Dead or School is a game full of obvious jank: likely the product of a tiny team of three working on a very tight, crowdfunded budget to realise a very – perhaps overly – ambitious creative vision. It’s questionably optimised, particularly in handheld mode, where it chugs quite a bit. Its 2D sprites appear obviously paper-thin when the camera shifts to a slight angle. Its pre-rendered cutscenes look considerably worse than the in-game polygonal backdrops, which already look a bit dated. And its huge (albeit lovely-looking) interface occasionally covers up the action.
Yet somehow, there’s some real magic at work here; the core appeal of the game is such that all of these issues simply cease to matter after just a few minutes because you’ll be having too good a time to notice. What we have here is a wonderfully enjoyable 2D side-scroller that deserves a lot more attention than it’s probably going to get. It’s such a fundamentally satisfying, good-natured experience that has clearly been put together with such love it’s hard to be mad about anything it could do a little bit better.
Dead or School is a post-apocalyptic tale, developed as a speculative side-story to director and artist Mokusei Zaijuu’s self-published sci-fi manga Machine Doll Nanami-chan. More than seventy years have passed since a war between humanity and mutants – a conflict which drove mankind underground and left the mutants to roam unchecked on the surface. The people have, for the most part, accepted their lot up until now – at least partly due to the fact that no-one seems to be able to remember the details of the war or where the mutants came from – but the third generation of subterranean humans are restless.
Protagonist Hisako is one of these third-generation underground residents and is fascinated by the forbidden world above. She learns that there were once places called “schools” on the surface, and that young people could gather, learn and play together there. Irresistibly drawn to this symbol of hope, Hisako wishes to do what she can to take back the surface and build a school where she and her friends can live in happiness. Her grandmother, recognising a fire in Hisako’s eyes that she hasn’t seen in anyone else for a very long time, gives the youngster her old school uniform, and encourages her to gather some allies, arm herself and do her best to realise her dream. Because what does humanity have to lose at this point?
The premise might initially seem ridiculous, but it’s actually the catalyst for an interesting, very sincere narrative that uses its lively, naïve protagonist to deliver a message of hope in a bleak world. And, as Hisako starts to uncover the truth behind the war – as well as the true motivations of several groups of humans that have formed beneath the ground – things build to a surprisingly epic climax with some intriguing twists.
The story is what provides the incentive to progress in Dead or School, but it’s the gameplay where it shines the brightest. What we have here is a huge side-scrolling 2D platformer with tight controls, weighty combat, lots of loot, and some seriously varied challenges of skill, intellect and dexterity.
Hisako is equipped with three weapons: a melee implement, a gun and an explosive launcher. Within each of these categories are numerous variations that handle differently to one another. In the melee category, for example, a fencing sword delivers rapid attacks to quickly chip down an enemy’s health, while a war hammer delivers a huge burst of damage one monstrous swing at a time.
There’s no one “correct” weapon loadout; you’re free to make decisions according to your preferred playstyle and the loot you’ve acquired. Weapons can also be modded in various ways to boost their statistics or add additional abilities to them. There’s a lot of customisation on offer here – though as always with games of this type you’re a little at the mercy of dear old RNGesus.
Enemy types are drip-fed throughout the duration of the campaign, so you’re always seeing new foes whenever you enter a new area. And the sheer variety in enemy types and attack patterns — not to mention the huge bosses – means that all three weapon categories are useful, so you’d better get comfortable with all of them.
There’s also an excellent dodge-roll mechanic, which both provides generous invincibility frames for negating attacks as well as a Bayonetta-style “slow time” mechanic if you scoot out of the way at just the right moment. Watch your stamina bar, though; this is not a game where you can just hammer the attack and dodge buttons and hope for the best.
Dead or School is mostly structured in “encounters”. While making your way from one save point to the next, you’ll run into situations where you’ll have to clear out several waves of enemies before you can proceed. These waves are predefined, so if you find yourself struggling, you can learn them and prepare accordingly before trying again. Until you reach the next save point, you’ll have to clear this encounter every time as you pass; once you’ve made it through, however, the encounter becomes optional and can be bypassed if you wish.
Progression through the game is, in this way, actually rather more linear than the open-looking maps might suggest – though there are numerous branches from the critical path that allow you to acquire optional collectable “souvenirs” and rescue trapped refugees. These are inevitably concealed beyond a self-contained challenge of some description, and many of these segments provide some of the most interesting set pieces in the game.
Deep beneath Tokyo’s “electric town” Akihabara, for example, you’ll find yourself shooting lightbulbs to reveal a path forward into the darkness; elsewhere you’ll be chased up a crumbling building by ever-advancing buzzsaws, invited to play an arcade machine that has somehow survived the war or even provided an opportunity to perform a guitar solo with a friendly mutant.
Meanwhile, the main path through the game takes you through a wide variety of environments, providing Hisako’s journey with a great sense of scale and context. In one stage, you’ll be making your way through the claustrophobic tunnels of the sewers; in another, you’ll be battling through the streets on the surface as chaos unfolds in the background. There’s always something new and exciting to see as you progress, and it’s this as much as the story that keeps you pushing ever onwards through Hisako’s perpetually satisfying adventure in the hope that one day, she will finally get to school.
