Nobody Wants to Die is an adventure mystery game where you work to uncover the truth behind the mysterious cases of murders in New York. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Nobody Wants to Die Review Overview
What is Nobody Wants to Die?
Nobody Wants to Die is a first-person adventure mystery game where you take control of detective James Karra as you solve a string of murders by a serial killer in 2329 New York. You will be piecing together evidence and reconstructing crime scenes using a variety of tools at your disposal.
Nobody Wants to Die features:
⚫︎ First person narrative first adventure mystery
⚫︎ Choices matter as there are multiple endings available
⚫︎ Amazing graphics and visuals
⚫︎ Reconstruct and piece together crime scenes
⚫︎ Uncover the truth of a string of serial murders
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Nobody Wants to Die's gameplay and story.
 Nobody Wants to Die |
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 Steam |
 Playstation |
 Xbox |
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Nobody Wants to Die Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
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 Compelling Narrative Multiple Endings Amazing Graphics |
More of a Visual Novel Short Experience A Little Too Easy |
Nobody Wants to Die Overall - 82/100
Nobody Wants to Die is a visually impressive narrative adventure game that focuses on the mystery rather than the gameplay aspect. With its impressive visuals, compelling narrative, and relatively cheap price tag, the game impresses on the fronts that it focuses on. However, those who were expecting a brain-teasing investigation mystery game might be disappointed, as the game is more of a visual novel as opposed to a full-on mystery game.
Nobody Wants to Die Story - 10/10
The game is primarily a narrative experience that will have you experience futuristic, cyberpunk New York through the lens of Detective James Karra. The story is compelling from start to finish and even ends on a pretty satisfying note, with multiple endings available depending on your willingness to investigate more of the case. Not only that, but the game makes good use of the main characters in the story, immediately catching your attention with James’ story and hinting at his involvement in the case at a much deeper level than it originally seems.
Nobody Wants to Die Gameplay - 5/10
The gameplay isn’t much; it’s a very basic narrative driven game where you’ll mostly just be following the prompts given to you on screen to reconstruct crime scenes and collect evidence in the vicinity. There is a little bit of exploration where you find more items around the scene and decisions to make through some of the game’s dialogue choices, but other than that, the game will play itself most of the time. As a mystery game, the game is very easy, as the game holds your hand when solving the cases, even during the post-investigation sequences where you’ll be assembling the evidence to make a case.
Nobody Wants to Die Visuals - 10/10
Visually-speaking, the game is a marvel to look at. The setting is based on a "retro futuristic" take on New York in the year 2329. The imagery of flying cars is contrasted by several other dated things, like black-and-white drive-in theaters and many more. The game does a great job of worldbuilding, as it shows off the game’s dystopian setting despite having a shorter runtime.
Nobody Wants to Die Audio - 8/10
The voice acting in the game is pretty good, and for a game that puts its narrative at the forefront, having good voice actors is a pretty big bonus to make your story even better. The music is also remarkable; it makes you feel like you’re in a mystery movie and adds so much more to the experience.
Nobody Wants to Die Value for Money - 8/10
For $25, the game is a relatively cheaper experience. However, don’t let the cheaper price tag fool you into thinking that it’s a low-quality game. With amazing visuals to show off the game’s futuristic setting and a compelling narrative that’ll have you spend at least five hours to keep you interested with how it unfolds, the game promises a well-polished and amazing experience. It’s one of the games that pushes the envelope in how video games can be considered an art form, and those interested in those types of games will not be disappointed.
Nobody Wants to Die Review: Does the Soul Live Forever?
When Nobody Wants to Die was first revealed, it was a very mysterious game, and no one really knew what to expect until the game was finally released. It had a Bioshock-esque visual style and some sort of time manipulation going on in the initial trailer, which had me interested after seeing it the first time. Admittedly, the game is not what we expected, as it was a full on narrative driven game with an amazing compelling story, interesting characters, and a relatively cheaper price tag.
The narrative follows down-on-his-luck detective James Karra as you follow a serial murder case with your ambitious-but-rational partner Sara Kai. Both of you get assigned a case that’s way above your pay grade and get involved in a story that’s deeper than it seems. As characters, both James and Sara have a palpable relationship, as the former is trying to make his way back into the force while the latter wants to advance higher and doesn’t want anything to jeopardize her chance.
We won’t spoil much of the game’s story, as the story is the main driving force of the game. The premise is that the world now operates with the ability to functionally make man live forever, provided you have the budget to do so. With ichorite, you can transfer your consciousness to a completely different body and live longer than normal. The game explores the concept of immortality and the other implications that putting a different consciousness into a different body can entail.
Your decisions affect the relationship that these two characters have throughout the story through the different decisions that you make when the game gives you dialogue prompts. They’re interesting characters, as you’ll discover that James’ past is more important than it initially seems, as he’s personally tied to the case that he initially thought.
