Come along, this one is full of color and little dice: Acclaim announced it will publish Die or Die, a top-down roguelike shooter from indie studio Ao Norte, based in Galicia, Spain. The game is coming to Steam and consoles in 2027; the specific consoles and the date have not been announced yet.
Run, shoot, dodge… and roll the dice
The pitch pairs the grungy, cartoon charm of the 1990s show Aaahh!!! Real Monsters with the frantic action of Hotline Miami. In each enemy-packed level you run, shoot and dodge to earn dice. Then comes the choice: spend them on abilities and weapons, or use them to destroy “bummers”, chaotic modifiers that make everything harder, such as giant enemies, lava floors, meteor showers or moving at half speed.
Every die spent clearing a bummer is one you cannot put toward your build, so you can wipe them all out or save your luck for a stronger run. There are five worlds between you and the coast, and every enemy in a level has to go down before you move on. The hero is Lil’ Demon, a little devil who is tired of his job as a taxi driver, tired of the city and just wants to leave it all behind. Such a sweet little premise, right?
Eleven languages
A detail that warms my little gamer heart: the game’s Steam page lists eleven languages, including English, Spanish (Spain and Latin America), Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. The studio’s name, by the way, means “to the North” in Galician, the language of the region where the team works.
Die or Die made its playable debut at L.A. Comic Con last week and got a new trailer for the announcement. Acclaim, the 1990s name behind Mortal Kombat, Turok and NBA Jam on consoles, is back as a publisher of indie games. Marc Anthony Rodriguez, Acclaim’s Director of Publishing and Strategic Partnerships, said the game “captures that same cartoon chaos” of shows like Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. No price has been announced.
Source: Acclaim and Ao Norte.
Max Xavier