Conclusion
For some, the technical jank may be enough to put them off engaging with Dead or School fully. That’d be a real shame, though; allow yourself to get wrapped up in the narrative, the mechanics, the piles of loot, the beautifully designed stages and the game’s wonderful sense of style, and there’s something truly special to enjoy here; an honest-to-goodness hidden gem if ever there was one.
Comments 40
..okay, I'm interested. This game reviewed higher than I would have thought.
Fun game, I had it on steam and not got it again on the Switch (performance is fine on my end in handheld btw)
For people wondering, fan service is extremely tame here so don't worry too much about it (the cover of the game is so misleading)
@Kalmaro Fully agree. Now I'm sold. I really look forward to playing this title at some point!
Interesting...I thought this would tank.
Don't judge a book by it's cover and all that.
might get this.
What the hell am I looking at?
I grabbed it when it was on sale in the Japanese eShop last year. Was expecting it to be a game that's fun for a bit before I get bored and move on but I got really addicted and played through the whole thing in a few days. Enjoyed it way more than I thought I was going to.
When she gets old she can tell her children she had to kill lots of zombies just to go to school. Hehe
Sounds decent. Too bad about the optimization. No excuse for a game like this to struggle on Switch.
I picked this up from Japan when it came out over there. I really enjoyed it. Had a very Onichanbara feel.
But yes a few patches would help.
@Cissero Yeah, I'm going to pick it up, I didn't see a price though.
Picked up physical in Japan last year and it had english support to.
Great game, cute waifus, good fanservice.
@GauBan same lol
Pleasantly surprised by this review. When I saw the cover art I thought this was gonna be another hot mess of a game with fanservice as its only selling point. Glad to see that it isn't; maybe I'll check it out.
@Lordplops I was wondering that too. There's a lot of variety to the screenshots. All I can take away from it is... She thicc.
Nice, i wasn't sure about this one, but now i'll definitely give it a chance.
Can you elaborate on the frame rate issues? What is the target frame rate? 30 or 60fps? If it's 60fps, but a little unstable, I could live with that. But if it targets 30fps and is unstable, that's where I draw the line.
This looks pretty neat. $10 on Steam currently for those interested and want a lower entry fee.
Played it a bit on Steam, the way the camera was zoomed out and the interface in general made it hard for me to focus on the gameplay, but this review makes me want to give it more time. Not on Switch though.
Would have liked heavier fanservice, but I suppose that can be found elsewhere.
Good game, bordering on great.
...did Nintendo life just...talk POSITIVE ABOUT A GAME WITH ANIME GIRLS NOT MAKE PRESCHOOLER LEVEL JOKES? WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE REST OF THE NINTENDOLIFE STAFF
This game looked interesting to me but I definitely didn't expect it to review this well.
If I can find a physical copy of this game for $40 or less then I'll bite.
@MARl0 It mostly manages 60fps in docked mode, though it slows down a little in the more elaborate-looking outdoor areas later in the game.
In handheld, it aims for 30fps and again struggles a bit in the outdoor scenes — that said, while the graphics chug a bit when under pressure, the controls remain nicely responsive.
@DTfeartheBEARD £27.99 on amazon.co.uk (about $35) — physical version is only available in Europe so you'll have to import.
@PeteDavison Thanks for the information but I'm in the US. Amazon has the Japanese import going for $50 but I'll wait for a price drop.
@PeteDavison Thank you for the clarification. I almost exclusively play in docked mode, so that sounds good to me.
It does seem pretty unusual though for a game to actually change its target frame rate between docked and handheld modes. I can't even think of any other examples off the top of my head. It's very common for there to be performance differences between the two modes in Switch games, but not so much when it comes to target performance. So that's pretty interesting.
I bought the Japanese physical months back off Amazon for around $20. I'm not sure why the price is high again.
someone tell the girl that there's a reason that schools are closed and going out killing zombies isn't gonna stop the infection
Boobs 😍 is all I see
Nope, Rated M. I really shouldn't have to rely on Metacritic to find out a game's rating.
@dimi I guess we should be glad that at least the Corona Virus isn't creating zombies.
@ReaperExTenebris lol, I'm the same. It's fictional and not even based on real people.
I think I'll stick with the Steam version, but I'm glad to see this game getting its. Could've used some H content, though.
Does this mean the Amazon Japan version is also english?
im quite surprise on the score. i was interested in the gameplay already, but now i definitely need it.
In all honesty, can Japanese developers please consider hiring writers who can actually give their titles half decent names in English?
@DTfeartheBEARD Amazon often ships internationally — it's worth a try! I've certainly imported US games from Amazon.com to the UK, so it should work the other way around. If not, perhaps try Play-Asia — a friend of mine is grabbing a copy from there. It's $40 there, but watch out for shipping.
Great review!
I already have the Japanese version, so I don't think I will buy it again.
She has good legs.
i know its late. but im loving it. i got the physical copy 👍
I've imported a physical copy. So far, I've enjoyed this as Metroid on a smaller budget.
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