Have a Nice Death

Presentation

Have a Nice Death is a 2D action roguelike developed by Magic Design Studios. The player takes control of Death himself, portrayed here as the overworked head of Death Incorporated, a massive bureaucracy responsible for managing souls.

The company's senior managers, known as the Sorrows, have allowed their departments to spiral out of control. To regain control of his business and finally secure some time off, Death must leave his office and fight his own employees.

Each attempt takes the player through procedurally generated departments, with rooms, enemies, rewards and encounters arranged differently from one run to the next.

Combat follows a fast hack'n'slash style, combining movement, dodging, scythe attacks and a wide range of secondary weapons and abilities.

The arsenal includes more than 70 weapons and spells, ranging from melee options to ranged abilities. Equipment collected and upgraded during a run allows players to gradually build combinations suited to their preferred playstyle.

Curses are one of the main upgrade systems. They can strengthen Death's abilities, but some choices also come with consequences that may benefit employees or alter other aspects of the run.

The roguelike structure means starting over after each defeat, but not everything is lost. Performance reviews and various unlocks gradually expand the options available in later attempts.

Each department has its own visual identity and enemy types. Pollution, disease and other causes of death are transformed into bureaucratic divisions led by their respective managers.

This structure is accompanied by constant dark humor: meetings, human resources, interns, performance reviews and corporate culture form the backdrop of a world entirely devoted to death.

Key points

• A 2D action roguelike.
• The player controls Death, head of Death Incorporated.
• An afterlife corporation that has fallen into chaos.
• The Sorrows manage the different departments.
• Procedurally generated levels.
• Fast hack'n'slash combat.
• The scythe is Death's signature weapon.
• More than 70 weapons and spells to discover.
• Equipment allows different builds to be created.
• Weapons and abilities can be upgraded during runs.
• Curses provide upgrades with possible drawbacks.
• Bosses, mini-bosses and employees vary by department.
• Some unlocks are retained between attempts.
• A hand-drawn 2D art direction.
• A world mixing dark humor with corporate satire.

Conclusion

Have a Nice Death combines roguelike repetition with fast combat in which weapons, spells and Curses can significantly change one attempt from the next.

Progression depends as much on learning enemy and boss patterns as on building coherent combinations of upgrades during a run.

Its identity is also built around Death Incorporated, which turns the afterlife into a giant bureaucracy and uses office culture as the foundation for its humor, characters and different departments.

Good to know

Have a Nice Death is developed by the French studio Magic Design Studios.

The game entered Early Access on PC on March 8, 2022.

Version 1.0 launched on March 22, 2023 for PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch.

The full release notably added the eighth department, focused on Inevitable Time, along with new enemies, bosses and the conclusion of the main story.

The PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions launched on December 5, 2023.

The game is a single-player experience.

The Xbox versions support Smart Delivery and Xbox Play Anywhere.

Magic Design Studios designed each department around a theme related to causes of death and a Sorrow acting as its executive manager and boss.

Progression between attempts allows new items and upgrades to be unlocked, expanding the possibilities available in future runs.

The game's current publisher is Arc Games; at the time of the 1.0 release, it was published under the Gearbox Publishing label.

This entry focuses on Death, Death Inc., the Sorrows, the roguelike structure, weapons, spells and Curses, without detailing every department, boss or piece of equipment.