Deadly Days

This is very lite on the rogue-lite or is that supposed to be heavy on the rogue-lite I can never remember which it is. The unlock tree barely gives you anything and only unlocks things you still only "randomly" find in the game. Just like most rogue-likes... difficulty is not well thought out and is just shallow and there to get the badge in the cheapest way possible. Also just like most rogue-likes... RNG is a major component so as per usual... the human minds addiction to gambling is triggered. For me, I can only enjoy these games as long as something new shows up and once you have played with all the toys possible, the game is dead and worthless because the main loop is already old and tired with nothing new to do. This is the problem with all shallow games. Only fun for a short time until the novelty wears off and this game is very much having this effect on me.

This game combines a few of my favorite elements: 2D pixel graphics, zombies, and re-playability. The concept is also very simple: raid maps and don’t die. There’s no special reward for killing zombies save for a few unlockable items, so the mission is raid as fast as you can. Like other rougelite games, there’s a lot of randomness. You have some control of characters, as you direct them where they’re going, and the ability to aim in a general direction, but except for focusing on some big targets, it isn’t all that useful. Like a real zombie apocalypse, you do what you can with what you got. The main “issue” with the game is it’s near impossible to beat. The game ramps the danger quick. It isn’t a gradual increase in danger, but a big jump: danger level 1 becomes 6, 6 becomes 13, and so on. There are ways to decrease the level, but they don’t happen often or reduce the level enough. Level increases often spawn new enemies, some extremely dangerous. I’ve made it to the last level several times, but I’ve never made it past two rooms. Because of the random nature, sometimes you never get the chance to progress far. I’ve had one or two runs where I never encountered the levels I needed to advance to the last stage. Still, I can’t say it’s not fun. I’ve died a lot in this game and I’m still itching to go back.

There is not a lot to this game, but what is there is pretty fun. It is an rng type game for level generation and items. Your main goal is to maintain food for your little peoples and try and obtain new weapons that increase your power as the longer you last the harder the areas are. It is an over all simple game that is better to watch a video of someone playing to see if you would like it as it might not be for everyone, but like my self I quickly found watching the game play loop I saw it was going to be my cup of tea.

I like it a lot and played for over 30 hours since I got it in 2020. It's fun for a quick round now and then. The gameplay loop is fine, luck plays an important role however and I don't know how you are supposed to win on the hardest difficulty. So in conclusion I'd say the balancing could use some work, but overall I did enjoy my time and would recommend this game for rogue lite fans.