DeathSpank

 PlayStation 3
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 127 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 127
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 127
  3. Negative: 15 out of 127

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  1. Reaperville
    Nov 4, 2010
    9
    this game was great, it was a mindless hack em up game that held my attention to the end, the large amount of weaponry was excellent, the story line was pretty well written, whenever i wanted to unwind i would play this game, absolutely worth the 10 dollars it is selling for......
  2. gavin1873
    Sep 15, 2010
    6
    Deathspank is, in no uncertain terms, saved by it hilarious dialogue and paradoxical humour, but strip it away and what your left with is a bargain bucket experience identical to every other hacky-slash-button-mashy adventure game in the ether. With a plot so childish and full of holes it resembles the victim of a firing squad and a paralysed combat system that doesn't evolve beyond "MSAHDeathspank is, in no uncertain terms, saved by it hilarious dialogue and paradoxical humour, but strip it away and what your left with is a bargain bucket experience identical to every other hacky-slash-button-mashy adventure game in the ether. With a plot so childish and full of holes it resembles the victim of a firing squad and a paralysed combat system that doesn't evolve beyond "MSAH TAH BUTTNZ", the game falls down a well from a gameplay perspective, but it's beautifully written, genuinely funny, and not afraid to take the piss, with Deathspank booming, in his frankly brilliant voice, "GREETINGS NON-PLAYER CHARACTER" or when asked if he's never seen a dog before, he booms, "NEVER FROM THE OUTSIDE" implying Deathspank has sex with animals. All in all, funny but flawed.… Expand
  3. Si
    Jul 18, 2010
    8
    Impressive game, and long enough, with enough content to justify the £10 price IMO. Its only let down by the screen taring on the PS3, the badly designed map which you can't navigate on and the lack of direction on quests. Otherwise its a fun game, worth a play and lots of humour and some easy trophies to achieve. I hope they do DLC/expansions for it, because its perfectly Impressive game, and long enough, with enough content to justify the £10 price IMO. Its only let down by the screen taring on the PS3, the badly designed map which you can't navigate on and the lack of direction on quests. Otherwise its a fun game, worth a play and lots of humour and some easy trophies to achieve. I hope they do DLC/expansions for it, because its perfectly designed for that kind of thing.… Expand
  4. BDeyo01
    Sep 12, 2010
    9
    I really loved DeathSpank. So much, in fact, that it is my new online alias. It's a mindless hack-and-slash with hilarious quests, dialogue, and "cinematics." I want to let everyone know who decides to drop the $15 on this to please go in with an open mind. If you only like serious games, or think that video games aren't supposed to make you laugh, or perhaps you have a hard time noticingI really loved DeathSpank. So much, in fact, that it is my new online alias. It's a mindless hack-and-slash with hilarious quests, dialogue, and "cinematics." I want to let everyone know who decides to drop the $15 on this to please go in with an open mind. If you only like serious games, or think that video games aren't supposed to make you laugh, or perhaps you have a hard time noticing the small things, then this game probably isn't for you. Personally, I loved the attention to detail. Every NPC has a unique name, few of which are actual names (IE: Guy Who Lost His Wallet, Guy Who Needs a Friend). The way in which DeathSpank introduces himself or greets individuals (Greetings, Non-descript citizen!) is just fantastic, in my opinion. There are times when I had to repeat dialogue because it was just priceless. You really have to enjoy the little things in this game, and if you do, it's beyond "worth" the $15. Another example, is the way the character (in the inventory screen) reacts to certain items when equipped. If a weapon is equipped, he'll sometimes lower and cover his head, peeking upwards and waggling the weapon in the air to see if it does anything. If you equip some shoulder pads, he may do a little dance for you. The only reason this game gets a 9 from me, is the difficulty of some quests. There is minimal dialogue explaining the quests. Hints are given on an item basis (you must use an item to obtain a hint, up to 3 hints that will end up telling you exactly where to go, and the item seems to be quite rare and is not purchase-able, but drops from anywhere and anything). Other than that, I really enjoyed this game. As far as playability goes, it's perhaps worth a second play through with a friend, but once through was enough for me. I am VERY excited for the next comedic installment: "Thongs of Virtue."… Expand
  5. Bob_H
    Aug 20, 2010
    2
    A bare-bones Diablo knock-off with embarrassing attempts at humor (i.e. collecting "chicken lips"). I've played flash games with more depth.The co-op is terrible as well. The second player is cast as an ignored mage who cannot interact with the environment. While many Diablo-esque games place a premium on replayability (various character classes and character builds), Deathspank has anA bare-bones Diablo knock-off with embarrassing attempts at humor (i.e. collecting "chicken lips"). I've played flash games with more depth.The co-op is terrible as well. The second player is cast as an ignored mage who cannot interact with the environment. While many Diablo-esque games place a premium on replayability (various character classes and character builds), Deathspank has an incredibly elementary leveling system and leaves very little room for customization. On first consideration, the game's length might be good for an arcade title - but for a game of this nature, it is short on content.… Expand
  6. cristane
    Aug 30, 2010
    9
    Started playing this game last night, and I must say, I haven't had this much fun in ages. The game is a blast, it's extremely well written, the dialog is hilarious, and the gameplay is also top notch. If you love old-school RPG's, you'll love this. 9 / 10 (I might change my rating after I finish the game).
  7. GeekofGames51
    Aug 22, 2010
    9
    Hothead Games, creators of the Penny Arcade downloadable game series, gives us a new RPG adventure to help quench our thirst of funny and action, wth this game being nothing different. In a nutshell, DeathSpank is a great Action RPG; with stellar game play, spectacular controls, hilarious plots and characters, and enough content to satisfy your hunger and give you back your $15.

