Have a Nice Death News

A Note From Simon #4

Hello everyone,

We hope you're all well. Winter is coming and it's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas! Let's dive right into what the team has been up to!

Early November, part of our team (Meredith and myself) and the Gearbox Publishing team were at the PARIS GAMES WEEK to showcase Have a Nice Death to the public. We had a wonderful time, meeting people that were discovering the game but also talking with some players that already had the game and wanted to congratulate us. What a bless! We're still happy to see nice reviews, comments, and feedback on the internet, but meeting a part of our community in real life was awesome.
We hope to live this kind of experience again quite soon.

Secondly, as you may have seen in the last Nintendo Indie World Showcase, Have a Nice Death will be released for Nintendo Switch on March, 22 2023.
We know that's something a lot of you wanted and we have been working hard on it for few months. This is something we are really excited for.
And top it all... It will also be released in 1.0 for Steam at the same time.

Have a Nice Death has evolved a lot these past months, and thanks to you we are soon gonna be able to release the game: More thanks again (yeah lot of thanks in this post)!

BUT THAT IS PRETTY FAR IN THE FUTURE and let's go back a bit before that. So for the next update... There are several subjects we want to work on it.

The first thing we are working on is POLISHING. There are a lot of our features that we like but could be more pleasing, visually, with better feedback. For instance, we are reworking the weapon UI to make it easier to distinguish between rare weapons and upgraded ones. We figured this was the best time for it, before we are too focused on the big content coming later.
The second thing is that we are gonna rework our scythe choice system. We love all of our different scythes, especially the new ones, but some players do not want to spend prismium to get them ( greedy metagaming...), so we would prefer you to have the opportunity to play with them a bit more. That means we are also gonna re-balance them a bit since they won't cost prismium to be obtained. Don't worry, the control room will still be very useful.
Another thing that it's important for us is to enhance the overall system for newer players. A lot of players would like to see the lasts worlds, but since they are gated by strong Sorrows they cannot have the "pleasure" to meet them. Don't worry ultra-hardcore-gamers, we'll introduce new difficulty modes for you too.
Finally, there is some trouble brewing at Death INC. Brad seems to be behaving strangely... like he's actually working (who would have thought it). And Pump Quinn should not be so greedy and could eat something bad...

Well, that is all for me today. I hope you guys are very excited for the next update this month, and the 1.0 version on Switch and Steam in March.

See you soon,
Simon

Vote for Have a Nice Death in The Steam Awards!

Vote to nominate Have a Nice Death for the Outstanding Visual Style Award in the 2022 Steam Awards!

Vote here!

Have a Nice Death is a passion project for us. The team was fascinated by Nicolas Leger's art (Creative Director/Animation Director on Have a Nice Death) and the universe he could offer. His art style was inspired by The Nightmare before Christmas and the overall imagery (color range, graphism, photography) in Tim Burton's animated movies. He was also inspired by Gustave Doré and Japanese anime studios like Miyazaki, Studio 4c, Gainax (FuriKuri). It's incredible that we've been able to work with such a talented and passionate group of developers and make this dream a reality. We're thrilled to see so many players enjoying our game, making fan art, providing feedback, and sharing their experiences! We couldn't be here without you and we're incredibly grateful to have you as part of Death, Inc. Keep looking forward to our Executive Decisions Update this winter, and our 1.0 launch on March 22nd!

Early Access Hotfix - 2022/11/14

New music for Halloween in the Break room
Art issues in the Hall of Eternity alternate level
Some voices were not present or not attached to the right character
No music when the player dies in the Natural Disaster department
Missing voice of Muriel in some dialogs
Bad positioning of some Halloween assets
Localization updated

Sports Story headlines Nintendo Indie World offering

Nintendo shared its most recent Indie World Showcase just yesterday (November 9), and with it came an incredibly varied line-up of simultaneously interesting and adorable games. All of which will be arriving on the Nintendo Switch console during 2022 and 2023.

We’re frankly spoilt for choice when it comes to upcoming indies to pick from. There’s roguelikes, adventures, puzzles, narrative games, and so much distinct art to check out. So, without further ado, here’s every game shown off at Nintendo Indie World.

The star of the show arguably had to be Sports Story, which is a sporting RPG that follows on from the 2017 title, Golf Story. Now, you can continue as you were and focus on being a golfing pro, or you can try your hand at football, tennis, cricket, BMX, and plenty more. In addition, Sports Story isn’t solely about your athletic skill; you’ll also be exploring ruins and dungeons, heading to the mall, and taking part in mini-games while getting to know a wide array of characters.

Today, during Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase, Gearbox Publishing and Magic Design Studios announced Have a Nice Death, the darkly charming 2D action roguelike, will leave Steam Early Access and officially launch digitally on Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam and Steam Deck) on March 22. Soon, millions of mortals from around the world will be able to take on the role of the Underworld boss himself, Death, and experience the complete version of this hack’n’scythe adventure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-WmIDZ85RM
The full release of Have a Nice Death will include all of the delightfully morbid content, including content from previous major updates, that fans have loved in the Early Access version of the game. Additionally, it will introduce a haul of new features, including one new world filled with new bosses, mini-bosses and enemies, along with new story content that will bring the epic conclusion of the main storyline. Players may also find new clues about the culprit behind all of Death's woes. Mortals who have played the Early Access version will be able use their save file(s) for the 1.0 release of the game.

Below is the detailed list of features for the launch version of Have a Nice Death releasing on March 22:

Welcome to Death Incorporated – Discover and explore the seven darkly-charming, procedurally-generated departments of Death Inc., where you’ll meet a diverse cast of memorable characters—like your affable pumpkin-headed assistant, Pump Quinn—who are always willing to share the latest office gossip.
Reap What You Sow –Sharpen your skills (and scythe) through fast-paced hack n’ slash combat, utilizing over 70 unique weapons and spells you can find and upgrade to create devastating combinations.
Death Never Sleeps –Since Death can’t die, use what you’ve learned and earned to overcome the numerous minions and bosses in each department of Death Incorporated... over and over. A performance review after every run guarantees that you’ll unlock interesting items and upgrades that will help you progress on your journey.
When Life Gives You Curses – Taking more power for yourself is a controversial move in Death Incorporated’s company culture. For instance, adopting a Curse upgrade for yourself might result in the Labor Inspector granting your subordinates enhanced powers, or worse, raising the cost of koffee and other items that are vital to your work output.
Prove You’re the Best Underworld Boss – After completing your first adventure across Death, Inc. there's still work that needs to be done to prove you’re the best boss there is. From completing special challenges and trying out recently-unlocked difficulty modes that feature unique modifiers to earning rewards to complete your Pitbook by getting all the weapons, spells, curses and upgrades – your “to-do” list is far from completed.
You Call the Shots – Make your playthrough the most optimal experience that’s right for you, boss. With various accessibility options at your disposal, including adjusting sound and language settings, and full controller remapping functionality support -- you’re free to fully customize your experience before hacking’n’scything away.

Early Access players can continue to expect additional content updates to be released leading up to Have a Nice Death’s launch. In addition, as players continue to share feedback, additional “quality-of-death" improvements will be introduced.