Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 80 | 64 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 86% | 79 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 76 | 33 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 82% | 75 | 25 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 71 reviews sampled · 53 total reviews in window · weighted 37.3 up / 8.4 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (65)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 60
“At first glance, Have a Nice Death looks like another excellent rogue-lite action platformer. But the problem is that it can't balance the difficulty properly and doesn't bring anything new to the table, so it feels pretty average.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Have a Nice Death is an average roguelike entry that can entertain for a two or so evenings. But that's all it can offer.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Have a Nice Death has been steadily cranking out content for just over a year in Early Access, and there are some nice combat-related surprises in store for players, like the rare alternative bosses that sometimes pop up in departments you’d long since thought you had mastered. But there still seems to be barely enough variety here to compel players to find the secret ending, let alone to keep replaying on increasingly harder “breakdowns” (the game’s version of difficulties). Turns out, the game’s comic perversion of R.I.P. is truer than it knows. There’s no peace to be found in this endless depiction of Death’s toil, only (paper)work.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Have a Nice Death may not reinvent the wheel for roguelites, but this is a high-quality new entry in the genre. The brutal difficulty, creative theming, and satisfying combat all combine to make this a memorable and worthwhile experience, even if we wish it had better performance. We'd recommend this to anyone looking for another extremely competent and humorous action roguelite to add to their collection, though with the caveat that you should only take the plunge into this underworld if you feel confident in the sharpness of your skills. There's a lot to love about Have a Nice Death, but as the name suggests, the bony hand of the reaper will be the only one holding yours.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Have A Nice Death is sure to please roguelite fans for its playability, but it’s a tad too easy to want a bit more from it.”
read full review ↗ - 82
“While there’s no question this challenging roguelike slasher has style to burn, some performance issues hold it back”
read full review ↗ - 80
“It turns out, death actually was rather nice.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“There’s a lot to delve into this game, but I feel that it lacks something unique. Between its corny (but sometimes excessively cringe) dialogue, fast-paced gameplay, and amazing art direction, it ultimately falls into the “Great, but nothing special” category for me.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Pour les personnes comme moi qui carburent au roguelike par les temps qui courent, Have a Nice Death fait définitivement partie des jeux qui méritent votre attention. La direction artistique est sublime, le jeu a une bonne durée de vie à un prix raisonnable et offre un bon défi. Il est loin d’être parfait en raison de sa difficulté un peu trop élevée et de ses explications un peu trop floues. Mais rien qui ne peut pas être réglé par des mises-à-jour par les développeurs. La mort n’a jamais été aussi plaisante.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“However, there's a good, steady sense of progression, and elevators that take you to the end of each department alleviate some of the repetition. When you get on a good run and build yourself up with beneficial buffs and powerful attacks, the game starts to sing. There's definitely plenty to like about Have a Nice Death, but its flaws prevent it from reaching the heights of its contemporaries.”
read full review ↗ - 86
“With its challenging gameplay and beautiful world, Have a Nice Death is definitely one of the best rogue-like games I've ever played.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Have A Nice Death has everything a great roguelike needs: good combat, hard bosses, and multiple choices. All which results in a very addictive experience, but it fails in other aspects that make a game memorable.”
read full review ↗
INDIANTVCZ
3DNews
Slant Magazine
Nintendo Life
Gamer Escape
Nindie Spotlight
Wolf's Gaming Blog
Prima Games
Geeks & Com
Push Square
Atarita
LevelUp…and 53 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Minor Hotfix - March 18, 2024Mar 20, 2024
- Minor Hotfix PatchDec 1, 2023
- Hotfix - 2023/05/15May 15, 2023
- Hotfix - 2023/04/13Apr 13, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Launch Update NotesMar 21, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Early Access Hotfix - 2023/01/24Jan 24, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/12/22Dec 22, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Executive Decisions Update - NotesDec 15, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- The Executive Decisions Update is LIVE!Dec 15, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/11/14Nov 14, 2022
- October Update - NotesOct 27, 2022
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/10/18Oct 18, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- The Natural Disasters Update is LIVE!Sep 29, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Natural Disasters Update - NotesSep 28, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Natural Disasters Update Arriving SEPTEMBER 29THSep 26, 2022
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/07/29Jul 29, 2022
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/07/20Jul 20, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/07/13Jul 13, 2022
- Fast Food - Update NotesJul 7, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Fast Food Update Releasing July 7th!Jun 24, 2022
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/06/09Jun 9, 2022
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/05/19May 19, 2022
- Infrastructure Development - Update NotesMay 10, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Infrastructure Development Update DelayedApr 28, 2022
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/04/01Apr 1, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/03/24Mar 24, 2022
- A Note from SimonMar 21, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/03/18Mar 18, 2022
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/03/15Mar 15, 2022
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/03/11Mar 11, 2022
- Early Access Hotfix - 2022/03/10Mar 10, 2022