Aeterna Noctis
Aeterna Noctis
Game
Game2018
Death's Gambit: Afterlife
Developer White Rabbit
Death's Gambit is a side-scrolling action role-playing game developed by White Rabbit and published by Adult Swim Games. It was released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 in August 2018. An expanded edition of the game titled Death’s Gambit: Afterlife released in September 2021 for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch, in November 2021 for PlayStation 4 and in May 2022 for Xbox One. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
245 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
77
LovedLoved
141 positive · 43 negative
95% range 70–82%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 141 | 43 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 16 | 4 | 34 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
2,349 of 2,923 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
76% recommend · 136 yes, 44 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 180 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (4,551 of 5,614 positive).
Players praise the game's story, characters, and boss design. [1][2] Some reviewers note issues with polish, balance, and guidance. [3][4][5] Many consider it a hidden gem in the metroidvania and soulslike genres. [6][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [3]
It's missing some polishing in almost every aspect: - Music is very good at times, but gets cut off a lot. There is a lot of unnecessary silence. - Combat has some depth to it, but also has some awful hitboxes. - Bosses have a decent variety of mechanics, but get very spongy in the second half of the game. - Story has its moments, but forces itself way too much into the experience. Random cutscenes between boss …
- [1]
This game has a robustly defined personality and identity, so i wont be comparing it to other titles of the genre. Its biggest strenghs are the story (actually quite complex for a title this size, very good), the characters (the main ones actually have motivations, hopes and dreams and are morally ambiguous - the player character included) and the bosses (mechanically well thought out and lore wise interesting). The …
- [6]
Don't let my low playtime fool you, i've beaten this game multiple times. This is one of the best 2D Soulslike Metroidvanias of all time and it's not even debatable. The Bad: - It's a bit glitchy here and there, but i've never had something truly gamebreaking. - Standard Keybinds are whack, but you can reassign them easily. - Some Bosses have some weird hitzones & bs instant attack animations. - Sometimes when you …
- [11]
A game I wish never ended, ironic considering the plot. Playing Death's Gambit has been one of the highlights of my year. Smooth combat, snappy platforming, a great sense of progression, quirky humor that (usually) doesn't overstay its welcome, and one of the best soundtracks I've had the pleasure of listening through. Although the story goes a little off the rails at the end, and a certain secret boss has the most …
- [2]
I finished Death Gambit Afterlife a few years ago, but after stumbling upon some videos, I thought writing a review would be a good way to show my appreciation for it. When I started playing it before the Afterlife rework, I dropped it at the Bulwark (second boss of the game). I really didn't enjoy it and felt it was sluggish and way too hard for nothing. However, with the numerous changes of Afterlife, I had a much …
Summarised from 34 of the 242 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Death's Gambit: Afterlife talk about engaging story with deep themes and memorable characters; those who didn't talk about some hitbox and animation issues in combat. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Death's Gambit received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. GameSpot's James Swinbanks praised the exploration and the story, but criticized the game's combat as being clunky. Writing for PC Gamer, Samuel Horti enjoyed the game's story, but disliked the stamina system. In a mixed review, Mike Epstein at IGN wrote, "Death’s Gambit is a very blunt attempt to fuse two beloved games, Dark Souls and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, into one challenging 2D action-platformer. Developer White Rabbit shows a strong understanding of what made each of them great but glosses over fundamentals that all great games need, such as responsive controls and an…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 245 · most liked firstIt's missing some polishing in almost every aspect: - Music is very good at times, but gets cut off a lot. There is a lot of unnecessary silence. - Combat has some depth to it, but also has some awful hitboxes. - Bosses have a decent variety of mechanics, but get very spongy in the second half of the game. - Story has its moments, but forces itself way too much into the experience. Random cutscenes between boss attempts ruined the flow for me. You need to pick a starting class in the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Death's Gambit (S181) redgifs.com/watch/snappydaringdaddylonglegs is not come from the game with the same name. It just title.
neutral · AI labelView post →This game has a robustly defined personality and identity, so i wont be comparing it to other titles of the genre. Its biggest strenghs are the story (actually quite complex for a title this size, very good), the characters (the main ones actually have motivations, hopes and dreams and are morally ambiguous - the player character included) and the bosses (mechanically well thought out and lore wise interesting). The down sides i can think of are mainly lack of modding support (xd) and the low…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Game Bundle] Metroidvania Mania. $6: | Game | Steam Link | |---------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | The Knight Witch | https://store.steampowered.com/app/1872680/The_Knight_Witch/ | | Axiom Verge |…
neutral · AI labelView post →I finished Death Gambit Afterlife a few years ago, but after stumbling upon some videos, I thought writing a review would be a good way to show my appreciation for it. When I started playing it before the Afterlife rework, I dropped it at the Bulwark (second boss of the game). I really didn't enjoy it and felt it was sluggish and way too hard for nothing. However, with the numerous changes of Afterlife, I had a much better time and went up until the end. This game is my absolute favorite…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've decided to face a challenge that has plagued me for 4 years. The only video game boss I ever gave up on, Endless(heroic rematch) in Death's Gambit. I have over 300 attempts, but I WILL take her down.
