Peace, Death! | A Review
originally published on 20/01/2024;
Hello everyone, I am the not-yet-dead G.E.M.Simov, a fellow that’s more in tune with death than with life, here to tell you about the game: “Peace, Death!”.
Simple review details - I rank games on an out of 10 basis, granting up to 3 points in 3 categories, as well as a last, single point from my own self, depending on my experience with it.
Gameplay
This game is very similar to “Papers, Please” in the sense that it requires the Player to make a decision quickly, based on visual indicators provided by a certain entity (the entrant) in accordance with certain directives that have been provided to the Player beforehand.
That is achieved by pressing either the A button to send the entrant to hell or the D button to send the entrant to heaven. The goal is to send all entrants to their proper destinations, which are determined by the directives - all demons go to hell, all humans go to heaven (as an example) - without making mistakes and by being as quick as possible.
The game is sectioned off into weeks, which are, in turn, sectioned off into seven days. Every day (excluding the first), prior to getting to the gameplay of deciding who goes where, the Player is given the option to spend Skulls - a currency obtained by completing a day - in exchange for boons. Some of those could make the day easier by introducing grace (in regards to mistakes) or lessening the number of traits entrants have, others could increase Influence with one of the bosses, others yet could increase the number of Skulls obtained - all are beneficial.
Now, those traits mentioned are the main means of increasing the difficulty of the game. Traits include the possession of horns, weapons, bloodstains, hats and other interesting things like that. Most of those are instant “go to hell” bells, but others need to be interacted with so as to avoid making a mistake. Hats, and almost all other objects, need to be clicked, so that they can be removed, because they can obscure horns or they can be washed off, which means the entrant could be fit for Purgatory.
Thus, the Player needs to also use the mouse and the S key (to send entrants to Purgatory), not just A and D. These added layers of complexity make the game a lot more difficult when one considers the fact that there is a time limit. Now, by itself, that is not problematic, because each day has a limit of 4 minutes. However, there is a grading system, which grading system awards the highest grade - A+ - only when the day is completed in less than 80-ish seconds AND without any mistakes.
This is FURTHER expanded upon through the introduction of the ‘trainee’, who calls and provides a description of an entrant, rather than showing the entrant. These calls require a lot more time than normal entrants, due to the fact that they require reading, rather than just looking, and on top of that they also only feature the ability to agree or disagree with the judgment passed by the trainee, which requires a mouse click.
The main issue here is that the Player loses some time by moving their eyes from the center of the screen - where the entrants usually are - to the top of the screen, where text is. In addition to that, the Player also loses out on time while waiting for the text to be written out (even when the Player attempts to skip it by clicking the left mouse button before the text is fully written out).
That can almost be managed, but almost is the key word. Everything becomes obscenely overwhelming and the means to get the coveted A+ rank on a day situate themselves in the boons that can be purchased, via an extension of the time limit or a removal of the chance for trainee calls, or other such benefits.
It is tremendously challenging, but barely manageable, even though some things - like animations taking out of the Player’s time to note and decide - do feel unfair. It starts getting more and more challenging as more and more traits get introduced. Then, there are also other things that might happen - such as a catastrophe, which introduces new appearances for the entrants (with new or more traits), or safes might appear, which present the option to be sent to either Hell or Heaven (based on what they say) or can be cracked, which involves a funky, timed mini-game… Which awards something.
The whole adventure is great, but it lasts a bit too long. There are 49 whole days that need to be played through, each harder than the last, each requiring more of the Player than the last. That, in and of itself is not bad, but the fact that some days need to be replayed upwards of five times so that the A+ ranking can be achieved means that there’s a lot of redoing the same thing over and over again.
It is simply too much, as the game itself starts growing bothersome and even annoying. Coupled with the apparent lack of any clear story progression (more on that in the Story section of the review), it becomes more than a chore to play through the game.
After being beaten completely - with every one of the 50 available days (with the 50th day being the hardest out of them all) being graded at A+ - the Player is left with the option to pursue achievements, which require the acquisition of the DLC.
