Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham games set a new standard for beat-’em-ups, mixing tight combat with a rhythmic flow that made you feel unstoppable once you got into it. Dead as Disco feels like a spiritual successor, focusing on that same rhythm-driven action. It adds its own twist with dance-floor brawls and a playlist of moves you can use on anyone who dares to step up.
Out now in early access, Dead as Disco wastes no time in laying the groundwork for why you’re reducing the local hoodlum scene to single-digit numbers. You’re the rock star Charlie Disco, out for revenge after your former bandmates left you for dead, and hellbent on exacting some stylish retribution while you dodge and weave to the beat of your own personal mixtape. It’s a plot that’s more barebones than the lyrics to a Black Eyed Peas song, and it absolutely rocks because it doesn’t detract from the stylish and substantive action of Dead as Disco.
It’s that sense of choreographed action that makes the game stand out, as you chase high scores and betrayers with fists of fury and a song in your heart. Dead as Disco is all about the Rule of Cool, and in the handful of levels currently available, that law is an ironclad application of melodic melee attacks as you match blows to the beat of the music. Nail the rhythm with fists, counters, and takedowns, and you’ll rack up points as you dynamically bloody your knuckles for a showdown with a boss.
This is where Dead as Disco flips the script on the power fantasy, as the free-flow combat dials up the action with Dark Souls-inspired showdowns that require you to sharpen your concentration and move to their beat. It takes two to tango, but it only takes one toxic-gas-huffing giant of a guitarist to wipe the floor with you if you lose focus.
The current version of Dead as Disco makes for a short but satisfying jaunt through what the game has to offer so far. While the core campaign is thin and more narrative arcs are planned for later in the year ahead of the game’s planned 1.0 release in 2027, the best trick up its sleeve is a mode that invites you to upload your own legally obtained MP3s into the game, setting up clashes where you march to the beat of your own escrima drumsticks.
The licensed music currently available in the game–including a banger level themed around She’s A Maniac–isn’t exactly deep, but throwing your own tracks into the mix livens things up in Dead as Disco’s neon-soaked world and maps the action to the flow of your personal music choices.
Have I used my old Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, and Linkin Park tracks to throw roundhouse kicks at anyone in my way? Absolutely. Was I surprised that Angine de Poitrine, Celine Dion, and Scatman John also make great fight music? Definitely. Brain Jar Games still has work to do before Dead as Disco becomes a top hit, but even in early access, it already feels like it could be more than just a one-hit wonder.
