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Just Die Already

Just Die Already

Who knew that growing old would be this painful.

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Just Die Already is one of those games that is impossible not to smile at. Created by the designers behind Goat Simulator, it sees you play as a group of old people who are tasked with continually sending themselves to the grave in the most hilarious and gory of ways. I never imagined getting old being all that fun, but if this is the kind of never ending pain that I have to endure in my golden years, then I don't think I'm comfortable making it to retirement!

As you'd probably expect with it being in the same vein as Goat Simulator, Just Die Already doesn't really pride itself on having an engaging narrative. Here you play as a senior citizen, who has just been kicked out of their prison-like retirement home after causing trouble at a birthday party. With you now being tossed on the streets you must complete several dangerous challenges on your bucket list to spend your remaining years within a luxury retirement home. I'm not sure what kind of fiendish entry requirement that is, but oh well.

The bucket list is essentially a checklist of different objectives that you'll need to complete when exploring the open world. Many of these require you to dismember yourself and others in some of the most grizzly ways possible, but there are also more innocent tasks like consuming a set amount of food or knocking over several trash cans. Crossing items off my bucket list I found to be a blast, as you are free to complete them in any order you wish and many of them you'll just achieve naturally when exploring and causing chaos.

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Just Die Already

By completing these tasks you'll unlock several different weapons and cosmetic items that can be dispensed through vending machines across the city. The weapon selection here is actually pretty unique with you being able to wield the likes of bee grenades and a giant stick of salami as a melee weapon. The issue that I had with the weapons though, is that they felt pretty useless and overpowered compared to the often unarmed NPCs. What was frustrating too is that many NPCs would respawn after death, which made combat feel utterly pointless.

The colourful city sandbox city that you find yourself in has a lot of variety and there are many different secrets that you can find if you take the time to explore. Each section of the city has its own distinctive theme, with one being based on an ancient monastery and another being a sports centre filled with swimming pools and baseball cages. Disappointingly, this is the only map present within the entire game, and whilst I do like it, I found it to be relatively small in size and it wasn't long before I had explored every corner.

I sadly wasn't able to check it out during my playthrough, but it's worth pointing out that Just Die Already has co-op for up to four players. Here you are free to explore the map along with friends and you can work together to complete challenges on each other's bucket lists. Also, this June, a PvP update is set to arrive and this is said to contain four different battle arenas. You will additionally be able to customise your own game modes, but details on these are pretty thin at the moment. At least more is coming in future to help aid the game's longevity.

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In short bursts, Just Die Already can deliver some dumb fun but its lasting appeal is limited. Finding new ways to dismember myself was hilarious at first, but this grew old (pun not intended) pretty quickly and it was not long before I had explored all it had to offer. Still, in my first few hours, I found myself bursting into laughter many times when trying to conquer its wacky challenges and wrestle with its ragdoll physics. I'm sure you'll certainly find some enjoyment in Just Die Already, but just don't expect it to hold your attention beyond a single playthrough.

Just Die AlreadyJust Die Already
Just Die Already
06 Gamereactor UK
6 / 10
+
You're free to explore and complete objectives however you wish, killing yourself in new ways is hilarious at first, its open world is varied and fun to explore.
-
It soon loses its appeal, there's only one map, weapons feel pointless.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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