s default slow movement speed necessitates frequent activation of a motorized vacuum for faster traversal, a baffling design choice that disrupts the flow. Some upgrade descriptions are obscure, making it difficult to understand their effects and often leading players to skip them altogether. A particularly frustrating addition is the timer, indicated by a TickTock Teddy. This incentivizes strategic skipping of layers, as not all can be played in a single run, and time-extension items add another layer of resource management. However, the time pressure often clashes with the difficulty of bosses, creating a sense of frustration when a near-victory is cut short by an arbitrary time limit.
The timer also negatively impacts level design, making airborne enemies particularly challenging due to the time required to defeat them. Randomized stages can be difficult to navigate, wasting precious seconds. Even potentially dramatic moments, like approaching a boss chamber, become reminders of time being consumed.
Ultimately, these issues detract from Stupid Never Dies’s potential. The combat and merchant systems feel overstuffed, and the timer is an unnecessary addition that hinders the overall experience. While the game boasts an inventive world, a likable protagonist, and engaging transformation mechanics, its repetitive progression, cringeworthy plot points, and frustrating timer system prevent it from fully realizing its ambitions.