LET IT DIE by Grasshopper Manufacture Studio Visit and Impressions

Near the beginning of the month I was given a chance by GungHo Online Entertainment to visit Los Angeles and preview the upcoming game Let It Die, a hack and slash free to play game developed by the renowned Grasshopper Manufacture. Below is a summary of the game, followed by my opinion of the game and my experience.

KILL or be KILLED

Fight your way to the top in this chaotic and pulp survival action taking free-to-play to a whole new level. Begin your journey in your underwear and survive by any means necessary while taking advice from Uncle Death, a skateboarding reaper. Pry weapons and armor from the cold dead grasp of your fallen foes or craft even better gear. Eat mushrooms, frogs, and other odd creatures to keep your strength up or activate special abilities. Strategize when it’s best to fight or sneak away to fight another day. You may lose your belongings upon death, but death doesn’t always have to be the end…

Welcome to the Tower of Barbs

In the year 2026 AD, a large tectonic disturbance caused mass destruction around the world. In the midst of the destruction, South Western Tokyo split off into the ocean where the seismic activity caused a large spire to rise out of the ocean piercing the island creating a tower-like structure deemed holy by some. Rumor has it that a sacred treasure awaits at the top of the Tower of Barbs for those that survive the climb. Many dangers and mysteries remain hidden from the eyes of mankind and await those courageous enough to dare approach the tower.

Hack and Slash with Roguelike-Elements

Survival is the name of the game within the brutal Tower of Barbs. Strengthen your Fighters and master their weapon wielding skills by hacking and slashing your way through the tenacious enemies and other players that stand in your way. Beware though, when killed in battle, your Fighter will lose everything you’ve accumulated since last visiting your base. Although, some may argue that dying is more of a choice than a lifestyle.

Loot and Craft

Pick up and equip a variety of weapons and armor from the corpses of your enemies to make their strength yours. Craft your own equipment to gain the upper hand in battle! With a wide variety of equipment combinations, get creative in how you teach others what fear really looks like!

Eat to Survive

Eat various mushrooms, frogs, and other creatures to stave off death. Creatures replenish HP while mushrooms may provide temporary stat boosts or other interesting effects! However, not all things should be eaten, so be on alert what you put in your mouth.

Life After Death

Fighters that die will be reanimated in other player’s games equipped with the same armor and weapons they were wielding at the moment of their untimely death. However, other player’s reanimated Fighters will not go down easily without a fight. Defeat other player’s Fighters to obtain some of their gear and other valuable resources!

My Experience

My biggest takeaways from Let It Die are that the various themes present in the game are so unique from one another yet connect so easily, and that this did not feel like a free-to-play game in any sense of the word. I started out being greeted by Uncle Death, a Spanish skeleton with a deathly sense of humor. I selected one of the eight preset characters and began working my way through the Tower of Barbs, hacking and slashing my way through enemies, only to be sniped in the head and killed. I was then taken to a lobby, the main hub for players to craft, upgrade your character, receive random gifts, pick new characters, and so much more that I didn’t even have time for even though I was playing for over 3 hours! During my play session I was able to go through 10 floors and encounter 2 mini bosses, only to run out of playing time when I reached the first main boss. I then had the opportunity to have a discussion with game director Hideyuki Shin, asking about how the themes tied in and what inspired such a creative game to come together.

Scheduled to come out later this year, Let It Die is a must play for anybody with a PS4, seeing that it is free-to-play. The music, action, and violence all come together and form a magnificent video game that is sure to have people coming back.

Nathan Stevens

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I have always enjoyed playing video games and am a programming team lead for a video game company. I co-founded Gaming Cypher because I enjoy the gaming community and would like to provide the best news service around. Feel free to ask me any questions and I will make sure to get back to you quickly.