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0 Kill your captors, rescue the others, and record every second of your revenge in Better Than Dead, the new release from developer Monte Gallo. With help from developer MicroProse Software, Better Than Dead delivers a brutal, bodycam-style first-person shooter.
Revenge is a dish best served cold
Better Than Dead is now available in Early Access. Monte Gallo has released the game in Early Access so that Better Than Dead will benefit from player feedback. The game is fully playable with 14 levels, with the plan to be in Early Access for approximately 6-12 months.
How does Better Than Dead play so far? Let’s find out.
Gamplay
Set in a world inspired by Hong Kong, Better Than Dead delivers a raw and brutal revenge story. A kill list and a gun are all you need, with there being no real backstory that is shown. However, it comes across pretty obviously what it is that this unnamed girl is trying to take revenge against. Better Than Dead boasts 14 levels for you to work your way through, with each level offering a unique linear map. Each map, in a way, replicates iconic action/crime movie settings, such as seedy nightclubs and neon-lit restaurants.
The mission is relatively simple: kill all the bad guys. Keep killing the bad guys until you have killed all of those who have wronged you. The player is limited to one weapon: the trusty pistol. Better Than Dead is realistic when it comes to its health system. One hit from a bullet is quite damaging. Even though your character can survive a couple of hits, the first hit can cause you to bleed out. I like this realistic aspect to the game as it makes you think carefully. At this moment in time, this is all Better Than Dead has to offer. However, it must be remembered that the game has been released in Early Access and therefore there is planned improvement.
Kill them all
One thing I struggled with is the shooting. I found it quite hard to aim correctly as it seemed like my gun was swerving all over the place. This may be a skill issue, or it may be something that needs tweaking in the future. Another issue I encountered with shooting is the lack of cover shooting. The character shoots the cover almost all of the time, and standing out in the open leads to you being killed more quickly. It would be great to see the use of cover shooting introduced to help the player.
I think the game is also quite quick to throw you into the deep end. You are automatically thrusted into the first level with no backstory, nor any type of introduction. It actually took me a minute to realise that I had actually loaded into the game & how to move about and shoot my weapon. It would be nice to have some sort of tutorial level to help you ease into the controls.
Graphics & Audio
Better Than Dead is inspired by classic Hong Kong action films from the 80’s and 90s. This is seen in the level designs, seedy nightclubs, and neon-lit restaurants. Monte Gallo captures this atmosphere well, with the gritty feel to it.
The body cam style of the game takes getting used to. This is because the camera uses a fisheye effect, which can be disorienting to the player. Some people may struggle with this. Whilst the level design is great, there have been some issues when it comes to animations. An example of this is that the NPCs will not move until the player moves into a certain position. Some will even stand there whilst a fight breaks out.
Further to this, there have been some bugs that have affected the game. I encountered this during the first level, where I got stuck and went into the abyss. I had to reset the level as I was stuck. Thankfully, this only happened the one time.
Longevity
To complete the game, you do not need much time, with the 14 levels being completed in 2-3 hours max. As I have already stated, this is only in early access. Monte Gallo has a clear vision as to where he would like to take this game. As he is a solo developer, this may take some time. Monte Gallo has already spoken about a new game mode he would like to implement called ‘To Heaven’. This is a harder and dark extention of the game. It would add additional levels to the game with a different conclusion. He has also spoken about a potential skill system.
It would be great to see a harder game mode where there is no unlimited ammo. This would mean you would have to actually think about how you will get through the level without running out of ammo. This would add replayability to the game, which, at the moment, I cannot see any.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think there are some great foundations to the game. However, it is a long way off from having a polished finish. It must be remembered that the developer has made this game completely by himself. Whilst there are parts of the game that need improvement, it is absolutely crazy to think that someone can do this alone.
There have already been improvements over the last couple of days to the game. And I will certainly be keeping an eye on the improvements to see how it can improve the players’ experience. Better Than Dead is worth certaintly worth checking out once there are some improvements.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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