I’m not alone when I say I’m not looking forward to summer’s approach and would rather have autumn again and enjoy the wonder and fun of Halloween. Saona Studios is here to scratch that Halloween itch with Death or Treat where you must save Halloween (or at least Hallowtown).
Death or Treat follows a little ghost named Scary who runs a mobile candy shop called Ghost Mart. Business should be good in Hallowtown but larger corporations are stealing customers, forcing Scary to take a stand.
Now onto the game itself! The controls for Death or Treat are pretty simple as this is a hack-and-slash kind of game with platforming so it’s pretty basic. The soundtrack is pretty good and fits the tone of the game as well as its art. Speaking of art, I really like the animation of the game’s cutscenes and gameplay, definitely can tell it’s hand-drawn, or at least colored in by hand, it flows quite smoothly with all the action like a living comic book.
When it comes to gameplay, Death or Treat is a hack and slash where death is part of the game. As you fight through you collect candies that are currency as well as items that can be used to reopen closed shops, and buy new weapons and skills. Right off the bat, you’ll notice that the game has parodied a lot of big named companies as well as some well-known individuals adding some humor to the story but also showing that there may be more to the story of the game, I kind of get the impression that its social commentary about the rise of tech companies and the fall or brick and mortar shops.
Overall, Death or Treat is a fun game to play and is perfect for setting the mood around Halloween, which is possibly the best time to play this game, to be honest. I like the humor in it, the challenges of the bosses, leveling up Scary’s arsenal and skills with each death, the random powerups you find in the level, the random layouts of the levels, the art and animation, the soundtrack, all of it is great. on my scale of 1-10, Death or Treat is a 10.
Death or Treat will be coming out on May 11th for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S.
