Info about Life Goes On: Done to Death:

Official game description:
Life Goes On: Done to Death is a comically-morbid platformer where you guide heroic knights to their demise and use the dead bodies to solve puzzles. Wanting to live forever, a mighty king sends his army of knights to find the Cup of Life. On this quest, you will summon knight after knight to be brutally sacrificed. Impale knights on spikes to create a safe path. Catch a knight on a sawblade to land the body on a button. Freeze knights into blocks of ice to reach higher ground.  
You’ll also electrocute knights to open doors, blast knights out of cannons, and even zombify a knight to be your violent, dim-witted friend. As you journey through treacherous and trap-ridden worlds, you’ll show no mercy to solve each challenging puzzle.  
In this game, death is not a setback. It is your only means to progress.
Key Features
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**You must die to solve puzzles.**  
We hope you’re okay with killing knights, since this is a pretty twisted way to solve puzzles! Dying is your only way to progress. As you sacrifice knights, you'll figure out how to use the dead bodies with the mechanisms in the game to solve each challenging puzzle.  
**Morbid, yet comical gameplay.**  
You’ll kill so many knights, you might even feel remorse! But flinging a bumbling knight into a saw blade or turning one into your violent, puzzle-solving friend is comical. Trust us.  
**Vibrant, trap-ridden worlds.**  
Journey through 65+ levels within four vibrant, colourful worlds full of lava, ice, spike pits, portals, zombies, cannons, and much more. And there are extra-difficult challenge levels for hardcore puzzle-addicts.  
**Unlockable hats and weapons. (Silly ones, of course!)**  
Can you find the Cup of Life wearing a horse head? On top of solving puzzles, you'll be able to unlock amusing hats and weapons. Your knights will spawn wearing silly hats, like beanies and berets, and wielding even sillier weapons, like dead fish and spatulas.  
**Find Jeff!**  
Who is Jeff? Well, he's furry, cute, and lurking in every level. Will you be his friend?  
**Challenges!**  
There are awards for solving levels with the least number of knights and completing them in record time!  
Life Goes On: Done to Death also includes a kick-ass boss fight, a map-integrated storyline, an armoury to check out all your hat and weapons, and other features that will make you laugh at death.

Release date: Apr 17, 2014

Categories: Platformer, Puzzle Solving, Dark Humor, Sacrifice Mechanics

Feature scans:
- Proton/Linux: score 15; verdict: Works Well (Proton) / Minor Native Bug; summary: Based on limited feedback, the Proton version runs perfectly on Steam Deck, while the native Linux version has a known bug. Overall, Linux compatibility via Proton is good, with only a minor issue in the native build.
- Steam Deck: score 15; verdict: Seamless with Minor Bug; summary: The game runs smoothly on Steam Deck with good controls. A known bug in Linux versions exists but does not appear to hinder gameplay for most users.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $2.49 - $4.99
  - Reasoning: The community sentiment indicates that the game is already priced low and is worth the current price. Many reviews recommend purchasing during sales for even better value, suggesting that the fair base-game price range encompasses both the current low price and typical sale discounts. Based on common indie game pricing, a range from a typical sale price (e.g., $2.49) to the current low price (e.g., $4.99) is plausible, although no explicit numbers are provided in the reviews.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 6.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviews indicate the primary completion time varies, with most consistent estimates around 6-8 hours for average players and 2-3 hours for speedruns; the 6-hour figure is mentioned explicitly in both Chinese and Japanese reviews. One Japanese review states each map takes within 10 minutes, suggesting a typical session could be a single level or a short burst, but no clear single-session length is consistently reported. Story/campaign completion is not differentiated from game completion, and endgame challenges are mentioned without specific hour quantities, so those are set to null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Some players find the game immediately fun due to its unique dark humor hook, while others experience early weakness and repetition before the game becomes great after a turning point.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: After the initial repetitive puzzles
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: weak and repetitive early gameplay
  - Unlock drivers: progression through puzzles; good difficulty progression
  - Conditions: enjoys puzzle games; appreciates dark humor
- Player Archetypes:
  - Puzzle Enthusiast (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoying the novel puzzle mechanic of using death as a tool to solve challenges.
    - Playstyle: Methodically experiments with knight deaths to find clever solutions to puzzles.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: puzzle fan; indie game lover; logic puzzle solver
    - Reference games: The Swapper; Thomas was Alone
  - Completionist Achiever (buy)
    - Motivation: Mastering the game through achievements, medals, and efficient play.
    - Playstyle: Replays levels to optimize knight usage and time, aiming for 100% achievements and challenge medals.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: achievement hunter; completionist; perfectionist
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Casual Newcomer (buy)
    - Motivation: Having fun with an accessible and humorous puzzle game without pressure.
    - Playstyle: Plays casually, tries different approaches through trial and error, and enjoys the dark comedy.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: beginner; casual gamer; relaxed player
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Great puzzle-platformer experience (weight 0.32): The game is consistently praised as a polished, charming, and fun puzzle-platformer with well-designed levels. Many reviews highlight it as a great title even by 2014 standards.
- Unique death-based mechanics (weight 0.27): The core mechanic of using death to progress, including sacrificing knights and using their corpses as tools, is seen as innovative and creative. This unique approach sets the game apart from other puzzle-platformers.
- Balanced difficulty progression (weight 0.22): The difficulty curve is well-paced and fair, with challenges that increase progressively without becoming frustrating. This balance is a standout feature for many players.
- Humor and lighthearted tone (weight 0.18): The game is consistently described as funny, humorous, and entertaining, with jokes throughout the story, credits, and overall tone. The humor contributes greatly to the enjoyable experience.
- High replayability with challenges (weight 0.16): Optional challenges for minimal deaths and time, along with special Jeff challenges, provide significant replay value. Players appreciate the extra goals that extend the game's longevity.
- New mechanics introduced consistently (weight 0.1): The game regularly introduces new mechanics and gimmicks every few levels, keeping the puzzle design fresh and preventing monotony. The gradual introduction of new ideas is well-paced.
- Excellent Japanese localization (weight 0.05): The Japanese localization is praised for its quality and humor, with translations that effectively convey the game's tone. This attention to localization is appreciated by Japanese-speaking players.

