Drawn to Death

Drawn to Death is a fast-paced arena third person shooter from David Jaffe. It has charisma, a great concept and loves to make players remember how '90 shooters were great.

David Jaffe's new game has visuals that are as bizarre as they are original. Although Drawn to Death isn't the best multiplayer shooter on PS4, being part of the Instant Collection of PlayStation Plus make it more appealing. It risks becoming dead soon if it doesn't manage to establish regular players, but at least it tries to bring something different, thinking out of the box that we are used to being trapped in with online shooters these days.

It's ironic that a game so willfully, tonally idiotic can be this cleverly designed. A smart, slick, and striking multiplayer curio that's worth the digital paper it's printed on. [June 2017, p.93]

Drawn to Death is a bloody, messy, childish romp through adolescent notebook art, putting you into the art itself in a series of deathmatches. The art style is endearing and interesting, but it leads to some confusion in the gameplay itself. Fast-paced, unique, and creative, Drawn to Death provides a gnarly experience unlike any other, but suffers from a bit of monotony all too quickly, mimicking high school quite well.

Drawn to Death is another unique title from David Jaffe and his new studio. Not only is Drawn to Death’s art style unique, but its gameplay is also solid fun. The true test for Drawn to Death will see how it stays relevant in an already crowded genre.

More likely to be enjoyed by those who stumble upon it or pick it up on a whim rather than hotly anticipate it, the game packs more depth than you’re likely expecting if you can bring yourself to stick with it long enough and endure humor that some will no-doubt find intolerable. Admittedly the best games rarely suffer from this issue, but here the creator has been there and done that; Drawn to Death is what is, nothing more and nothing less, and those who can bear it are in for something crass, vulgar, and utterly enjoyable. Oh, and a word to the wise - the nightmares induced by the game’s cast subside after just a few days. If you do abandon Drawn to Death, don’t let that be the reason.

A concentrate of madness, profanity, small strokes of genius and frantic fun, all packaged with a unique style that is surprisingly effective.

David Jaffe and co. have created something wildly novel, moderately fun, and slightly frustrating with Drawn to Death. In the finished product lies a blueprint for a great game, but mediocre shooting mechanics and a slightly shallow level of content holds back Drawn to Death in the end.

Drawn to Death is somehow fun and gives its best thanks to the crazy and gross art direction and vocabulary, but it has several flaws when it comes to being as quick and effective as you would expect from a game that basically insults your mother every time it has a chance to do so.

Drawn to Death has a good Artistic touch but the lack of balance between characters and the fact that the servers are almost always empty makes it hard for us to recommend this game that's most enjoyable when played in multiplayer mode.

Drawn to Death has a unique style but unfortunately it brings a lot of confusion on the screen. The game suffers from unbalanced weapons and characters and some problems with the matchmaking. Anyway if you are a PSN Plus subscriber you could always give it a try.

Drawn to Death has a lot of personality and it can be enjoyable, but its lack of depth plays against it. Still, if you are a PS Plus subscriber, give it a try.

Drawn to Death is a "nice to look at" shooter that loses steam fast as far as gameplay mechanics are concerned.

Fun in short bursts, but ultimately hampered by tonal problems and balancing issues. [June 2017, p.81]

Alright, the new Overwatch it ain’t – but it’s far from tearable. (Sorry.) [July 2017, p83]

Not quite a Jaffe classic. [Issue#187, p.83]

On face value, Drawn to Death looks like an interesting idea, and with its unusual art style it may feel like a breath of something new and different. But with its small arena concept with only 4 players, few play modes, and disgusting toilet humor with every step of the way, it quickly becomes dull and annoying.

David Jaffe's new project is a third person online shooter that includes a number of nice ideas but a lot of different problems too, many of them really annoying.

Drawn To Death has a great cartoony art style and offers unique weapons, but lacks in content. The rough controls and lack of balance also make it less enjoyable.

