Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Twitch
    Game on Aus
    • News
      D&D Direct scheduled for March 29 – Australian time

      D&D Direct scheduled for March 29 – Australian time

      March 23, 2023

      [This announcement has been provided by Wizards Of The Coast’s PR people and is presented by GOA for your information]…

      Ghostwire Tokyo and more come to Xbox Gamepass

      Ghostwire Tokyo and more come to Xbox Gamepass

      March 22, 2023

      As we approach the end of March, Xbox shows no sign of stopping. With their consistent release of amazing titles…

      PlayStation Plus Deluxe And Extras Drops for March 2023

      PlayStation Plus Deluxe And Extras Drops for March 2023

      March 17, 2023

      PlayStation Australia is happy to reveal the PlayStation Plus Game Catalogue additions for March. The Game Catalogue lineup will be…

      The Game Expo 2023 Wrap-Up

      The Game Expo 2023 Wrap-Up

      March 17, 2023

      THE Game Expo (TGX) inaugural event wrapped up in Melbourne last weekend, signalling the addition of a new gaming event…

      Ahoy, Mate! Australian commander and vessel come to World of Warships

      Ahoy, Mate! Australian commander and vessel come to World of Warships

      March 10, 2023

      THE virtual flotilla available in World of Warships has grown larger with the addition of a (fictionalised) Australian cruiser and…

      View All
    • Reviews
      Phantom Brigade Review – Mechs are always cool

      Phantom Brigade Review – Mechs are always cool

      March 27, 2023

      I’VE had the opportunity to play a variety of tactical RPGs over the years, but few have left an impression…

      Barotrauma review – thalassophobia with friends

      Barotrauma review – thalassophobia with friends

      March 27, 2023

      Barotrauma is a fascinating and immersive survival game that takes place in the depths of an alien ocean, that’s sure…

      Sun Haven Review – High Fantasy Farming

      Sun Haven Review – High Fantasy Farming

      March 25, 2023

      Sun Haven’s official release is finally upon us, which has generated quite a bit of buzz in the farming-simulator community. Developed…

      Resident Evil 4 Remake: Closest thing to a Perfect Remake.

      Resident Evil 4 Remake: Closest thing to a Perfect Remake.

      March 25, 2023

      IT was eighteen years ago. We joined Leon S Kennedy on his ride into town. He was being escorted by…

      Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU: Next-level PC gaming graphics

      Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU: Next-level PC gaming graphics

      March 24, 2023

      AS most serious PC gamers will tell you, getting the best graphics card you can is a must for a…

      View All
    • Podcasts
      Nuts & Bolts Ep 78 Hero Card

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 78: Mr LCO Goes To PCS

      March 25, 2023

      Bliss & Chiefs claim the top two spots as the LCO heads to PCS to see who will qualify for…

      Weekly Show Ep 275 Hero Card

      The Weekly Show Ep 275: AI Wrote This Episode Title

      March 24, 2023

      Doomcutie joins Stormie and Jim as they talk through mods, leaks and so much more! Plus our Bloody Good Game Of The Week thanks to Aussie Broadband.

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 77 Hero Card

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 77: A Wild Mercury Appears!

      March 11, 2023

      Jim is joined by Mercury live in the GOA studio! Jim gets excited over the World Of Tanks ANZPL draft…

      Weekly Show Ep 274 Hero Card

      The Weekly Show Ep 274: Shame Nintendo, Shame!

      March 10, 2023

      Doomcutie joins Stormie and Jim as they talk through mods, leaks and so much more! Plus our Bloody Good Game Of The Week thanks to Aussie Broadband.