    To    Hothead Games, creators of the Penny Arcade downloadable game series, gives us a new RPG adventure to help quench our thirst of funny and action, wth this game being nothing different. In a nutshell, DeathSpank is a great Action RPG; with stellar game play, spectacular controls, hilarious plots and characters, and enough content to satisfy your hunger and give you back your $15.

    To start off, meet DeathSpank, Hero to the Downtrodden, Vanquisher of Evil and Dispenser of Justice. All of his life he has searched for The Artifact, an object created for unknown reasons, with no one knowing exactly what The Artifact does, but DeathSpank quests for it because a mysterious gypsy told him too. Already this plot sounds hilarious, but that's all I can say without spoiling, because this plot has a lot of detail to it, but it also has a lot more side quests than plot quests. Even though a lot more of the characters in the game don't have anything to do with the plot, they're not lifeless, thanks to the wonderful voice acting of this game.

    Oh, and did I forget to mention that this game took 6 YEARS to make? because I think that's a pretty big detail. I think it took this long because Hothead Games were too busy working on the Penny Arcade games to get to work on DeathSpank, being the independent developer they are. Moving away from that, some of you might go into this game thinking that this is a Diablo ripoff, well I've got a secret to tell ya...it is, and it's a good one too. This game is literally a combination of Diablo and Monkey Island, meaning the demonic world of Diablo is still there, just given the comedy treatment. Those who think that Diablo shouldn't be done like this, then stay far away. The controls and game play are really good, with only a few minor problems, but they're still great for a small, but experienced, developer. The combat of the game works a lot like this, you have four main weapons (along with an uneditable shield button) assigned to each one of the four face buttons, being able to switch out weapons from your inventory into the equip slots. You usually have at least one "weapon of justice", which is a weapon that has a special ability when your justice meter is maxed out, in one of the slots, and the other three either have three of your strongest melee weapons, or two of your strongest melee weapons and a ranged weapon. As with any comedy RPG, the weapons are usually funny, and there are also elemental weapons that do more damage to certain enemies.