The superb artwork and hilarious attitude work extremely well with the online nature of the game, but it is obvious that Drawn to Death needed something more (like a single player campaign, probably?) to take the experience to the next level.

There's hope for Drawn to Death to grow into something more, and my fingers are crossed that it does. After not quite a week, I've just about had my fill and don't feel compelled to stick around for cosmetic unlocks earned from drawn-out blind boxes. With new modes and characters, another pass at balancing, and some matchmaking options, I could see myself coming back. Until then, I'm good.

Drawn to Death, David Jaffe's return, is a free-to-play game with the worse things of the genre and without the best (it isn't free!). Funny and original, with an unique art design, it deserves one chance, but you must know: it's simple, turns boring soon and it doesn't have enough content.

Though its unique art style is masterfully executed, and some of the gameplay elements have a solid foundation, it is the array of technical and multiplayer issues that keep Drawn to Death from succeeding as an arena shooter.

Drawn to Death is a curious shooter proposal, but that's just it. It doesn't have enough depth to be able to hook in the way other shooters do, mostly because of the lack of variety of characters or not being able to choose the mode you want to play online.

I know it could do better if it applied itself toward the little things it doesn’t like doing as enthusiastically as the things it does.

David Jaffe has always been known for games that can be a bit over the top and Drawn to Death may be the most extreme example of that to date. The notebook art style is very unique and works well with the varying character roster throughout the fast paced arena matches. However, the long wait times and crass humor used to make Drawn to Death seem edgy really drag down the experience as a whole.

Though there is plenty to like in the art style and core level design, there are many other key elements like merely passable controls and unfulfilling combat that drive home its lack of polish and balance. On paper, enthusiastically diving into a sophomoric world of teenage angst seems like an fun concept. However, it doesn’t take long to realize that there’s a damn good reason why most people grow up. Maybe Drawn to Death should do the same. It needs to report to detention, immediately.

Devoted players may find some depth and strategy in these nuances, but with such underwhelming modes and gameplay, there's no reason to become devoted in the first place. After a few matches, most players will be ready to move on to a bigger, better game.

Strangely compelling art design is not enough – Drawn to Death is proof to this like almost no other game. While the brutal gags grabbed my sympathy the technical flaws made me turn away too often. This simply can’t keep up with Garden Warfare or Overwatch.

Drawn to Death is one of the most disappointing games I’ve played in recent memory. The premise is fantastic and there is a heap of potential buried beneath the surface. Unfortunately, even after you dig past that rough outer shell, the inside is almost entire empty and devoid of engaging content.

Drawn to Death has tons of potential, so it's a shame to see almost all of it go down the drain. The game promised a cool and fun arena style shooter with tons of funny and creative weapons and characters, all with the amazing sketchbook art style. What we got instead was a shallow game, full of unnecessary profanity, mostly useless weapons, forgettable soundtrack and an annoying announcer. The art style is cool and the arenas and characters are fun to look at, but even they can't.

We see a fairly normal kid who idolizes his brother, a serviceman, can't gather the gumption to talk to a girl in his class, seems somewhat embarrassed about his interest in guns and knives, and uses the world of his notebook to brutalize and embarrass the things in reality that make life miserable. All this creates a funhouse-mirror image of screwed-up teenage gamerdom worth exploring with a measure of detachment, which makes it even more of a shame of the outdated, obnoxious shooter that never shuts up Drawn To Death actually is.

With its immature design and humour, Drawn To Death is a game out of time. Its server issues and general instability compound that, distracting from what could have been a fun arena shooter.

One of the most unique-looking shooters of recent years, but not necessarily in a good way. Especially not when the action is this unrefined and purposefully annoying.

With a look this distinctive, Drawn to Death could have hit the ground running. But as a decent shooter it merely limps, thanks to a number of unfortunate design choices, a lack of options, and rampant bugs. Intricate levels, varied weapons and unique characters may have looked good on paper, but any positives Drawn to Death has get scribbled over and obscured by the constant barrage of un-funny abuse it insists on endlessly spewing in your face.