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 76 Hero Card

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 76: LCO Drama-Rama

      March 4, 2023

      Peace finally get what’s coming to them as the LCO starts the group stage while a team suffers a tech…

      View All
    • Categories
      • BY PLATFORM
        • Playstation
        • Xbox
        • Nintendo
        • PC
        • Mobile
        • VR
        • Retro
      • BY GENRE
        • Action
        • Action-Adventure
        • Battle Royale
        • Fighting
        • FPS
        • Horror Games
        • RPG
        • Simulation
        • Sports
        • MMORPG
        • MOBA
        • Platformer
        • Strategy
        • Survival
        • Indie
      • GOA ESSENTIALS
        • Esports
        • Conventions
        • Tabletop
        • Hardware
        • Funny
        • Streaming
        • Win
        • Podcast
        • Video
    • More
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
    Game on Aus
    Home » Dead Or School Review
    Dead Or School Review
    GAMING REVIEWS

    Dead Or School Review

    Nick HollidayBy Nick HollidayMarch 26, 2020
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    In a dystopian future humans are living deep underground to protect themselves from the dangers on the surface. It’s been over 70 years since the virus and the biggest change humanity has ever seen. No, I’m not talking about events we’re facing in 2020 and beyond. Dead Or School tells a similar story of a large scale crisis but mainly that of a young girl who just wants to go to school and live what’s meant to be a normal life.

    Dead Or School is a 2.5D side-scroller by Studio Nanafushi set above and below the streets of Tokyo. Much like what’s happening around the the world right now, a dangerous virus has plagued humanity. But it’s not just making people sick. Those affected by the virus have also become dangerous mutants. In the early days humans decided to fight against the mutants but after three years of war, the humans lost. Many years later and the human population know next to nothing about life pre-virus. And surprisingly enough they don’t know a lot about school either. That’s until a young girl by the name of Hisako discovers her grandmothers old high school uniform. Hisako wants the life her grandmother was fortunate enough to live. And I wouldn’t be lying if many young kids will be thinking the same in years to come. Going to school and hanging out with friends sounds a lot better than being isolated. So Hisako sets out on a journey to the surface to find her new high school, No matter how dangerous the journey seems.

    Dead Or School Review

    The fight against mutants is a fast paced slaughter that will test your reflexes. It’s not as punishing as that of Dark Souls but it’s enough to give your thumbs a decent workout. With a plethora of weapons at your disposal, combat is never boring, always rewarding, sometimes grindy and forever changing. The choice of play style is yours with both melee and ranged weapons to experiment with. In a weird turn of events, the melee weapons were a winner for me even though I generally fight from a distance. There are multiple weapons in each category to pickup from drops and loot chests with each offering slightly different approaches for each fight. There are weapon stores as well but I honestly found little to no use for them as they mostly offered weaker options than I had already equipped.

    But why rely on stores for better weapons when I could reforge and modify my own? The deep customization of weapons was an unexpected feature that quickly became a favourite. Collecting what ended up being hundreds of weapon mods I was able to either increase my weapon ammo, durability, power or overall stamina. I also found some hidden gems throughout my large hoard which when combined I gained two second winds and always had a drone sidekick to do my bidding. You’ll be forever chopping and changing your weapon builds to either suit your own personal tastes or accommodate that one fight you just can’t seem to get past. Unfortunately this can’t be done on the fly as equipping and customizing can only be done at save points. Reforging weapons will also give you some additional power but will cost a bit of Yen so it’s always helpful to sell those weapons/modifiers you don’t need. Which shouldn’t be hard to gain a large collection of.

    Dead Or School Review

    There’s an unspoken grind to Dead Or School with progression sometimes not meeting the required level to proceed. Luckily death doesn’t take away any leveling progression before your last save. But enemies two levels and lower will result in very minimal XP so it’s best to always grind against the toughest foes.

    In another surprise find Dead Or School falls into some RPG territory. Hisako can either hone specific weapon skills or focus on self development (HP/stamina) with skill trees focusing on her weapon types. With all of these varied customizable play styles to explore this flipped the script of my initial expectations making combat less punishing.

    While the combat mechanics were extremely fun to play around with, there are moments where controlling Hisako were a bit of a pain. As a 2.5D side-scroller there’s areas going from small corridors to large open spaces leading to the camera angle changing on the fly. This meant moments of hectic combat while trying to focus on where Hisako was positioned with the camera completely zoomed out. A marker is given as a guide on some occasions but for the most part I would lose myself in the hoard of mutants pouncing on me. There was also the odd occasion where Hisako’s character sprite would temporarily be stuck to an environment. I even had to restart my game at one point because I fell down a hole and got stuck half way down. Apart from the movement and camera issues, the rest of her controls are easy to get your thumbs around. I’d also recommend a Pro Controller for this one if you’re playing on the Switch.

