Overview – developed by Playstark and published by PQube, Die After Sunset is an action Rogue-lite shooter, where every attempt at the game is different. The earth has been invaded and the chosen few have been sent back in time, with a goal to save their present. This title is now available on Nintendo Switch, Playstation 5, Xbox Series and Steam, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank PQube for providing the copy of Die After Sunset that was used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the story of this release. Please note that all images used here are from the official Nintendo eShop page for Die After Sunset, with the trailer being from the official PQube youtube channel.
Story – The year is 2120. An alien race referred to as the ‘Murkors’ have invaded every corner of earth with their unrivalled power and… rubber duck hats. The resistance holds out to prevent the extinction of humanity, but not for long. It’s up to you as a defender of earth to level up and take on the Murkor hordes… before the sun sets.
Gameplay – this title is a third person shooter, where the player must fight the alien invaders, complete objectives and take on other worldly bosses. The player must make their way through several different time periods and locations, fighting the Murkor who have appeared to cause havoc. The player can choose one of three characters (one of them is locked at the start), with their own unique skills, abilities and aesthetics to them.
The three characters have a basic weapon, secondary attack, light skill and defensive ability. The weapons have unlimited ammunition, with the other skills having a cool down that prevents them from being abused. The light skill uses light energy that is collected during each of the levels, which can also be collected by defeating enemies. Light isn’t the only form of energy though, as the player also has a health meter and shield that protects the player.
At the start of a level, the player will be dumped in a random part of the map, with different elements of the area mixed between each run. The alien menace will be roaming the different areas, while also dropping into around the player to attack them as they move around the map. There are chests that are scattered through the levels, containing power-ups that the player can access if the conditions are met.
The power-ups that players can access from these chests are passive abilities, which can improve the stats for the character and give abilities that can be used in battle. However, they are not the only power-ups that players can gain during play. There are objectives that will occur during each level, with a waypoint pointing to them. These missions have different conditions, with up to three stars available depending on the players performance.
When completing a mission, the player will earn a chest that will have gear and upgrades that are based on the stars achieved. If the player is only able to get a single star, they will only get a basic stat upgrade, but two or more will provide special weapons and powerful upgrades. The player will also earn resources and bonus time, which is an important as it ties to the most important part of each level, the boss timer.
In the corner of the screen there is a timer that continually counts down, putting pressure on the player to clear the objectives as quickly as possible. Each objective completed will extend the timer, giving the player a chance to earn more power-ups, upgrades and resources. But when the time hits zero or all objectives are complete, the stage boss will appear. The boss will also have a countdown for the player to locate them, with it escaping if it hits zero.
The boss battles are challenging and will push the player to their limit, depending on the equipment that they have when they reach that point. This adds a real jeopardy to the flow of the game, as the upgrades and weapons earned may be fairly weak, leading to a quick defeat. On the other hand, there is the chance for the character to have all of the most powerful upgrades, allowing them to annihilate to boss with ease.
If the player is successful, they will be given a box of loot as well as bonus resources that can be used in the home menu. But if the player is defeated at any time in the level or the boss escapes, there is a chance that nothing will be salvaged. In the home menu there permanent ability upgrades that the player can unlock, using the resource Mukus. The Mukus can also be used to unlock new items and features that can appear in stages.
Last we have the special challenge system that is featured in this title. There are special secrets and unlocks that are tied to achievements for the player to complete, which include new weapons, alternate abilities and more. These are incredibly tough and require a lot of work to unlock, as there are a lot of hoops that the player will need to jump for these unlocks. This can really slow down the gameplay and make it feel like a chore at times.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as a third person shooting experience, this title uses the traditional control style, with twin stick movement, shooting on the triggers and functions on the face. But sadly it does have some unfortunate hiccups when it comes to the handling, as there can be issues with aiming when using Joy-Con controllers. This is due to the movement range of the stick, which can be mitigated via the settings, but a pro-controller is heavily recommended.
Difficulty – as a rogue-lite, this is a very difficult title which can be brutally punishing to players. Sadly due to the random element of upgrades and enemy placement can make it much harder, with the potential to get items that don’t work well. This can lead to a swift defeat and a loss of all progress, with the Mukus system all feeling like a drag to get the permanent upgrade. The progress reset after every death is also a significant setback for players who struggle too.
Presentation – visually, this is a fairly cute and vibrant title with a nice overall aesthetic to the experience, but it has a lot of flaws which negatively affect the game. Due to the hardware limits of the Switch and possibly poor optimisation, there are stutters, frame drops and pop in that interfere with the action. This can happen a lot and feels like the game could crash at any time. The sound is pretty solid, with some good music and sound effects that work well.
Final Thoughts – I was excited and hopeful when I got my hands on this game, as I felt the mix of roguelite and third person shooter would work well. Unfortunately the experience doesn’t live up to the potential, as the poor optimisation, performance issues and difficulty with controls all hinder the main selling point of the game on Switch, its portability. There is a better experience when the system is docked, but it isn’t a great improvement due to numerous bugs.
I am unable to recommend this version of the game, as there are way too many issues that could make the player frustrated and disappointed. The game is very difficult and can require a lot of quick decisions, but due to frame drops, stutters and poor handheld inputs the difficulty can ramp up a lot. There have been a few updates since the game came out, hopefully with more on the way, but I feel that there is a lot of work needed for this release.
In the end, I give Die After Sunset a final score 2.5/5. This title has all the potential to be great on the Switch, but due to unfortunate optimisation and issues with the overall handling, it sadly misses the mark, taking what could be a compelling experience and making it feel mediocre. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
Link to Steam version (HERE)
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