positive · AI labelView post →I am not a fan of disliking a game because I know that the reviews help the developer team, but I really like this genre and this game just couldn't do it for me. I spent the whole game using the same knifes I got from the second boss I beat. And not by choice, but because that was the only one. I only ever saw another knife when I was lvl 80 or something. The enemies have weird animation and some times you don't know if the attack will connect or not and you can't defend because the angle is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ENG/ITA REVIEW I underestimated Death’s Gambit Afterlife for years, since its mixed reviews and somewhat low profile i always assumed it was a mediocre attempt at a 2D soulslike, one of my favorite genres. But i finally gave it a chance… and you should too. At first glance, it plays like a standard soulslike set in a dark fantasy setting, then the game progresses, and it starts weaving in humorous undertones that, surprisingly, didn’t feel out of place, only for then change completely into…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1) go to an area with a robot dog believing its easy 2) accidentally go too close 3) boss hits you with massive explosion 4) wake up at the wierd statue with a guy roasting you for dying 9.5/10 would do it again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't let my low playtime fool you, i've beaten this game multiple times. This is one of the best 2D Soulslike Metroidvanias of all time and it's not even debatable. The Bad: - It's a bit glitchy here and there, but i've never had something truly gamebreaking. - Standard Keybinds are whack, but you can reassign them easily. - Some Bosses have some weird hitzones & bs instant attack animations. - Sometimes when you drop an Item, it just vanishes lol. Don't accidentally drop items. The Mid:…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just did an interview with @theindiediarist.bsky.social where I talk about developing Death's Gambit and how it changed my life! Among other cool topics : ) Check it out on spotify here: buff.ly/DfeaQmX Youtube here: youtu.be/IFJdnP1i1d4?...
neutral · AI labelView post →Man this game is boring as ♥♥♥♥. Level design is ass, levels are all short asf, bosses honestly are a complete hit or miss, some are funny other are incrediblly boring. Theres no real choice for how to build your character since there are only like 4 weapons per class and tbh skills and combat is really unsatisfying too.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm very middle of the road on this game. and maybe i'll revisit it later. but my initial playthrough as a mage class left a lot to be desired. The special abilities felt overly clunky and slow to use, and the class synergy between mage and other classes felt completely absent. Overall I think it may have just been a bad class choice to play, and maybe other classes would have had me feel better. But even then, I tried to play the game without a guide, and of course got the bad ending, and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Here's my #NintendoSwitch #indiegame highlight for today! 🎮👍🏼 Game - Death's Gambit: Afterlife Developer - White Rabbit Publisher - @serenityforge.bsky.social Release date - September 30, 2021
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a decent game, but I felt the balance was off. I got stuck a couple of times and the game does not make any effort to guide you to your main objective. This resulted in me roaming around the entire big map multiple times, and as a result of this my character ended up being over-levelled. Because, while the first half of the game felt easy and had the right amount of challenge, the second half got easier to a point where I started killing bosses on my first attempt before even learning…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Death's Gambit: Afterlife is a dark fantasy action RPG that takes familiar Souls-like ideas and reshapes them into a sprawling 2D adventure built around exploration, character development, difficult battles, and the unsettling concept of immortality. The player assumes the role of Sorun, a warrior bound to Death and sent into Siradon, a mysterious realm where eternal life has created consequences far more complicated than its inhabitants expected. Rather than treating the premise as simple…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Epic] Death's Gambit: Afterlife. 2D platformer RPG for Windows, free on Epic Games until 22nd August
neutral · AI labelView post →this is your sign to go play the coolest metroidvania soulslike ever with the most gorgeous pixel art and music, Death's Gambit: Afterlife - now! it's 50% off!!
positive · AI labelView post →This is my favorite MV, so this review might be a bit biased. I will go with the typical and boring pros and cons list. Pros. + The story really surprised me in a good way, this is probably the story i enjoyed the much within the genre: + Death and the main antagonist are really interesting. + The gameplay can be hit or miss, it really depends on how you approach the game, want something easy and steam roll the game ? go with nothing but the Hammer and it will be boring, or try to dive a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Top Tier !!! 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Epic Games] Death's Gambit: Afterlife | 100% Off/Free.