    Dead Or School Review

    Dead Or School sticks with a traditional anime art style that I’ve always enjoyed. There are very rare occasions where it’s slightly sexualized which I’m not entirely surprised with. But one example of sexualized graphics was that of our main protagonists uniform tearing after taking a certain amount of damage. I’m not a prude but it was a bit of a cringe moment with the age her character is meant to be and where the uniform tore. Since this is a 2.5D side-scroller, this obviously means our 2D characters are placed against a 3D. However the contrast between the pair didn’t pop for me. But in saying this, the 3D level environments are well designed however that much can’t be said about some of the 3D character models. Some of the mini-boss design looked a tad lazy with a lot of grey happening. The fully rendered cutscenes were a big miss for me as well, looking blurry and that of a game from last gen. Luckily they’re not entirely relied on.

    Overall, Dead Or School may not be the most polished visually but it almost makes up for its flaws in terms of combat and deep weapon customization.

    Dead Or School is available now on Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch and I give it a 7 out of 10.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleHey Gaming. You’re The One Thing Keeping Me Sane In These Crazy, Crazy Times So, Thanks!
    Next Article Catherine: Full Body Climbs Its Way to Switch

    Related Posts

    Phantom Brigade Review – Mechs are always cool
    GAMING REVIEWS March 27, 2023

    Phantom Brigade Review – Mechs are always cool

    I’VE had the opportunity to play a variety of tactical RPGs over the years, but few have left an impression…

    Barotrauma review – thalassophobia with friends
    GAMING REVIEWS March 27, 2023

    Barotrauma review – thalassophobia with friends

    Barotrauma is a fascinating and immersive survival game that takes place in the depths of an alien ocean, that’s sure…

    Subscribe

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    Ads

    Categories
    • ACTION
    • ACTION-ADVENTURE
    • APPLE
    • BATTLE ROYALE
    • CLOUD GAMING
    • CONVENTIONS
    • DLC
    • ESPORTS
    • Events
    • FEATURE
    • FIGHTING
    • FPS
    • FUNNY
    • GAMING HARDWARE
    • GAMING NEWS
    • GAMING REVIEWS
    • GIFT GUIDE
    • GOA
    • GOA PODCAST
    • HORROR GAMES
    • INDIE GAMING
    • Industry
    • MMORPG
    • MOBA
    • MOBILE
    • NINTENDO
    • Open-World
    • OPINION
    • PC
    • PLATFORMER
    • PLAYSTATION
    • Press Release
    • PREVIEW
    • RACING
    • RETRO
    • RPG
    • SIMULATION
    • SPORTS
    • STRATEGY
    • STREAMING
    • SUBSCRIPTION GAMES SERVICE UPDATES
    • SURVIVAL
    • TABLETOP GAMING
    • TECH
    • VIDEO
    • VR
    • XBOX
    Related Article
    Phantom Brigade Review – Mechs are always cool
    GAMING REVIEWS

    Phantom Brigade Review – Mechs are always cool

    March 27, 2023ArlentricBy Arlentric

    I’VE had the opportunity to play a variety of tactical RPGs over the years, but few have left an impression on me quite like…

    Barotrauma review – thalassophobia with friends
    GAMING REVIEWS

    Barotrauma review – thalassophobia with friends

    March 27, 2023ArlentricBy Arlentric

    Barotrauma is a fascinating and immersive survival game that takes place in the depths of an alien ocean, that’s sure to terrify my fellow…

    Sun Haven Review – High Fantasy Farming
    GAMING REVIEWS

    Sun Haven Review – High Fantasy Farming

    March 25, 2023ArlentricBy Arlentric

    Sun Haven’s official release is finally upon us, which has generated quite a bit of buzz in the farming-simulator community. Developed and published by Pixel…

    Game on Australia Logo

    Game On Aus is an Australian games publication working across written, video and podcast, and supported by an ever-growing community of content creators and fans!

    Copyright GameOnAus 2023. Privacy Policy. Website by Digital Hitmen

    CONTENT
    • News
    • Gaming Reviews
    • Podcast
    • Tech
    • Indie
    ABOUT GOA
    • About Us
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.