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) | – | 79 | 7 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 81% | 75 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 77 | 9 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 77% | 72 | 7 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 21 reviews sampled · 15 total reviews in window · weighted 11.4 up / 3.4 down · computed 5h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (20)
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.
- 80
“Death’s Gambit’s Afterlife is a creative 2D platform that has incredible level and character design. The start menu and actual combat instructions could be more detailed, but all in all, it’s a very good game.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Afterlife is a solid entry in the Souls-like sub-genre and the very best version of Death's Gambit you can own.”
read full review ↗ - 79
“Beneath the veneer of this very attractive side-scrolling Metroidvania-ish action RPG beats the heart of ambition... though in measuring the results you could argue the degree of success may vary...”
read full review ↗ - 60
“In terms of content, Death's Gambit justifies a purchase, especially now with Death's Gambit: Afterlife, and the new stuff that it has added, along with some refining here and there. Having said that, this is probably a big, nicely designed, fun… ok. It's an ok blend of the exploration found in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, served along a combat philosophy, and an overall vibe that takes its cue from Dark Souls. Nothing is bad, but nothing is great either. Ok. Fans of either "genres" can find better metroidvania/soulslike cocktails nowadays.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“There are secret areas to explore, walls that can be broken by attacks, bosses hidden off the beaten path and so much more. And its these moments that make Death’s Gambit: Afterlife shine brightest for me, but if you are a fan of rouge-lites then you will find much to love here as well. It doesn’t really add much new to the genre but it checks all the boxes that rogue-lites require and there is nothing wrong with that.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“At worst, Death’s Gambit: Afterlife is derivative and is getting by thanks to the successes of its contemporaries. Thankfully, the time spent enhancing the vanilla game and rebranding it has paid off. The developers took a flawed and rough around the edges 2D action platformer and made it the very best it could possibly be.”
read full review ↗ - 79
“Death's Gambit is a game where developer passion shines through. The free expansion, Afterlife, revamps the game with excellent additions and provides a decent amount of content for the base game's asking price. While not the best Metroidvania you'll ever play, it's one that should certainly have a place on your list.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“White Rabbit should be commended for the approach to Death’s Gambit: Afterlife. With an unwavering commitment to excellence, a fantastic Souls-like Metroidvania has been born. It deserves to be played for this alone, but thankfully it stands on its own merits too.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“If you have a Switch and love metroidvania games or revel in brutal combat, Death’s Gambit: Afterlife deserves your attention. With its beautiful visuals, pleasant soundtrack and enjoyable gameplay, it’s pretty much the full package. Only the crushing nature of the combat will be a bone of contention here for some, but others will love it.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Death’s Gambit: Afterlife makes a number of additions and improvements to the base game, while maintaining the qualities that earned it a lot of fans on other platforms. The combat is fun and deep enough to keep you engaged, and the platforming and other action elements are well-handled. I also really enjoy the game’s presentation, with some excellent pixel art and great audio. On the whole, it doesn’t venture too far outside of the increasingly established lines of this particular sub-genre, but it does everything it does well enough that it should be of interest to anyone who enjoys 2D Souls-likes.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Death’s Gambit: Afterlife is a massive improvement over a game that while pretty good for its time, had its fair share of flaws. Not only does it improve upon the original title’s shortcomings, but it also doubles its overall size with new areas to explore and new mechanics to abuse.”
read full review ↗ - 87
“Death's Gambit: Afterlife is a strong Soulslike action RPG with Metroidvania elements.”
read full review ↗
Pure Nintendo
VGChartz
Nindie Spotlight
Cubed3
ZTGD
Niche Gamer
Fextralife
Switch Player
GameSpew
WayTooManyGames
RPG Fan…and 8 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Ashes of Vados PC 1.2.7 (Turkish language patch)Nov 20, 2022
- Patch 1.2.4 Fix - Asian LanguagesJun 14, 2022
- An update on Patch 1.2.4 (Asian languages patch)May 26, 2022
- Asian Languages Patch now live! (1.2.4)May 19, 2022
- Russian language option now available! + Patch notes 1.1.6Dec 16, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Patch notes 1.1.4 and 1.1.5Oct 28, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Patch notes 1.1.2 and 1.1.3Oct 13, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Patch notes Afterlife 1.1.1Oct 8, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- 1.1.0 patch notesOct 7, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.0.8 just dropped, a NEW boss has been added to Afterlife!Oct 6, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- New patch is out! Here are the notes for 1.0.7 and 1.0.6Oct 5, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- New patch 1.0.5 is out! Here are the notes!Oct 3, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.0.3 just dropped. Here are the notes!Oct 2, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.0.1Oct 1, 2021significant · resets scoring window
- Beta Branch Patch 2Apr 2, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Talent Overhaul Beta Branch Is Now Live!Mar 5, 2019significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.2 - Performance, Balance, and Bug FixesDec 21, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Death's Gambit 1.1.01 - Refresh HotfixNov 9, 2018
- Death's Gambit Patch 1.1Oct 24, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- The One Month Developer UpdateSep 11, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.02 Update NotesAug 24, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix Patch 1.01Aug 18, 2018