Steam's latest roguelike hit is a Hades and Vampire Survivors mash-up with some impressive RPG flair
Death Must Die has just launched in Early Access and it's pushing all the right buttons for players
Death Must Die, from developer Realm Archive, takes inspiration from some of the best roguelikes out there. On the surface, it could easily be mistaken for Vampire Survivors' twin thanks to its pixel art style and hack-and-slash action where you can't hardly see the ground for the enemies.
Delve a little further, and there's a lot of Hades' influence to be found. Similar to Supergiant Games' offering, Death Must Die sees various godlike characters swoop in and grant you powers to keep you alive and kicking. There's a plethora of upgrades on offer, so you can choose abilities and power-ups that best suit your playstyle.
Rather than trying to escape The Underworld, here you're on a mission to delve further into it with the overall goal of taking down none other than Death itself. "Learn why the gods have decided to stand against one of their own and uncover the personal stories behind each of the heroes as you explore the Underworld," reads the game's Steam page.
Death Must Die is currently in Early Access, and so far, the response from players has been very positive. "This game is already among the best in the survivors genre, with more updates it has potential to be just as good or even better than Vampire Survivors," says one Steam reviewer. Another describes it as a "top-tier survivors-style roguelite" thanks to its "reasonable build diversity, decent progression, and a developer that listens to feedback."
If you're tempted by this promising Vampire Survivors and Hades mash-up, you can get it now on Steam. Realm Archive expects Death Must Die to be in Early Access for "about a year," and you can keep up to date with how the full release is progressing by following the developer on Twitter.
For more great indies like this, check out our guide to upcoming indie games.
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Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and 12DOVE. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.