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) | – | 66 | 6 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 73% | 69 | 70 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 0% | 15 | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 1 reviews sampled · 1 total reviews in window · weighted 0 up / 0.4 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (16)
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
“As a huge fan of twin-stick roguelike shooters, and with plenty of excellent ones already on the Switch, my interest is always piqued by a new contender in this space...”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Its art style, based on the overly detailed gross out humor of 90s cartoons, may vibe well with some people, though I truthfully am not one of them. It's a game that is clearly trying, but sadly misses the mark, making it feel very much like a career that isn't really going anywhere. What do you call that again?.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Dead End Job is a great game that takes parts of Luigi's Mansion and parts from the roguelike genre and merges them wonderfully into this very stylish and surprisingly entertaining ghost-busting game.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Fighting and catching ghosts is fun, but not too long. It is repetitive and without higher motivation.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Dead End Job on the Nintendo Switch is a twin-stick shooter that gets part of the combat system right, with its direct and simple action and whose art style will find a place with fans of 1990s animation. That said, the game's areas are way too repetitive and monotonous, and several aspects just don't stand up to what is expected, with the result being a work that is often difficult to enjoy.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Dead End Job is a fun title to play in your free time. The game looks good and the gameplay is simple and engaging. Although it lacks originality and after a while it can become repetitive and boring, but the soundtracks, funny narrative and simple gameplay won't let you leave the game before finishing it.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Despite having a lot of fun with Dead End Job, it’s hard to ignore where it falls short. ”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Somehow the game doesn’t get boring even when repeating the same levels (because they are never actually the same, they’re random). If you’re after the usual horror games for Halloween this will not give you that craving. However, if you’d rather just have some casual fun within the spirit of ghosts, then you can at least play this on the side.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Dead End Job is fun fast-paced action top-down shooter which tests your reflexes and patience. The story is a bit vague, but the character styles are quite detailed and disgustingly fun to look at. It is quite easy to lose some time into playing through this even though the game doesn’t vary too much. But there are enough different enemy types, items and job perks which keep the game interesting.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Dead End Job does manage to simulate that feeling of a ponderous, repetitive crappy job thanks to its grindy nature, questionable furniture placement, and not-quite-permadeath respawn system. The variety of goofy ghosts to bust and beefy amount of levels are the high points and for a cheap thrill, you could do worse, or a lot better.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“While it didn’t quite reach perfection, Dead End Job was a very fun jaunt. I spent about 6 hours and took 2 playthroughs to save Beryl, and only managed to miss two ghosts. For $16.99, you get a creative and colorful game that’s available on pretty much every console. That said, it runs great on Nintendo Switch. If you want a simple, fun yet repetitive twin-stick rogue-like, you should definitely check this game out.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Dead End Job is a great mash-up of Luigi’s Mansion and The Binding of Isaac, only family-friendly and very colourful. Despite its rather simple premise of picking a stage and cleaning the floor of all ghosts, then returning to your base and choosing the next area, the game itself is quite challenging and offers a lot of replayability. If going for the platinum, the playtime will be much longer than the three-hour single playthrough as there’s a lot of skill-based and collectable criteria which you must meet. This was one of my most wanted games which launched with Apple Arcade, I’m so happy it came over to consoles for us all to enjoy.”
read full review ↗
Nindie Spotlight
NintendoWorldReport
GameGrin
SECTOR.sk
FNintendo
Gamefa
Just Push Start
Xbox Tavern
The Indie Game Website
oprainfall
GamePitt…and 4 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Fresh Update brings Fixes and Items!Feb 25, 2020