I was given the chance for some hands-on time with Goichi Suda’s (Suda51) latest work Let It Die from Grasshopper Manufacture, well known for games such as Killer is Dead, Shadows of the Damned and much more. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Goichi Suda is the CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture and boy does he make some nice games. If it wasn’t for Shadows of the Damned that I got to review a few years ago I wouldn’t know anything about Suda nor his past games.
Let’s get onto my hands-on time with Let It Die, shall we?
For those who don’t already know, Let It Die was first announced at E3 2014 during the Sony Press Conference. Since that time Grasshopper Manufacture went dark on providing any details and information with regard to Let It Die. Of course the public and media were left to speculate if the game was canceled or if simply the team was hard at work. My guess was the latter choice since companies such as Grasshopper tend to put in a lot of hard work before releasing a game. Fast forward to a few weeks before PAX East 2016 and Grasshopper Manufacture was happy to announce that they were bringing Let It Die to the show floor with a playable demo. Who wouldn’t be excited about this news, right?
When the game first boots up you’ll notice the dark carnival-esque vibe of your surroundings. You receive a quick overview of the controls before being thrust into the action. Your third person view allows you to see that you’re playing a human-like character, but little other information is provided. All you know is that you start running down the road wearing only a gas mask and shorts, and you’re expected to start fighting enemies (identified by the game) in order to survive. In the meantime, the Grim Reaper pops up both on-screen and through narration to offer advice and comedy relief.
During combat you’re using a combination your body and weapons either found along the way or taken from your enemies. Some of the weapons I found included a buzz saw and a medieval steel axe. While I’m sure that there are many more weapons to be discovered, those were the two that I found. When I wasn’t using the saw or axe, I relied on my fists for defense. Of course any type of defense action wears on your stamina, which could easily be gone when you really need it–which I learned the hard way during a boss battle. As someone who normally plays games on Xbox One, PC, or handheld, I found the PS4 controls fluid and intuitive. Considering the amount of time I spent playing this demo, I am now completely sold on owning a PS4. I still love the systems I already have, but no other game has provided the opportunity for a system to make an impression the way Let It Die has with the PS4.
As I mentioned before, the tone of this game is very dark, which the graphics of the game reflect well. It appears to take place (at least partially) in a run-down carnival. All the shut down rides look like something that has been abandoned for some time, which makes one wonder what events led to the situation. The character models–ranging from your character to the enemies to the boss–add to the creepy vibe of the game. The biggest impression was made by the boss who used human bodies and limbs as weapons against me.
Overall, I did enjoy the time I had with Let It Die on the PS4. I do have some recorded footage of my play through the demo at PAX East 2016 that I’ll be publishing in the coming days. However, due to editing requirements, it is not ready to be included at this time. There will also be a future post featuring my interview with Goichi Suda about Let it Die. That alone was a very exciting experience I was honored to have. (By exciting, I mean I spent the whole interview screaming like a little girl on the inside in addition to squeeing about it all weekend.) While it may have taken some time to get more information since the original announcement 2 years ago, Grasshopper Manufacture showed with this demo that the wait has been worth it. I will say that during my interview, Goichi Suda confirmed that Let It Die will be releasing in 2016. Keep your eyes on Marooners’ Rock for a sneak peek of Let It Die gameplay and my interview with Suda51!
