{"id":8956,"date":"2026-05-05T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/?p=8956"},"modified":"2026-05-05T22:04:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T18:34:31","slug":"dead-as-disco-early-access-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/dead-as-disco-early-access-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Dead as Disco Early Access Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The best rhythm games are Combo Mad. They let you express yourself, alter your play, match the beat to your tools and show off. They\u2019re not all this way, of course. But the good ones \u2013 the ones that get that music isn\u2019t just playing the right notes in the right order \u2013 have more in common with Devil May Cry and your favorite fighting game than you might think. Dead as Disco, a literal beat \u2018em up from developer Brain Jar Games, is as comfortable in that space as a well-worn leather jacket. Even at its Early Access launch, it\u2019s got the sick licks, fancy footwork, and consummate style to be a real contender. There are a couple parts of this album that I don\u2019t love, but it\u2019s about as close to being all killer no filler as an in-progress release can get.<\/p>\n

Charlie Disco was dead to begin with. You must remember that, otherwise nothing that follows will seem wondrous or maintain any sense of mystery. But it turns out you can\u2019t keep a good man down, as Charlie has risen from the grave to put the band back together: one soul for one night and one last show as Dead as Disco. According to Vice, the floating German skull-as-disco-ball who\u2019s there to enforce your contract \u201cto ze letter,\u201d Charlie got snuffed on the world tour, after which the rest of his band sold their souls to Harmony and became mega Idols. Your job is to convince them that they were better as a quintet and figure out who killed Disco.<\/p>\n

Dead as Disco isn\u2019t heavy on plot, but what\u2019s here kept me interested and the performances are good. Charlie doesn\u2019t really remember what happened (or who offed him), and all he has to go on is Vice\u2019s word and the state of the world as it is now, ten years after he bought the farm. When you confront Prophet about selling out to Harmony, he tells Charlie that he sold out long before the rest of them did. Disco doesn\u2019t believe it, of course, but then what does he have to go on? Vice\u2019s word? Would you trust a bedazzled floating skull? You won\u2019t see the end of Disco\u2019s story here; this Early Access, after all. But there\u2019s enough intrigue that I wanted to learn more about the characters and see what would happen next.<\/p>\n

The real power behind Dead as Disco\u2019s chords is the moment-to-moment joy of beating up enemies to the, um\u2026 beat. If you\u2019ve ever played Hi-Fi Rush, you\u2019re gonna be right at home here. Combat marches to the tempo of the tune you\u2019re jamming to, so if you\u2019ve got rhythm, timing your attacks, dodges, and counters will feel like headbangin\u2019 to a joint you know by heart. Now, every attack always lands on the beat, so combat feels good even if Charlie\u2019s doing his best Steven Adler impression. You don\u2019t gotta be right on time to succeed, but if you can sync your moves up with the song, you\u2019ll hit harder, dodge better, and build more Fever Meter you can cash in for special moves like Fever Rush, which allows you to play Charlie\u2019s drumsticks on his foe\u2019s heads. <\/p>\n

When you\u2019re movin\u2019 and groovin\u2019, Dead as Disco\u2019s fights are remarkable.\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

When you\u2019re movin\u2019 and groovin\u2019, Dead as Disco\u2019s fights are remarkable. Hit a combo, pause long enough to pull off a counter, spend one of your takedown tokens to yank a guy out of the fight before he gets to swing, exit the animation early with a well-timed dodge, and then hit the guy who\u2019s recovering from his swing with a finisher. Regular enemies aren\u2019t super challenging, but some are so fast you can only counter them. Others require you to break a shield or keep an eye out for leaping attacks and lasers. Fortunately, Disco can cancel just about any action into any other, so you\u2019ve always got an answer, and playing around these requirements is fun. Combat is quite simple, but it feels so, so good, and when you\u2019ve mastered the beat of a song and know how to handle the variety of enemies you\u2019re facing, it\u2019s pretty amazing. And damn if it doesn\u2019t look stylish as hell no matter what you do. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s good, because as strong as Dead as Disco\u2019s combat is, there\u2019s not a ton of stuff outside of it. You\u2019ve essentially got three ways to jam in the Early Access build: Challenges, which will both teach you how to play and then task you to do so under modified conditions or while accomplishing specific tasks; Free Play, where you can take on any of the 30 currently available tracks \u2013 some licensed, some original \u2013 at your leisure, and even upload your own; and the main story levels, where you face off against your former bandmates.<\/p>\n

These are Dead as Disco\u2019s most impressive moments. They\u2019re multi-stage fights against each Idol, complete with some absolutely bonkers stage transitions, unique mechanics, and plenty of minions to break up the action. Each one feels pretty unique, and the songs you\u2019ll battle to the beat of are absolute bangers. I mean, come on. Punk-rock-skull-in-a-vat Hemlock fighting you to a sick version of Maniac? Yeah, buddy. Of course Aurora, the human AI-designed-just-for-you-turned-near-deity fights you to a pop song. What else would it be? <\/p>\n

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By far my favorite of these fights is the one against Prophet: a slickly produced hip-hop track guides you from the streets where everything started to a sold-out arena. And when you transition from the small frys to the head honcho via one of those rad-as-hell animated sequences? Cinema, baby. Sure as hell better than some sanitized musical biopic, you know? <\/p>\n

If I have one issue with these fights, it\u2019s that they can be a bit unforgiving until you have some upgrades under your belt, which can be painful when they\u2019re several minutes long. By the end, you\u2019ve seen everything a boss has to offer and are just going through the motions of the fight in a way that dulls the best parts of Dead as Disco\u2019s focus on player expression. It\u2019s not enough to ruin any of them \u2013 I think they\u2019re all good \u2013 but I was always ready for them to end before they actually did.<\/p>\n

Speaking of upgrades, every song you play will reward you with fans that you can use to upgrade Disco\u2019s Beat Kune Do. Knock off a boss, and you\u2019ll unlock a special move to spend Fever on, as well as a new, smaller upgrade tree. Dead as Disco\u2019s skill trees aren\u2019t huge, but they\u2019re meaningful. Every time you unlock a health upgrade, or even something as simple as the ability to follow up a drumstick after you throw it, you\u2019ll feel it, which is exactly how it should be.<\/p>\n

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Will’s Favorite Music and Rhythm Games<\/h3>\n

I reviewed Rhythm Doctor, which got me thinking about my favorite music and rhythm games, so here they are.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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