The gameplay isn’t much different from a visual novel. You really only explore the crime scenes to have more to talk about between James and Sara. Sometimes your exploration rewards you with additional dialogue and different scenes before and after investigations, which may or may not be much depending on whether you’re a fan of little details changing depending on your actions.
Other than that, the game pretty much plays itself; there’ll be prompts on screen to tell you what to do, and following them advances the story forward. Even reconstructing crime scenes isn’t all that interesting as you pretty much just walk to several points in the area and just pull up the Reconstructor tool to turn back time. There are some other tools to use to set up crime scenes and stuff, but none of these really make you feel like you’re solving anything other than to tell a story.
The visuals are amazing from start to finish, and the details of the different setpieces and characters are wonderful to look at. The game pushes its theme of being a neo-noir mystery game to full effect, as New York has this futuristic yet retro feel to it with the way characters and places look. The dystopian theme is present as well, and you’ll see it in several different scenes in the game.
The audio design is also amazing, as the game’s music, voice acting, and sound effects are pretty good. The music follows that jazzy, mysterious score that you’d expect from a mystery movie, which makes you feel like you’re in that experience. The voice acting is hit-and-miss; there are some performances in the game that are memorable, and some that seem to be quite forced.
Ultimately, Nobody Wants to Die is a stellar narrative experience that pushes video games as an art form. With compelling characters, an interesting narrative, amazing visuals, and good music, it’s able to build the world and tell the story of a dystopian future. It’s well worth the $25, especially since I wasn’t able to drop the controller when starting the playthrough. It’s an experience that compels you to keep going, and one that you don’t want to miss.
Pros of Nobody Wants to Die
| Things Nobody Wants to Die Got Right |
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Compelling Narrative Amazing Graphics |
Compelling Narrative
With the game being a narrative first type of game, it goes without saying that the story should be compelling and interesting. From the moment it starts, the game immediately thrusts you into the story of a down-on-his-luck detective being shoved into an off-the-books investigation that already seems like there’s more to it than meets the eye. The game may be a short narrative experience, but it doesn’t mess around with the worldbuilding or any unnecessary fluff and actually does a masterful job of telling the story, setting the world, and tying them all together at the same time.
Amazing Graphics
The game looks amazing, and surprisingly, it’s only $25. It does a great job of showing off the game’s eye-candy with eye-catching graphics, detailed structures, and designs. It’s half of the visual novel aspect of the game, and the devs have made a wonderful looking game that really catches the futuristic mystery vibe.
Cons of Nobody Wants to Die
| Things That Nobody Wants to Die Can Improve |
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More of a Visual Novel Short Experience A Little Too Easy |
More of a Visual Novel
Those looking for a different type of game will be sorely disappointed when they find out that the game is more of a visual novel experience. Even then, the game let’s the story speak for itself and doesn’t do much in terms of gameplay. You’re really only there to follow the prompts and let the story continue while making a few decisions here and there.
Short Experience
The game is actually just around 5-6 hours long, and even faster if you just follow the game’s prompts without looking deeper into the different crime scenes that you’ll be in. Even when exploring the game’s other endings, the game is still fairly short, with the extended experience only really being the other decisions that you’ll make.
A Little Too Easy
For a mystery game, the game is way too easy. There’s not much in the way of the main character just reconstructing the crime scene and describing what’s happening on screen. As explained earlier, the game is mostly a walking simulator where you’ll just be following the prompts on the screen to finish investigation. You’re not really going to be solving anything, but really more like watching an interactive movie play itself out.
Is Nobody Wants to Die Worth It?
If You Like Visual Novels, Why Not?
As explained earlier, the game plays more like a visual novel with a few hours of replayability if you want to experience every choice there is in the game. It’s one of those games that doesn’t overstay its welcome by getting straight into it right from the get-go. It’s a pretty short-but-sweet experience of around 6-7 hours of play time with a very compelling story, amazing graphics, and a relatively cheap experience at $25. Fans of the visual novel genre might find this game interesting, but those looking for a more thought-provoking experience through gameplay might find it too simple, as the game isn’t really made for that type of gameplay.
| Digital Storefront | |||||
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| Steam |
Playstation |
Xbox |
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Nobody Wants to Die FAQ
How long does it take to beat Nobody Wants to Die?
The game takes about five to six hours to finish, with replayability to explore the game’s multiple endings.
Is Nobody Wants to Die based on Altered Carbon?
The game is seemingly inspired by the cyberpunk novel, from the themes of immortality, plot, and even characters. While not explicitly stated, the game has similar terminologies that are heavily influenced by the novel.
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Nobody Wants to Die Product Information
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| Title | NOBODY WANTS TO DIE |
|---|---|
| Release Date | July 17, 2024 |
| Developer | Critical Hit Games |
| Publisher | PLAION |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S |
| Genre | Adventure, Mystery |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | N/A |
| Official Website | Nobody Wants to Die Website |
