The sense of humor portrayed in Hothead Game’s Deathspank is the deciding factor of what makes the overall product so great. To it’s credit, Deathspank is not very revolutionary, nor does it strive to do anything unique or refreshing. But because it never takes itself too serious the end result is a pretty fun, although usually ridiculous, romp through a quest of hilariously ludicrous intent.
You play as the hero Deathspank, a self-aware, broad-shouldered generic super hero looking for the next quest satisfy his needs. While the main quest-line never tries to do something completely new or interesting, the quest for the appropriately named “Artifact” is enjoyable throughout. Yes, there are twists and turns but rarely feels like the developers wanted you to care about any characters or plot segments. Instead, Deathspank’s narrative feels like a foolish tale that is there to make you laugh; nothing more, nothing less.
Luckily Deathspank’s sense of humor is decidedly funny, whether it be the descriptions for the various items and armor or the dialog of Deathspank himself. While I never doubt the ability of the game to portray its sense of humor to the player, some people will not find the game so funny. But that doesn’t necessarily make the game is worse as Deathspank is made for a certain minority—a minority that loves themselves some loot drops while having a ridiculously hilarious time doing it.
The majority of Deathspank is played like an action RPG with lots of loot. Think: Diablo; there’s an overworld, you take on quests from various towns folk and explorers; you run around slicing enemies with sword while blocking with shield; enemies have health bars, you heal yourself with potions. Nothing will ever feel out of place, new, or groundbreaking. But what Deathspank does is done very well.
Your main attack strategy is primarily with a sword and shield but can be mixed up. The four face buttons are used to equip your weapons while the D-pad is for healing items or potions. Some weapons inflict different effects like poison, fire or ice, but you’ll likely just use weapons with the best damage statistic. Armors are the same as well, as you’ll likely want to equip the best stuff you’ve collected. A nice addition is the “Always equip best armor” option that does exactly what it says. Deathspank also features a neat "grinder" where items can be turned into gold rather than running to a town to sell them.
Most of Deathspank will feel like a standard beat ‘em up but has all of the added role playing flare we’re used to seeing in most action RPGs. Because you can have four weapons equipped at once, rotating each weapon mid-combo will increase your combo multiplier, ultimately netting you more “Justice.” When the justice meter is full, Deathspank can release a powerful attack contingent on what weapons you have equipped. I felt this was poor design decision because these “Justice Attacks” can only be done if a certain weapon is equipped. If you want to use one of the weapons that contain a power attack, you either have to waste your justice meter or choose not to use it until a boss. It probably should have been a separate button.
Defeating enemies and completing quests do precisely what you’d expect them to; killing bad guys nets you minimal experience points while completing quests gives you much more. Leveling up is made simple by selecting a certain “hero card” instead of picking and choosing individual statistics. Some cards give you more speed while others upgrade your damage with swords or bows. Progressing through the level-up system in Deathspank is mandatory as the later enemies are far too powerful for you to defeat. But that’s okay as the overall game is so short that leveling up never takes more than fifteen minutes to accomplish. Plus, the level cap is only 20.
Deathspank feels like a game that does a lot of little thing right, but sometimes takes missteps in more significant areas. The length, as an example, is far too short. At best, Deathspank is a 5 to 7 hour game, and that’s IF you complete every side quest. Some of the quests are drawn out a bit too long, too. One mission has you recovering lost items but the items were usually sitting right around the corner from the quest giver.
Deathspank’s visuals are a great mix of fairy tale-like cel-shaded art mixed with a colourful, vibrant presentation. The exaggerated look of each character fits the game well, plus the environments look like a pop-up book your parents read you in kindergarden. The game runs pretty smooth at 30 frames per second but running at 60 the game could’ve looked much better. Deathspank is also fully voiced and most actors an actresses fit each and every character pretty well. The music is decent, too, though can get a bit repetitive and features nothing memorable.
It’s safe to say that Deathspank is mainly for a certain minority of gamers out there, but the overall product is so well put together that you may want to try it out even if it doesn’t fit your bill. The RPG elements aren’t terribly refined nor does the length of the game really signify the fifteen dollar price point, but Deathspank’s humor and self-aware mockery of the video industry is enough to give you a very enjoyable, although brief, time.