Dead as Disco by Brain Jar Games
Dead as Disco is a beat-‘em-up/rhythm game hybrid following the story of the late Charlie Disco, a fallen icon who has made a deal with the devil for one more night to avenge himself upon his enemies and face his betrayers.
Fighting through an array of adversaries in themed environments running the gamut from heavy metal to K-pop, Charlie Disco merges dance and combat to an assortment of beats.
After introducing the recently deceased Charlie Disco, the story wastes no time in picking up momentum; Charlie is back, and he’s going after his old bandmates, who have sold out and signed up with mysterious antagonist Harmony. Alongside his demonic benefactor, Vice (manifested as a disco-ball skull with a delightful German accent), Charlie returns to Encore, his old haunt, now a worn-down bar and disco in need of some renovation.
Too Much Fighting on the Dance Floor
This hub area can be upgraded to restore its former glory, and it hosts the facilities for upgrading Charlie’s many abilities.
The story mode missions can also be accessed here; Charlie’s old bandmates have all become powerful idols in their own right, and each commands a minion-riddled realm themed around their particular genre of music. Each mission involves fighting through several scenes before confronting the musician at their core, a battle that generally proves to be longer than the fight through the hordes that preceded them.
I would argue that Dead as Disco is far more a rhythm game than a beat em ‘up; the fighting is impactful, but most of the commands required are context or timing-dependent, putting the feel of the music center stage. This isn’t a bad thing, nor does it preclude depth; there are plenty of upgrades and abilities to unlock to augment Charlie’s fighting style.
Melee is a constant pendulum of smashing enemies to the beat and catching context-prompts to counter or dodge. Ranged barrages start to feel like a mini-Guitar Hero as projectiles hurtle towards the camera, demanding well-timed deflection, always to the beat. It’s a satisfying challenge on medium or hard difficulties, and it looks absolutely fantastic.
Disco Feverish
Speaking of which, Dead as Disco is undeniably defined by its aesthetics. Each level is beautiful. From the grunge, cyberpunk nightmare of Dex’s world of heavy metal to the celestial beauty of Arora’s K-pop paradise, each mission is a hand-crafted love letter to the genre of music it celebrates.
While some stages of each fight can feel a little protracted, it was hard not to feel like I was playing through a music video during the more visually striking moments.
The music is diverse and catchy, whatever your tastes might be.
Not content to rest on the laurels of its story mode, Dead as Disco has a few more tricks up its sleeve: you can create your own stages using your own music tracks, even going so far as to setting the tempo to align the action to the music (it’s easy enough to find the tempo of a song using online tools). This all but guarantees impressive replay value even once the charming story missions begin to get repetitive.
The Verdict:
Dead as Disco is absolutely brimming with style and charm, from its memorable characters to the beautiful environments crafted for its levels. The combat feels great, and unlike some rhythm games, it’s quite easy to get into the beat of its songs.
The game is in Early access at the moment, but this is already worth a purchase, given the quality of the bespoke levels on offer. If you’re looking for a punchy, action rhythm game with a lot of personality, then this is definitely one to watch.
Dead as Disco is available in Early Access via Steam.
Watch the official trailer for Dead as Disco:
