While there are still threads of its abandoned episodic nature in the woodworks, they'll (hopefully) only serve as an excuse for Gilbert and/or Hothead to someday re-visit the outrageous armour-clad avenger. Sharing a life-bar with DeathSpank, doofy wizard Sparkles won't steal the screen from the titular lead, but the option to team up and complete the game with a friend is a fun and worthwhile distraction.Įven with its occasional missteps, DeathSpank is a wholly enjoyable action-RPG experience that packs a charming, and surprisingly lengthy adventure.
It's also worth noting the game's drop-in/drop-out co-op feature, which, while not incredibly deep or game-changing, does make for some enjoyable couch-based local multiplayer sessions. DeathSpank's five-potion-per-slot carrying limit is also a bit of a burden, as, even though the hero can haul around an endless amount of health-replenishing grub, the healing effect of food is far from instant, turning many of the game's more difficult battles into a game of "slash, block, run, munch, repeat." Loot-hogs take note: DeathSpank boasts an impressive amount of on-model weapon, armour, and accessory combinations, and with the help of an (optional) preferential auto-equip and easy-to-read "best" function, sorting through the game's inventory screen is both a streamlined and surprisingly deep experience.īattles do hit a few hitches, however, as, despite DeathSpank's level, it's generally far too easy for enemies to swarm and overpower the titular hero.
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The game does earn its "Monkey Island meets Diablo" mantle, however, with an assortment of expertly scripted and wonderfully witty dialogue trees crafted in the vein of the point-n-click classic, each fully and delightfully voice-acted to full chuckle-inducing effect.Īble to equip four weapons and four items (or eight weapons and no items, for you one-man-armies-in-waiting) to the face buttons and D-pad, DeathSpank's fast-paced combat is a user-friendly experience that lends itself well to the game's streaming cylindrical world and vast array of inventive enemies. Rife with riffs of various tried-and-true RPG tropes, DeathSpank's colorful cast of NPCs play host to an expansive array of comical quests, and while there's a nice variety to the increasingly oddball missions the hero is tasked with, there's unfortunately no shortage of monotonous fetch-quests.ĭeathSpank does attempt to break up said monotony with a handful of inventory-based puzzles that, in classic Monkey Island fashion, range from obvious to utterly nonsensical, but it can't fully compensate for the game's tendency towards "deliver item A to location B" missions. Chock full of tongue-in-cheek references, jabs, and jests - more than a few of them obviously and lovingly aimed at Blizzard's iconic dungeon crawler and, in turn, best-selling MMO - DeathSpank's Greem-slaying, Orque-stomping core quest serves as a thoughtful send-up of a well-traversed genre of fantasy titles. Ambushed and stripped of his worth-defining armaments, our hero embarks on a world-spanning, orphan-laden journey rife with Diablo-esque hack-n-slashery and the occasional spattering of Monkey Island-ish point-n-clickery.ĭeathSpank makes no effort to hide from its inspirations.
Cocky, dense, and strong-headed to a fault, the purple-thonged dispenser of justice would just as soon unintentionally doom the world as he would redeem it, and honestly, that's what makes him such a likable hero.įollowing the unceremonious liberation of a mysterious and magical artifact - aptly named "The Artifact" - DeathSpank plays right in to the hands of the megalomaniacal, wig-headed Lord Von Prong.
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Born of a short series of Flash animations on, famed SCUMM adventure game designer Ron Gilbert's personal website, archetypal brawns-over-brains hero DeathSpank has never been in the business of taking himself very seriously.
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