A Way to be Dead Review
Release Date: July 23rd, 2021
Developers: Crania Games
Platforms: PC
Price: $6.99
A Way to be Dead consists of a design that we’ve seen grow in popularity over the years with a group of players going against a single individual that typically sees the group at a disadvantage to make up for the difference in numbers, and A Way to be Dead rests more in line with the likes of Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th in this regard being a horror multiplayer experience where victims survive against an enraged killer, but its Early Access state and multiplayer-only gameplay leave it dead on arrival with a virtually non-existent ecosystem of players that serves to make the game literally unplayable and dead weight. It’s a big shame as the game itself from the few rounds the game has allowed me to be able to play since its launch over the course of many many hours of screen time and queuing shows immense promise, and because of a streamlined system makes A Way to be Dead much more palatable and accessible compared to other games of this nature that bombard menus with nonsense or attempt to make customization and strategy deeper than it needs to be (hide and seek was never meant to be a high level sport). However, A Way to be Dead is unfortunately dead on arrival, which is most certainly a way to live up to one’s title so soon after launch.
It's incredibly difficult to find matches to play as either victims or the killer (Dr. Riley), and when you can get in, it can be admittedly fun, though if you're familiar with Dead by Daylight, you pretty much already know what to expect. The entire formula is much more streamlined, however, so you can just enjoy the game for what it is and have a more pure hide and seek experience compared to all the offerings and blood webs and what not from Dead by Daylight's unnecessarily messy and convoluted system. Admittedly I rather not spend the bulk of this review comparing A Way to be Dead to Dead by Daylight, but with such a familiar formula and design in place, it's hard not to. What A Way to be Dead does offer for the little that can be experienced so far is that the environmental design of its map(s) are actually really well done and give out enough detail to make parts of the map recognizable after having spent enough time with it, so you're able to have a greater chance of survival the more you play as the victims are typically left at a huge disadvantage compared to the killer in games like this.
Unfortunately, at the moment, while the game undoubtedly has potential, its Early Access state leaves it hungry for more in both content and a player base, and without a way to play with bots or even practice, you're left with spending the bulk of your gameplay sitting in a menu waiting until lobbies fill before you're able to experience the game at all. So far I've waited a total of 40 minutes just for one match only for it to be disbanded after someone left not even two minutes into the game (my commitment to reviews knows no bounds) before I headed right back into the waiting game in the lobby. Thankfully A Way to be Dead has an extremely accessible price of $6.99 - even offering a discount bundled with Crania Studio's other title Roots of Insanity Remake for around $9 - so right now it's a matter of getting the game the proper exposure so that it can find that healthy player base to keep the game somewhat playable, otherwise all we have here is a digital paperweight in our Steam library.
The game isn't pushing the limits of graphical technicality either, but for what it's worth the game is well optimized with little to no hiccups outside of its networking. It's pretty enough to look at with enough detail in each room and area of its map around its varied hospital that even if you're just taking in the sights rather than having any worry on whether you'll live or die, there's still a bit here to appreciate that gives off some more visual storytelling this way in its dilapidated playground. Because this is an Early Access game from an indie studio, though, animations are either janky and/or kept to a bare minimum when performing certain actions, like the ability to play dead, search bodies, revive, or eating flesh as a zombie. Playing dead sees the victim slowly bend over before freezing and suddenly switching to a half cut zombie asset, searching bodies from another victim's perspective sees them kneel in contemplation and not much else (this is similar when eating flesh), and being cripple after losing your health as you're waiting to be revived shows your character still with a deadpan face but no emotion or mouth movements as they yell in pain.
The core design of the gameplay itself is easy to pick up, though, and I hugely wish it was more playable as there is undoubtedly fun to be had here. It's your standard 4 v 1 survival horror game where everyone participating is a real person, and as a Victim you'll have to do your best to survive and search the bodies and various drawers, lockers, fridges, and more for keys and other materials that may help you survive, such as batteries for your flashlight. Searching can take a while but still remains reasonable, and you're able to freely look aroudn to make sure the killer, Dr. Riley, isn't anywhere close by or that you won't be interrupted by any of the sporadically placed zombies. Zombies also serve as more of an obstacle as they're not particularly fast (sometimes), though if one hits you enough times you'll get crippled before waiting sixty seconds to be revived by a teammate or die completely. What's nice about A Way to be Dead compared to other games in this genre is that there's a second chance that keeps the game going even after you've "lost", leaving the game continuously engaging rather than simply spectating or exiting the lobby other games of this nature would have you do. Turning into a zombie grants an extra life of sorts, but while you're in zombie mode you'll move slow like one, and any attack you happen to do to either the victims and/or the killer will hurt you back, so you'll have to make every move count. Choosing whether to settle for aiding Dr. Riley in attacking the victims or supporting the victims and attacking Dr. Riley instead will grant either zombie points or moral points, though at the time of this review it's not entirely clear what purpose they serve other than granting levels which I'm sure go to something that will be implemented in the future.
I think it's safe to say A Way to be Dead at the time of this writing more certainly found a way to be dead, which is hugely unfortunate, but it's also worth noting that this is a game that hasn't had particularly much marketing and has also released in Early Access at that. We've seen many games before that were unknown right out of the gate and sometimes taking years before they find that userbase either through word of mouth, great timing with a new update, or a huge promotional opportunity that have catapulted games into the spotlight of their respective genre. Do I think A Way to be Dead could blow up to the likes of Deceit, Sign of Silence, and even more recent releases like Labyrinthine or Phasmaphobia? Not anytime soon, no. However I do believe that those that may be tired of those games looking for something new or a lot more simplistic from games like those or Dead by Daylight, Friday the 13th, and the sort will likely find solace in what A Way to be Dead does currently have to offer in its current state and what it could potentially become in the future through a frequent series of updates. The game holds massive potential as the groundwork works well and has (to my experience) minimal bugs – it's just a matter of fleshing out the rough edges and adding the necessary polish to animations, music, and content to be the antithesis of what its name suggests.
PROS:
For an Early Access title it feels competent enough with its strong groundwork and foundation
The map available at the moment is large and detailed enough to keep things exciting enough to walk around in and explore
If a healthy player-base existed, it's asking price is extremely reasonable
CONS:
Unfortunately it's very difficult to get into lobbies as either the killer or a victim, solely because of it's handful of players.
Some animations are clearly in their early stages or just extremely janky
Dead on arrival