VIDEO GAME REVIEW: NeverDead

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Published by: Konami Corporation
Developed by: Rebellion

Release Date: Jan. 31, 2012
Available on: Xbox 360, PS3

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INTRO: You’re Bryce, and you’re a demon slayer
of some sort who’s always getting killed. Yes, this is a game where the
gimmick is that you’re well..never dead. You can be reduced to a little
head rolling around the floor. You can lose arms and legs and just
about any other body part you can think of, but you just keep on
ticking. That’s pretty much the shtick here, you’re the wisecracking
demon killer who can put his limbs back on.

GAMEPLAY:

Oh, did I ever want to love this game. The idea of plowing through
hordes of foes, losing an arm and simply reattaching it is an
admittedly fun one. As Bryce, you can tear your own head off and throw
it at people. In fact, you have to do that sometimes in order to get to
hard to reach places. Anyway, the problem here is that you don’t just
lose a limb sometimes- you lose them constantly, without fail. You can
be about to blast a dude’s head off and he’ll casually knock your
noggin off, sending you sprawling for it. And while your arms and legs
will come off too, your head comes off too often. And although you
can’t die, if your head gets eaten it’s game over. And believe me, your
head will be eaten. You’re going to spend a lot of time rolling around
and taking damage trying to get your limbs.

You’re bumbling around with the supremely annoying female lead,
Arcadia. Having to listen to these characters bantering back and forth
gets old really fast. This is really lame and tired stuff. If she dies
(she can actually die), you’re dead. Don’t worry though, she’s pretty
good. She just feels tacked on for the sole purpose of advancing the
game’s storyline. As for killing dudes, it can be fun but there isn’t
enough variety of dudes to kill. Hell, some of the bosses even repeat
themselves. With that said, some of them are pretty badass (Sangria was
a fun one).

Anyway, the game really just sticks you in a lot of dark areas where
you have to kill a bunch of dudes. You kill them, then the doors open
and you can leave. You don’t get to do a lot otherwise, besides the
occasional puzzle which won’t really tide you over (and why you can’t
use the dismemberment gimmick to your advantage during puzles, I’ll
never know). In terms of killing the foes who surround you, you can
indeed shoot them but the best choice would be your sword. It feels
good, and it’s far more accurate than the ammo weaponry tends to be.
So, lock on and swing like mad. If you’re lucky, you can cut something
in the environment to knock over on the baddies but they’ll often knock
into stuff themselves. Strange.

Ultimately, the game feels a bit unfinished, and while the idea sounds
really fun, the execution isn’t there. It’s just too repetitive and
gets frustrating after an hour or so.

Gameplay: 5.5/10

GRAPHICS:

First of all, the camera is erratic and all over the place. The
characters look alright, but the enviroments are bland, dark and
repetitive. The animations are glitchy and the destructable
environments can be downright comical. It’s not an artful game.

Graphics: 5/10

AUDIO:

Do you like repetitive, looping heavy metal riffs? Well there are
lots of them here. As I mentioned before, the dialogue is going to make
you beat your brains out. There are ton of bad puns and really lame
jokes about losing limbs. Get ready to groan.

Audio: 4.5/10

FINAL VERDICT:

This game is just no fun. It can be annoying, it is unquestionably
frustrating and doesn’t feel complete. The gimmick is a fun one, but it
feels cheap and forced. Avoid this one unless it pops up in a ten
dollar bin sometime.

Final Score: 5.5/10

GET THIS GAME HERE