    Now there is actually a combo system in place, however you can only use two weapons at a time, but this is where the big strategy part of the game comes into place. Players can choose from a few main playing styles, they can focus on ranged weapons and shielding, melee weapons and shielding, or just plain gung ho all out melee, which will get you killed a lot quicker so focus on your health. Now the one thing that I can think of that's bad about this system is the lock on system, it is good at locking on to an enemy, but it's not always the enemy in front of you. Locking on to different enemies isn't easy. there must be something wrong with the detection, but it doesn't always take in the right stick movements. However this is overshadowed by the automatic lock-on system, so while this is a problem I hope is resolved some time later *coughsequelcough*, it's not really too much to worry about. The game also has a co-op system in place, however I haven't tried it because the game doesn't have online play, another problem that will hopefully be looked at in the near future. Saving the best for last, the biggest con of the game is the mapquest system...why not? you can't choose one quest to focus on, and there's no way to travel across the map or find the way to go without looking at the map all the time or having knowledge of the entire gaming environment. however this has been seen in the past, except instead, you didn't even have a map to look at, just a gray screen with a green dot representing you (The Legend of Zelda). So that's all of the big problems of the game, with the problems really not being that bad

    DeathSpank is a great example of Hothead Games' work as an independent developer, showing that they have a bright future as a great developer. Right now this game is pretty underrated, so I ask of you to tell your friends about this game and keep an eye on these guys, just like how Pixeljunk Shooter 2 is mine when it comes out, these guys are also on my must-buy list.    … Expand
  8. Razv
    Oct 31, 2010
    9
    The plot is funny, the lines are funny, the quests are awesome, cool gameplay, pretty much a very good game overall. The only negative thing would be the co-op, where it's extremely boring for the "sidekick" to play. Good game !
  9. Zorgly
    Feb 1, 2011
    8
    A highly enjoyable little "Diablo" clone with a great sense of humor. It never takes itself seriously which is a good thing. Worth the cheap asking price for sure as it will last about 10 hours before you've seen everything. Worth a look.
  10. ultrafang
    Aug 28, 2010
    8
    While waiting patiently for some of the new releases to come out, I've been poking around the PSN store and found this little gem. The colors and graphics are great, the dialogue and quests are fairly amusing, the weapons and armor are pretty rad, though limited. It's a fun, short game if you don't waste your time thinking too much about it. Haven't tried co-op and not entirelyWhile waiting patiently for some of the new releases to come out, I've been poking around the PSN store and found this little gem. The colors and graphics are great, the dialogue and quests are fairly amusing, the weapons and armor are pretty rad, though limited. It's a fun, short game if you don't waste your time thinking too much about it. Haven't tried co-op and not entirely interested since it doesn't look too intriguing.… Expand
  11. jamesweber
    Sep 1, 2010
    8
    Really funny, really cool and there's good music. Affordable, decent graphics, good controls. Not much more you could ask for... except maybe a longer game. I finished it in three days.
  12. ARYXANDRE
    Sep 9, 2010
    8
    Quirky humor and a satire of modern western RPGs, Deathspank is a fun mindless experience that many can enjoy. Though the environments have a great art style, I only disliked the character models. A minor problem considering it many positive points. Worth every cent!
  13. Stealthgear
    Oct 19, 2010
    5
    This is nothing more than a Gauntlet style hack n slash game. It is supposed to be dressed up in a novel and comical way, but the lack of interesting gameplay does this one in. The fact there is a sequel a month later kills it. It is a game, but I can't think of a real reason to play this beyond the title's stupid sexual undertone. Lame.
  14. existentialist
    Oct 23, 2010
    7
    First off, this game is definitely worth playing. It is a fun and funny hack-n-slash Diablo-type action-rpg. The game kept me entertained from start to finish, unfortunately that was only for around 11 hours (that's with completing all side-quests). While I did laugh much during my adventure, I couldn't help but feel that most of the humor was aimed at a junior high audience. The levelFirst off, this game is definitely worth playing. It is a fun and funny hack-n-slash Diablo-type action-rpg. The game kept me entertained from start to finish, unfortunately that was only for around 11 hours (that's with completing all side-quests). While I did laugh much during my adventure, I couldn't help but feel that most of the humor was aimed at a junior high audience. The level system was neat, but I wish it was more in-depth. The armor and weapon selection was impressive, but I still felt that I was always forced to buy the next armor/weapon up to continue to the next territory. Fortunately, you do end up looting a lot of gold, but towards the end you have nothing to spend it on. Lastly, I am sure other games have done this, but I loved the food and potion mechanics. Potions are more expensive, but fill your life instantly, while food is fairly cheap, but restores health overtime. Despite my criticisms, this game is worth playing and set a a good foundation for what I hope will be many sequels.… Expand
  15. rave_rd
    Oct 24, 2010
    8
    It's just a fun game--It's not challenging, it's not serious...and there are a few issues (some graphic clipping etc. etc.) but it's funny, it has a simple, yet entertaining enough single player set up and for 15$, you can't really go wrong
  16. the_blueprint
    Dec 17, 2013
    8
    Very funny game. Rich and colorful world. The gameplay is a bit too simple and repetitive though and I'd like to have seen more weapons, more like diablo. But it's the humor that kept me going.
  17. destinyfan1
    Nov 12, 2017
    8
    Deathspank is a unique action rpg that feels like diablo but is still different because of its art style and different story
    It a good story,the game is humorous and the combat is good but far from perfect and becomes repetitive after a while
    Its very cheap ( because its a ps3 game) so a must buy
  18. Alvokun
    Mar 10, 2017
    9
    DeathSpank is simply awesome! I enjoyed it greatly from beginning to end. It is one of the PSN games I like the most.