neutral · AI labelView post →a "Good" metroidvania, like a solid 8, it has plenty of good stuff namely cool but IMO its held back by some pretty basic things, so ill sort this into the "Good the bad and the Ugly" first the combat and movement feel pretty fluid, and you have plenty of options to adapt Sorun (the MC) to your playstyle, starting from your class, and they play drastically different, later you also have the option to pick abilities from a subclass, like say i picked the soldier which is sorta like the Knight…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When I realized that this game was basically a 2D Dark Souls, I feared the worst, namely getting stuck on its difficulty. I did not, but I did sometimes get stuck on where to go next, or what to do. I had a good time nevertheless. it looks good, it sounds good, ans the atmosphere is great, punctuated by a bit of humor. I'd happily buy a sequel.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mixed. I just have mixed feelings. By all accounts I should love this game. I like souls-likes. The art is pretty. The setting is interesting. The voice acting is good. There are cute little tongue-in-cheek moments which made me laugh. I'm truly not sure what it is, but something is just...off...with the game. The combat feels pretty bad, where your character is very quick, but attacks come out slowly. The feedback when attacking and being attacked by enemies is pretty clunky. While the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →what a banger game holy guacamole. Replaying it rn and will again in the future to try more stuff prolly Has some erm stuff like some of the heroic bosses or lack of instant fast travel, but most heroic bosses and the normal game itself more than make up for it. Sprites are insanely cool Also Matt Mercer is Death
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Death's Gambit guys have found me Hi, you made my favorite 2D game of all time. Thank you so much 💙
positive · AI labelView post →Character moves very slow and attacks are slow. Enemies moves very fast. Controls are clunky. Nice design though.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →50/50 game for me. and one of the rare games I've played over 20+ hours but couldn't bring myself to finish it. It gets ridiculously boring and very, very hard for no apparent reason. Still, not a bad game, but not a good one either. I am giving a negative rank to this game, what a shame though, it looked promising in beginning.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have given this game a chance two times - once on PS5 and once on my Steam Deck and sadly I can't recommend it. Let's start from good to bad. Combat is good. It is is fluid and enjoyable. I can perhaps think of a few minor complaints, but overall it's the best part of the game. Extra points for no contact damage. Difficulty curve and progression feel well thought out in the part of the game that I played. Having different classes in the game is a great idea. Abilities are a bit of a hit…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the most underrated soulslike games. Definitely worth giving a try!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am so glad I gave this game a second try, and I advise others to do so as well. The story is top tear and last boss is amazing villain that you really love to hate. The game makes you really care for the characters, and I did tear up once or twice for them. Props for the voice acting for that. Their are a lot of choices to be made, that encourage replay ability. As an example you can literally side with the villain in the end. I would say this game has made it as my Number 2 Metroidvania of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Name a video game you have a 100+ hours of gameplay in. (It's Death's Gambit. It will always be this tiny little game that could. :3)
positive · AI labelView post →It's great until about halfway through and then balance goes out the window. Bosses feel like they have 2-3x more health than they should have, and some of the hitboxes are wonky. The framerate dips in the Galaxy Mage fight to the point where it's unplayable. It seems like they gave up on the map system after a few areas, as towards the end of the game each area just shows as a coloured block (no paths/rooms). Also don't like how it switches from medieval to futuristic theme near the middle…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome hidden gem. I loved the gameplay and especially the visuals.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great Experience, good story, fun and challenging combat.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've played a lot of metroidvanias as it is one of my favorite genre's. Death's gambit is not my favorite metroidvania of all time, but it is easily a 9/10 and in my top 5. It has great combat, plenty of RPG buildcraft, and absolutely a top tier story with one of my favorite depictions of death both cheering and taunting you along all the way. Absolutely worth giving a go if you enjoy metroidvanias, souls-likes, or action 2-D platformers.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Note: Don't be fooled by my relatively low playtime, I have 150 hours on the epic games version from my first save file alone (including NG+), so 33.5 hours to 100% is a stretch upon first playthrough. Also please note I might be biased since this is my favourite game. -REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE - Summary Death's Gambit: Afterlife is a revised version of the original Death's Gambit which listened to player feedback & added a lot of new lategame content. This game is the absolute definition of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A game I wish never ended, ironic considering the plot. Playing Death's Gambit has been one of the highlights of my year. Smooth combat, snappy platforming, a great sense of progression, quirky humor that (usually) doesn't overstay its welcome, and one of the best soundtracks I've had the pleasure of listening through. Although the story goes a little off the rails at the end, and a certain secret boss has the most obnoxious mechanic I've ever dealt with, this version of the game is damn near a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good : Many classes Good visuals Good music Funny Nice bosses Good story (now that i finished it lol) Bad : I got lost and had no idea where to go lol (me issue)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finished up Death's Gambit, the base game at least. Ending C. Fairly neat game. Was going into NG+1, but decided to start on a different class. Well, that and I derped up something I was going to do at the start, and forgot that pulling your contract deleted the save. I have a brain. It's on break.
