NeverDead

A game with mixed results. It tries to innovate in the action genre but falls midway, and it has some technical problems and gameplay flaws. It has very good ideas, but the implementation of some of them is poor, and that makes its gameplay suffer. Maybe with some more time or budget this would have been a much better game.

Never Dead might be a scrappy mess in places – it's blighted by severe screen-tearing and dialogue so bad it makes the original Resi look like Citizen Kane. Yet it's a game about throwing a man around who's usually missing 75% of his torso, meaning it's impossible to be too scathing of its faults.

While the cut scenes look good, and Megadeth really gets the adrenaline pumping, the gameplay is too repetitive and buggy.

NeverDead is the kind of game you want to like more than you actually do. The gimmick is a smart one, it's quite funny when it wants to be, it's peppered with cool moments, and it's a big improvement from the developer's other recent efforts (Rogue Warrior, anyone?). Alas, fun though it is, NeverDead is several good ideas short of fulfilling its conceptual promise.

We wanted NeverDead to be a good game, because it was trying to achieve something different. But the game is frustrating and sometimes even boring.

Even though Neverdead has its moments of frantic action and fun ideas, badly implemented mechanics means the game will often test your patience.

Neverdead's problem is that, albeit being original and fun, it soon gets repetitive due to the abuse of its procedures.

Frustrating and badly designed, Neverdead is one of the first victims of the year. Shooter lovers could appreciate some original ideas, however.

It's unfortunate that a game with good ideas doesn't manage to reach to its potential. NeverDead doesn't get to shine in the action genre because its gameplay problems. It is original, sometimes beautiful and difficult, but the execution falls flat.

Enjoyable highs interspersed with crushing lows make NeverDead as inventive as it is frustrating.

Space prohibits a more comprehensive deconstruction of NeverDead's myriad flaws, so instead here's the pithy summary: this game is utter bullshit. There are heaps of bad games out there, but few that glory in their deficiencies the way this one does. [March 2012, p78]

NeverDead does show some promise. Still, these bright spots aren't nearly enough to elevate NeverDead above its frustrating combat and flawed concept. [Mar 2012, p.84]

NeverDead presents some good ideas with a level of eccentricity close to the work of Suda51 or Mikami. But the gameplay is just too poor and has a weak narrative context.