    In terms of gameplay, DeathSpank offers a nice variety of weapons, items and enemies, main and secondary missions, a large world to explore... Despite it is not short, it is frankly difficult to get bored. Still, I consider that its biggest charm lies in the    DeathSpank is simply awesome! I enjoyed it greatly from beginning to end. It is one of the PSN games I like the most.

    In terms of gameplay, DeathSpank offers a nice variety of weapons, items and enemies, main and secondary missions, a large world to explore... Despite it is not short, it is frankly difficult to get bored.

    Still, I consider that its biggest charm lies in the storyline, the cartoon-like style and the dialogues. Dialogues and situations in general are absolutely hilarious, full of funny jokes and puns. Certainly, DeathSpank is an universe per se.    … Expand
  19. MasajaMasta
    Nov 14, 2022
    9
    Gameplay is just serviceable. I get eating food longer. Well, if you want to pass the game quickly to get to another it hurts but it saved the gameplay from 100% brain-dead. Nowadays comedy is so censored this becomes art. It can honestly be the funniest game you ever played

Awards & Rankings

56
#56 Best PS3 Game of 2010
64
#64 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 47 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 47
  3. Negative: 0 out of 47
  1. Absolute Games
    Jan 15, 2011
    64
    DeathSpank has stylish "paper cut-outs" as characters and scenery (which are especially impressive at a full HD resolution on PC), sharp dialogue, and nice music – it only needs thought-out gameplay to succeed. The game is hardly worth a second playthrough, and that's a death warrant for any aspiring Diablo clone.
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  2. Multiplayer.it
    Dec 23, 2010
    85
    DeathSpank takes roughly 8 hours to be cleared, an excellent length for a low-budget and cheap game. It's fun and engaging and unique enough to appeal fans of hack'n'slash games with it wide variety of items and locations. DeathSpank may not have any big expectation but it is nevertheless very enjoyable and polished to be suggested to any player looking for a funny, fast adventure.
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  3. NZGamer
    89
    DeathSpank is fun to play, funny to watch and it allows a second player to jump in at any time and assist by playing sparkles the incredibly camp magical elf. What's not to love?
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