Dragon is Dead is a new hack-and-slash, side-scrolling action platformer with roguelike mechanics! Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Dragon is Dead Review Overview
What is Dragon is Dead?
Dragon is Dead is a hack-and-slash action platformer similar to games like Skul. The game features 2D-pixel art visuals and a gothic fantasy theme that is apparent throughout the game. It also has three different playable characters as of writing, each of which has different strengths and weaknesses that greatly change how they’re played. Additionally, the main progression that the game has is gearing through loot drops and synergies with artifacts that give players additional bonuses.
Dragon is Dead features:
⚫︎ Gothic Fantasy Theme
⚫︎ Side-Scrolling Action Roguelike
⚫︎ 3 Different Playable Characters
⚫︎ Multitude of Builds and Gearing Options
⚫︎ Artifact Synergies To Bolster Your Builds
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Dragon is Dead’s gameplay and story.
 Dragon is Dead |
|---|
 Steam |
Dragon is Dead Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Amazing Build Crafting Great Replayability Good Amount of Content to Experience |
Repetitive Maps Subpar Music High Difficulty Spikes |
Dragon is Dead Overall - 70/100
Dragon is Dead is a great fusion between Diablo’s gearing and Skul’s side-scrolling action roguelike gameplay. While the latter isn’t the primary reason why the gameplay loop is satisfying, the former’s unique gearing and equipment system make the game more engaging than you’d think. However, the story and audio aspects of the game are a big letdown and might affect one’s enjoyment. Regardless, the gameplay and content it offers are great enough to be a significant time sink, even if that time sink might involve you looking at your items for more than the intended amount of time.
Dragon is Dead Story - 6/10
The story of Dragon is Dead is convoluted and involves a lot of reading due to the absence of voice acting. While the plot itself isn’t the issue for the most part, the unengaging and uninteresting way of experiencing it is. So while the plot, premise, and characters are decent, the execution and delivery leave more to be desired, which forces the player to read most of the lore through lengthy dialogue.
Dragon is Dead Gameplay - 8/10
The actual depth of the game lies in creating the perfect build for your chosen character. From the gear you collect, the artifacts to build synergies with, and more, building the ideal skill and artifact synergies along with matching them to your character’s skill trees proves to be where the fun is. Sadly, its combat and level design leave much to be desired. Maps are repetitive and have little to no differences every run, and the difficulty spikes up in the latter stages to the point of being unfun due to them being big damage checks instead.
Dragon is Dead Visuals - 8/10
Its gothic 2D pixel art is gorgeous. The atmosphere brought by the visuals is also amazing and carries through for the whole game. It’s not anything new, as we’ve seen something similar to other games with the same art style, but the character and enemy designs, special effects, and the overall aesthetic are executed well enough that it’s better than its contemporaries. There is an issue concerning visual clarity, especially at the latter stages, so it’s not the best when it comes to that aspect.
Dragon is Dead Audio - 5/10
Regrettably, the audio design isn’t very great. It kind of sounds like a retro game with its overall audio, and it probably could’ve been better if it sounded a lot cleaner. The repetitive music also makes it less enjoyable than your average roguelike.
Dragon is Dead Value for Money - 8/10
For $19.99, the game is well worth the amount of content it brings to the table, and even has the benefit of having future updates as well. The build crafting that’s available in the game is massive and is the best part of the gameplay. The replayability of the game is dependent on whether you enjoy experimenting with builds for the available characters in the game, as the game itself can become too repetitive since there aren’t many differences between runs aside from the rewards that you take after completing a room.
Dragon is Dead Review: A Combination That Makes Sense
Roguelikes have sort of been the norm for the past few years. The infinite replayability and flexibility solidify it as a genre that will be a standard in the gaming space for many years to come. Speaking of flexibility, we’ve seen a lot of different roguelikes over the years that add novelty to the genre it's using as a foundation.
Dragon is Dead is one such example that does this pretty well. It combines the dopamine-inducing loot system and synergistic build crafting, all packaged into a side-scrolling action roguelike game. But how does it compare to its contemporaries?
Great Visuals, Not-So-Great Audio Design
First off, it looks absolutely gorgeous. The dark aesthetic using pixel art has always been a recipe for success, as seen in examples like the Blasphemous series and the older Diablo games. The gothic aesthetic also contributes to the heavy atmosphere that the game has, which does make you feel like there’s something at stake even if you’re immortal as a Successor. Attacks in the game are also visually appealing due to their good animation and vibrant special effects.
