GPTRACK50 Inc. debuts with its inaugural title—Stupid Never Dies. The studio is headed up by some long-time Capcom members, and there’s a lot of wisdom and craft in such an infant IP.
The game’s infectious style hits you from the get-go like a speeding train, which is apt as each Stupid Never Dies attempt feels like it’s over before it’s just begun, prompting consecutive playthroughs and a gameplay loop as catchy as its music. It only takes a few hours for the cracks to start seeping through, and while I still came away with a smile on my face, I did eventually start to feel like a zombie myself.
A Story Dead-On
Davy is a zombie in a world rife with zombies and monsters, due to the Great War. Despite the world’s almost inevitable destruction, Davy—a literally lifeless and Z-tier Zombie—finds a mysterious frozen girl in a shopping mall, becomes infatuated, and, like all good ‘save the princess’ stories, will go to the ends of the Earth—even if there won’t be much left of it soon—to bring her back to life.
He eats a magic egg (kind of), and when he’s below the depths of a pungent and putrid toilet, he awakens in an ever-changing dungeon and becomes the powerful beast he’d love to be up top. Rogue mechanics are at the heart of the gameplay, as each runthrough is procedurally generated, putting together a mishmash of levels and enemies.
With many games, either the story is great and the gameplay lets you down, or vice versa: Stupid Never Dies boasts a narrative I genuinely wanted to learn more about, and I found that the repetitive gameplay actually hindered the bits I enjoyed the most. The action title is supported by the most ridiculous cast of supporting characters, from dogs and mad professors to headless guitar players and flaming birds with out-of-left-field persona changes.
Every time I returned from the dungeon, I learned more about the war, why the world is the way it is, the game leaned into Davy’s profound feelings for a girl he’s never spoken to, and how Davy could be disrespected and put down even more with insults a stand-up comedian would be proud of. Some of the dialogue is genuinely hysterical and had me howling. I enjoy Suda51’s No More Heroes series, and that over-the-top comedic style is prevalent throughout.
But as you might have picked up on, to get to these delightful moments, I found myself fraught with issues actually playing the game.
Potential Flushing Away
The first few runs act as tutorials, getting you to grips with the game. Within an hour or so, the chains are off, and Davy is on his own. Stupid Never Dies is an arcade-action game, so combos and abilities are used to defeat monsters. Davy on his own is weak, so you’re supposed to level up, CHEWse new abilities, and feast on foes.
You heal by biting, and you have finite bites, which regenerate over time, and you can acquire power-ups which speed this process up. Davy has lost health that can be quickly restored with successful bites and parries, and the Stupid Parry is a forgiving counterattacking tool which can repel most attacks, apart from the good ol’ flashy red attack which must be avoided. Gameplay is fast, so you’re encouraged to keep hitting, get your licks in, and aptly bite back to keep your momentum and health thriving.
This is difficult when there isn’t a dedicated dodge button. Stupid Never Dies elects to have no dodge or roll mechanic, nor a lock-on function—both of which fundamentally hurt my experience. These are considered deliberate design choices to give Davy freedom in battle to attack all, and, well, you need to be good at moving to evade unblockable attacks?
They’re both odd choices that can make attacking frustrating and, at times, costly, if you attack the wrong target. A select variety of enemies can have their essence bitten, unlocking a new form for Davy to transform into. Werewolves, wisps, harpies, and cyclops’ are some of these alternate forms, but I found myself gravitating towards the same ones, and very few of them are worth using.
The level environments are really cool and stunning, but they aren’t enough to save the bland gameplay. It’s a lot of button-mashing, and even as you start to unlock new abilities, I resorted to tried and trusted favorites. Each new run is quick at least, as reaching the final boss can be achieved in about 10-15 minutes. Boss layers are the saving grace, apart from one flying boss which I skipped almost every time due to glaring gameplay oversights that made fighting it a chore, borderline unfair.
I give special praise to the soundtrack, which has rightly been praised and hyped up in the lead-up to the game’s release. There’s a pop, punk, and almost rock and metal flair which intertwines together to provide a stirring backdrop for your skirmishes.
Stupid Never Dies Review Verdict
Far too much work has gone into the game’s aesthetic and zany themes for me to poop too much on Stupid Never Dies. It’s funny, it pops, it’s punky, and somehow manages to make the world’s worst Zombie one of the most endearing and lovable characters I’ve gone to hell and back with this year.
It’s just such a shame that its by-the-numbers combat and lack of ideas make the most interactive part of the game the weakest. If you can turn your brain off, it’s still a blast, and there’s enough life in the game to keep you going.
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Stupid Never Dies
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Stupid Never Dies
Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
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