neutral · AI labelView post →Good mix of souls and metroidvania. Do not use the item randomizer at the beginning. It really messed up my game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Death telling me to please take this job seriously. 10/10. I really enjoyed this one. Combat is smooth and fast and better than expected. Music is great and I liked the story. Not really worth NG+ since all can be done in one go from what I see but a cool game nonetheless
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🦦Now Live🦦 Continuing our 1st playthrough of Death's Gambit. It's turned out to be a hell of a treat. So far it's been a fantastic game. From the art to the gameplay. Top notch. 🔽Click Here To Pet The Cats🔽 www.twitch.tv/cannolisenpai
positive · AI labelView post →Just like Death's Gambit, Tails of Iron was another game that I installed on my Steam Deck for that same vacation. I wasn't interested in it. I played it. Loved it. Now I'm waiting for the sequel, it's actually one of my most anticipated releases.
neutral · AI labelView post →Metroid Mania Humble Game Bundle: bit.ly/4boQnms my affiliate link $14 for 7 games - 9 Years of Shadows - Axiom Verge 2 - Cookie Cutter - Ghost Song - Death's Gambit: Afterlife - The Knight Witch - Axiom Verge - 50% off Death's Gambit: Afterlife - Ashes of Vados
neutral · AI labelView post →DG:A was a very fun game for me. I liked the high difficulty but it might scare some players away. I really enjoyed the dark atmosphere and the big build variety. For me: the only real problem is the navigation, which can feel very annoying and frustrating at times
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of my favorite games, great visuals, story and soundtrack!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I didn't like it at first. Hell, I even refunded it before. But after coming back to and beating it, I really enjoyed it. I got ending A the first time around, and I intend on re-revisiting the game to get ending B. The story is pretty neat also. Just beat ending B. I had a lot of fun. I still recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+feels like handcrafted adventure (no copy paste world) with souls-elements +great exploration, many cute details and npcs +7 main classes (~7 weapon classes, magic, throwables... mixable skill trees) +extremely smooth seamless combat & very good movement controls overall +no difficulty options at first playtrough, not too easy (has somewhat NG+) -only 3 (max 4) active skill/spell slots (change only at bonfire) -(has backtracking; fast travel obtained later; mediocre map) -no retry button for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →tl;dr avoid level design sucks the story/writing sucks combat is too spammy parrying sucks there are 3 different axes: the starting one, one you get before the final boss and the last one drops from the true final boss... like what the ♥♥♥♥ are you cooking you get fast travel WAY too late
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thalamus… so handsome.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No fast travel, terrible crafting, wannabe sob story that tries really hard to be funny sometimes and a stupid NPC that taunts you after you die.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →one of worst metroidvanias out there and simply bad game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The art's good, the combat is okay if a bit janky, but the story is a complete mess. Even after getting the true ending I have barely any understanding of the majority of the cast. Also the ending is dragged out tbh
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not a full thumbs up, not a full thumbs down. It's a 6.5/10 below average 2D Metroidvania Soulslike. If you like this kind of game you'll enjoy your playthrough, but there's just so many problems.... The graphics aren't one of them. Enemies and animations look pretty good. The combat system is decent. Hitting enemies gives soul energy which you can use for special attacks or maneuvers. Bosses are mostly well done - they have a variety of attack patterns and ways to avoid their…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Happy Monday & schedule day, everybody! Here's what I'm thinking: Wed: Dawn of Sorrow: Julius Mode Fri: Continuw West of Loathing Sat: New Game! Start Maneater Sun: New Game! Start Death's Gambit. I hope you all have a wonderful week! <3
neutral · AI labelView post →Another successful completion of Death's Gambit! When I tell you this is one of my favorite games of all time I ain't lyin'! If you got a couple of bucks please pick it up and the DLC it's so WORTH!
positive · AI labelView post →[Game Bundle] One Special Bundle with Adult Swim & Friends. $5: | Game | Steam Link | |----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------| | Duck Game | https://store.steampowered.com/app/312530/Duck_Game/ | | Jazzpunk: Director's Cut | https://store.steampowered.com/app/250260/Jazzpunk_Directors_Cut/ | | Battle Chef Brigade…
neutral · AI labelView post →Best Adult Swim Games, Ranked. > 7 - Death's Gambit > 6 - Pocket Mortys > 5 - Headlander > 4 - Westerado: Double Barreled > 3 - Kingsway > 2 - Battle Chef Brigade > 1 - Robot Unicorn Attack 2
neutral · AI labelView post →I played this because I wanted a Metroidvania and was pretty dissapointed. It's like a worse Blasphemous.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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