Now, the DLC introduces an endless mode, an apartment that can be customized through playing the game and succeeding at certain things, and Fate cards which apply changes to the workday, some of which might include the ability to shoot a goon with a shotgun. The DLC attempts to fix the tedium that comes with the game’s basic gameplay by introducing new reasons to keep playing, and a few spicy, new elements to the gameplay itself, but fails to save it.
Still, for the first few hours it is quite enjoyable. 2/3
Presentation
“Peace, Death!” is a pixel-art based game. It is not an 8 bit or 16 bit pixel-art game, but rather a 32-or-more bit game, making use of pixels but still bringing high fidelity and loads of detail. The number of pixels allows for some impressive sprite work, rendering almost every character in the game to look at least decent. Some look very good, but most are just generic or, at most, averagely neat.
The backgrounds also look astonishing, though that is a consequence of the way pixel-art melds symmetrical shapes with asymmetry, or perhaps just a consequence of pixel-art as a whole. Regardless, this game looks very nice. Unfortunately, there is one thing that is problematic - there is a sprite for glasses that makes them look transparent - as though there are blue eyes under them - yet that is not the case, and it is a bit misleading, as well as only an issue due to the fact that the game makes use of pixel-art.
When it comes to text that the game presents, it is a bit less impressive, due to the fact that it might be limited by the pixel based artstyle, though everything is legible and there are even attempts at spicing things up through funky colors and interesting textual movements/appearances.
In regards to sound effects (SFX) and music, the game does a satisfactory job. The SFX are not that special, and some are downright unnerving, or maybe uncanny, but then there are others that are far more pleasant. The main issue would be that they are all too loud, even when one’s volume is lessened through the settings of the game.
When it comes to the music, it is not low-fidelity or low-quality, though it does appear to have been composed with quickness in mind and a shortness of its runtime. Its main goal is to be capable of looping back into itself, so that it might go on infinitely, as a result of which it is not something too staggeringly great, and is best suited for ambience.
One other unfortunate thing - it seems as though the text that was written for the characters to say was not properly checked, as many of the statements made appear to have unintentionally poor grammar. That’s bothersome.
Overall, the presentation is very good, though with the fact that some effects make it difficult to deal with the gameplay portion of the game, I am forced to lessen the number of points I will award. 2/3
Story
The Player takes on the role of a hungry Reaper, who has no food and can’t get any, because he has no money. So that Reaper gets a job at “Apocalypse Inc.”, run by a quartet of goons who are all too familiar - Death, Famine, War and Pestilence. The Reaper is on probation for seven whole weeks.
The Player has a simple task - send demons to hell, send people to heaven. Things get progressively more complex, as originally Death is the Reaper’s boss, but then the other three start asking the Reaper to do assignments for them, some people start getting meant for hell, and a bit of chaos ensues.
The Reaper starts climbing through the ranks, doing the odd job here and there… Until, finally, the end of their probationary period arrives. That actually happens to be the day after the apocalypse, and so there are loads of references. In fact, every seventh day is full of references to stuff - be it out of pop-culture or history.
When the Reaper takes their final exam, on the 50th day, they pass and are awarded a place in the company… And that’s that.
There are some secondary quests or stories, but they are incredibly small and localized and barely matter. Everything is incredibly referential and can be equated to a vast basket of easter eggs, which is neat, but that’s all it is. For the interesting concept, a point, but alas - there’s nearly nothing. 1/3
Legendary Point
Does this game get the legendary point, so craved and wanted by all and none at the same time? I must admit that I was almost convinced by two things:
First, the way some characters look and what they say made me really like this game, but not enough to make me give it the point.
Second, the fact that it is a funky job simulator game in the vein of “Beat Cop” and “Papers, Please” was almost enough to make me give it the point, as I really like that kind of game. Alas, NO, it was not enough. 0/1
Conclusion
5/10. I would say that this is an averagely good game. It is fun for a few hours and then it becomes a bothersome chore. For fans of job simulator games, try it. For folks who like pixel-art and referential humor, try it.
I gently place it to rest in the bag of mediocrity. I had high hopes, I will not lie…