Better Than Dead Early Access Review – Revengeance

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Story-driven first-person shooters are rare these days, as most games focus on multiplayer modes like battle royales or extraction shooters. But Better Than Dead is different – it brings back the classic single-player experience with unique gameplay and a structure that feels more like an old arcade game than a modern shooter.

Better Than Dead starts with a dark and intense situation: you play as a woman who has been kidnapped by criminals. Fueled by a desire for revenge, she refuses to be a victim and immediately fights back. The game begins with her desperate escape after discovering a gun, throwing you right into the action. Adding another layer to her quest, she records everything on a bodycam – which is also how you see the world – documenting the crimes of those who hurt her.

The story in Better Than Dead isn’t heavily focused on cutscenes or dialogue; it unfolds mainly through the game world and its missions. The main character, a girl seeking revenge, systematically targets enemies on her list, with each level representing a step closer to completing her goals. There are unexpected moments too – like a mission where you save another woman from harm, or when your own home is threatened by the gangs you’ve been fighting.

What sets Better Than Dead apart is its unique shooting mechanics. You play as a character who isn’t skilled in combat, and the game reflects that by removing traditional elements like health bars, stamina displays, or even a targeting reticle. This means early gameplay involves a lot of imprecise firing – you’ll be aiming generally at enemies and hoping for the best, especially when trying to avoid hitting bystanders. Even using sights doesn’t offer much stability because the pistol kicks back quite strongly.

At first, the character is pretty rough around the edges, but honestly, she gets much better quickly! As I played through the 14 levels, my shots started landing way more consistently. The game doesn’t hit you over the head with it, but you really feel her improvement – things like better gun control, less recoil, and even just moving faster and sliding feels smoother. It’s a cool, subtle progression.

Since the girl isn’t a skilled fighter, the game doesn’t show you things like a health bar, stamina, or even a targeting reticle. You’ll have to rely on your instincts.

Besides shooting, you can slide across the floor – and you’ll likely find yourself doing it constantly! Sliding after a sprint triggers slow motion, which is incredibly useful during the fast-paced fights in Better Than Dead. As your character gets better at aiming, this slow motion also becomes vital when there are lots of bystanders around, giving you extra time to target enemies accurately.

Better Than Dead keeps track of your performance with a secret scoring system. You won’t see your score while playing a level, but at the end, you’ll receive a ranking based on your speed, the number of enemies defeated, and how many innocent bystanders were harmed.

Better Than Dead is a very fast-paced game that encourages constant movement and shooting. It frequently reminds players that taking cover or engaging in drawn-out firefights will probably lead to quick defeat. You’re meant to run, slide into slow motion, and keep the action going. Because death comes so rapidly, you’ll often have to restart whole levels. My biggest issue with the game was its lack of checkpoints, which made these frequent restarts frustrating.

Generally, the length and number of enemies in Better Than Dead aren’t major problems, but they do contribute to a challenging experience, especially when first playing a level. Learning through repeated attempts works well in fast-paced games like Hotline Miami, however Better Than Dead takes too long to let you jump back into the action after dying. This extra downtime can make deaths feel more annoying than necessary.

The game’s levels are designed to look realistically gritty, but with a unique style achieved through a distorted, bodycam-like viewpoint—almost like looking through a fisheye lens. The environments, which depict the dark and dangerous underbelly of an unnamed city, are surprisingly well-crafted considering the game was made by just one person. A cool visual choice is that all the characters’ faces are pixelated, giving the game the feel of a harsh news report.

The game Better Than Dead uses a realistic visual style, but with a unique, distorted look achieved through the use of a fisheye lens and the way the game is presented as if filmed with a body camera.

Better Than Dead runs very smoothly. During my playthrough on a high-end PC (AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, Radeon RX 7800 XT, 32GB RAM), I experienced no performance problems at all. The game consistently maintained over 80 frames per second, even when loading new areas, with no noticeable stuttering. This strong performance is especially impressive considering the game is still in Early Access, which suggests a bright future for its development.

The soundtrack in Better Than Dead deserves praise for its smart implementation. Instead of immediate music, the game initially emphasizes realistic environmental sounds – bustling streets or the quiet interiors of buildings. However, as you encounter enemies, the music gradually builds, helping you get into the focused mindset needed for the tough levels ahead. The musical choices themselves are excellent too; a hideout might have heavy bass, while a slum shootout will feature driving guitars.

My biggest issue with Better Than Dead is simply that it’s very short. It has excellent gameplay that would really shine with more variety in game modes. The developers, MONTE GALLO, plan to add a substantial new mode to expand the experience, but right now you’ll likely finish the game in an evening. This is disappointing because the core gameplay is surprisingly engaging – even something simple like an arcade mode with clear scoring could significantly increase replay value.

This game was reviewed on PC.

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2026-06-16 22:44