However, the overall audio design anchors the overall presentation heavily. The repetitive music makes every subsequent run less enjoyable since you hear the same thing over and over again with little to no variety. Also, the lack of voice acting makes dialogue a lot harder to stomach since there aren’t many cutscenes as well. Which brings us to…
Decent Story Mired By Lengthy Dialogue
The story of Dragon is Dead is pretty decent. The world is in a state of corruption since the last bastion of defense, a black dragon, has perished. You play as one of three playable Successors, immortal warriors chosen by the gods themselves, tasked with investigating the corruption and finding a way to cleanse the Corruption.
It’s an intriguing premise that develops into something good, with the only problem being your attention span. As explained earlier, the game lacks voice acting. This affects the story since everything will have to be read through text, and it can be pretty lengthy. While this may not be a problem for every player, it does stifle the overall experience regardless. For instance, it became an issue for me since some of the exposition gets way too long, only to boil down to fetching
something for them (which is just to kill the next zone’s boss, really).
Creating the Perfect Synergy
Creating the perfect build is the main appeal of Dragon is Dead. The whole loot system and synergistic build crafting clicked after a few runs when I noticed that the gear affects your skills directly. An example is a legendary weapon that changes your character’s Basic Skill or attack turn into a three-hit combo instead. Another adds modifiers to your other skills, like refunding the resource used when killing an enemy or directly adding a debuff when hitting enemies a certain number of times. The amount of experimentation that you have when it comes to gearing is massive, and there are three different playable characters that you can go wild with.
In addition to this, there’s the artifact system as well. For context, artifacts are items that add a bonus effect to your character and can be chosen as a reward for completing a map. These are normally pretty simple, like adding a damage bonus after a dash or a flat increase to your damage output. The complexity lies in the synergies that the artifacts offer. Most artifacts come with two different synergies that offer bonuses when certain breakpoints are met.
For instance, one artifact can give you a bonus to Bleeding damage if you have two pieces with that specific synergy. So runs become a balancing act between your gear, skills, and the artifacts that you obtain throughout the run. This is where the fun of the game lies, where you can mostly fix your build when starting a run, and then you can alter and enhance everything else depending on the artifacts you get.
Lots of Darkness to Cleanse
In terms of content, there’s a lot to cover for Dragon is Dead. It has a decently sized story mode that takes around an hour to complete from start to finish. This doesn’t take into account the number of reruns you’ll be having since you’ll need to keep getting new gear upgrades for your characters until you’re strong enough to finish it. It’s a lot of repetition, but the gradual progression from being weak to strong to immensely broken is satisfying as all hell.
To balance this out, enemies outnumber you most of the time. You’ll be up against huge enemy groups with hard-to-dodge attacks that deal high damage. To make matters worse, this also carries over to bosses in the latter stages, which can make boss fights feel like damage checks instead of being a test of skill.
It’s not the most in-depth game when it comes to its actual combat, that’s for sure. But the satisfaction of seeing the results of your curated build churn out massive damage numbers is dopamine-inducing. You can counteract the strong enemies by simply becoming stronger yourself, and that’s something I enjoyed about the game.
Synergy in Action and Customization
Dragon is Dead is a satisfying game to play, but not in the way that I expected it to be. I enjoyed building my character more than the combat itself, which was decent in its own right. In addition to this, the aesthetic of the game emphasizes the heavy atmosphere of the game which also adds to the experience. Sure, it’s not the perfect game since it has repetitive level design and music for the most part, but the fun factor is clearly there. It’s a game for those who primarily enjoy build variety and experimentation, which is already a great selling point for a lot of players.
Is Dragon is Dead Worth It?
Definitely, Especially If You Enjoy Crafting Builds
In summary, Dragon is Dead is well worth the price of $19.99. If anything, it’s actually surprising how much content it gives relative to the price. Players who enjoy experimenting with builds and different synergies will enjoy the game’s progression and its systems. Playing the game can become repetitive quickly due to the music and level design, but progressing and getting new equipment to make new builds make it more entertaining than it already is.
| Digital Storefronts | Steam |
|---|
| $19.99 |
Dragon is Dead FAQ
What are the System Requirements for PC to play Dragon is Dead?
The System Requirements as listed on Steam are as follows:
| Specifications | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 or above | |
| Processor | Dual Core from Intel or AMD at 2.8 GHz | |
| Memory | 4GB RAM | 8GB RAM |
| Graphics | Nvidia 450 Gts / Radeon HD 5750 or better | Nvidia GTX 460 / Radeon HD 7800 or better |
| Storage | 1GB | 2GB |
| Additional Specs | Direct X11, DirectX 9.1+, or OpenGL 3.2+ | Direct X12 with recommended Graphics Specifications |
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Dragon is Dead Product Information
|
|
| Title | DRAGON IS DEAD |
|---|---|
| Release Date | June 6, 2025 |
| Developer | TeamSuneat |
| Publisher | PM Studios |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam) |
| Genre | Action, RPG, Roguelike |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Dragon is Dead Official Website |
