Dead as Disco Early Access Review: One Last Song Before the Lights Go Out

Ah, the beat-em-up brawler subgenre of video games. I mean, what a gift, right? There are so few games like it out there, but the ones that do exist made such a profound impact, whether it was Sifu or even niche cult classics like Urban Reign on the PS2.

A Yakuza fan like me got infatuated with the genre during my pre-teens after playing Sleeping Dogs, so you'd best believe that punching, kicking, and just mauling away at anyone who gave the side eye filled me with the biggest rush of serotonin.

And yet I'm once again at that point where the subgenre has blessed us with another unique take in the form of Dead as Disco. A beat-em-up brawler that infuses music beats to help propel itself with such a creative upstanding, and that's despite the fact that it's launching in early access on Steam. But with the stuff that I got to experience in its entirety so far, I promise you that Dead as Disco is worth every bit of your short burst time.

The Musical Revenge Tour That Everybody Wanted

With such a flashy and nuanced presentation, Dead as Disco manages to blow your socks off with its dazzling art style and gameplay, while still offering a more than serviceable narrative that accompanies the overall set-piece action galore.

You play as recently resurrected Charlie Disco, a charismatic drummer for the famous Dead as Disco band, who was mysteriously murdered a decade ago. And now, it's up to you to exact revenge and trace down your former band members in hopes of possibly subduing and reuniting with them.

Each of the band members, or rather bosses, that you encounter in the available missions all have their own spunk with their own themed music base. And I can't even begin to mention or discuss them in full detail because each one just brings something new to the table. You'll be head-banging in sheer spectacle to Dex's boss fight, and in the other, it's a sadistic K-pop hellscape with Aurora, who needs to be taught a lesson for trying to play God.

Charlie's confrontation with these characters features bold yet tongue-in-cheek writing that doesn't take itself too seriously. You got Charlie aura farming half the time while easily ragebaiting most of his adversaries with his sick moves and witty one-liners.

If you didn't understand half of that previous statement all too well, just know that you're stepping into an all-gas, no-brakes thrills adventure with Charlie Disco reclaiming his moxie back with his crew at the Encore bar, even if he'll need to beat otherworldly odds in deus ex machina fashion to get there like some kind of Suda51 protagonist.

Death by Dancefloor

On the surface, someone might instantly think Dead as Disco is a rhythmic brawler game, and I wouldn't even blame them because of how well the game manages to incorporate music here. Instead of a traditional rhythm element, however, Dead as Disco leans heavily into a choreographed musical action game. Sort of like if John Wick actually beat up people to the beats from Le Castle Vania's tracks.

Right out of the gate, the combat in this game is fuming with style and finesse under its already heavily stylized neon-soaked presentation. There is a great variety in the soundtrack, with each boss having their own thematic score that gradually ramps up as the fights go on, until you inevitably get into a solo dance-off against them.

But just for any hardcore beat-em-up audiences out there, just remember that you've got a fairly simple control scheme here with a straightforward gameplay basis. At least in the game's current version, don't expect any combos or a unique array of double-button attacks. Dead as Disco is fairly casual for the most part, which is great because almost anyone can feasibly and enjoyably experience the flamboyant adrenaline rush it has to offer.

You don't have to worry about perfectly timing your attacks on enemies or anything, but if you can, that's all well and good due to some of Charlie's skills taking advantage of perfect beat syncs. You can totally let loose and channel your inner Batman Arkham as you dominate the dance floor, all while grooving to your favorite tunes or from what the game's OST provides. It’s the perfect way to unwind after a rough day when you just want to feel like a total badass.

And no, it isn't a total button mash; there's still a medium amount of depth here where you can throw a bunch of special attacks or skills like spamming Charlie's drumsticks at targets or launching a ranged lightning projectile to zap multiple enemies. You'll only have to parry at least one incoming attack at a time, whilst dodging multiple ones to avoid taking any damage at all. The balancing is pretty solid, which I didn't expect from a game launching into early access.

The only hindrance that I can possibly think of is how forgiving the game feels, even if the checkpoints on some bosses can feel a bit too gated with how far back they throw you if you end up dying. But even that is remedied by the fact that you can easily take out a large chunk of their HP with some perfectly executed takedown attacks that give you animation I-frames as well as doubling down on that during their brief stun period.

It is intensely engaging in the best way, and I genuinely can't wait to see how much the developers expand the game's infrastructure through the soon-to-be-released co-op mode and by adding further single-player missions or boss fights.

Keeping Up the Beat Beyond the Grave

Finally, the other standout highlight score on Dead as Disco that is sure to rile anyone is its experimental feature of letting you add your own songs to the game. You heard me correctly there. You can import any song (as long as they follow the copyright and EULA regulations) into the game to fight enemies in the game's Infinite Disco arcade mode, where you can also find various other licensed tracks to jam to whilst battling enemies to complete various oddball objectives to set a high score.

Again, I have to reiterate that this feature is still in the experimental stages, so if you're like me, a My Chemical Romance track won't fully sync with the game's choreographed fighting beats. But yeah, it still deserves to be tried and tested by you, too, just to see what type of music you can jam to here, since the game has a promising system in place for incorporating a song into its beat-em-up groundwork.

And with your hard-earned spoils of victory from completing missions, you can spend them on rebuilding the Encore Bar for Styx and the rest of the crew to give it a shine like its glory days. I mean, the skills tree is there for you to freely pick and choose what kind of spazz Charlie can throw down out there on the dancefloor, but equally, you might also want to take in the lovely ambience of Encore in its prime. Plus, you can also exchange a hefty sum for any vinyl to play in the jukebox at the bar itself.

I don't often keep Early Access games on my stove unless they receive major updates, but this might be the rare occasion where I'll gladly keep Dead as Disco if it means showing my friends or family how wickedly cool and creatively special this game is to play, hear, and experience, even if for a couple of hours. If it keeps getting better from here, we're looking at one helluva indie to keep watch on your radar in its early access phases.

Dead as Disco doesn’t just flirt with the beat-em-up formula; it remixes it into something effortlessly stylish and easy to pick up, even in its early-access state. Its blend of music-driven combat, eccentric boss fights, and pick-up-and-play accessibility makes it a standout for both casual players and genre fans alike. While it’s still finding its footing in areas like depth and progression, what’s already here is bursting with personality and promise. If the developers can build on this foundation, Dead as Disco has all the makings of a cult-favorite brawler that’s as fun as hell to feel as it is to play.