Common complaints:
- Music is repetitive and weak (weight 0.22): Multiple reviewers found the music monotonous, repetitive, and lacking stimulation. Clusters 3, 40, 41, 42, 43, 47, 50, 66, and 67 all mention that the music or sound gets on the nerves, is simple, or feels like background noise.
- Physics and controls cause frustration (weight 0.22): The physics engine and controls are often criticized for causing frustration, such as slippy controls, auto-grabbing edges, and unresponsive platforming. Clusters 12, 18, 19, 30, 31, 32, 37, 44, 58, and 61 cover issues like ice cubes sliding away, sink into spiked knights, and loose jumps.
- Achievements are too difficult (weight 0.1): Several reviews mention that achievements are annoying or extremely difficult to obtain, often due to physics-based challenges. Clusters 1, 38, and 54 highlight the high difficulty of getting full achievements and the massive number of deaths required.
- Difficulty spikes are frustrating (weight 0.1): The game has sharp difficulty spikes, especially from 'The Ruins' onward, and the last world is considered too crazy or difficult. Clusters 7, 8, 14, and 26 mention requiring walkthroughs, ridiculous challenge difficulty, and overly strict timing.
- Rewards and cosmetics are unsatisfying (weight 0.1): Cosmetic items like hats and knight skins have no gameplay effect and are considered low quality, with the feeding Jeff mechanic giving no reward. Clusters 5, 13, 33, and 34 express dissatisfaction with rewards and customization.
- UI and font issues detract from experience (weight 0.07): Minor UI issues such as lazy fonts on the main menu, superposition of planes in menu, and gold/purple rating not being disclosed beforehand are mentioned. Clusters 11, 23, and 62 cover these UI complaints.
- Narrative and world building weak (weight 0.07): The world building and story could be stronger, and some players found the core idea unpleasant or the message cynical. Clusters 20, 21, and 22 mention a cynical message, unpleasant core idea, and weak story.
- Game not casual, too demanding (weight 0.07): Several players noted that the game is not casual and requires intense focus, which may not appeal to all audiences. Clusters 25, 26, and 28 mention it being not casual, with strict timing and kill constraints.
- Bug causes black screen on Linux/Mac (weight 0.06): A bug causing a black screen on full-screen startup has been present for at least 8 years in Linux and Mac versions. Clusters 9 and 10 specifically call out this long-standing issue.
- Bugs cause incorrect results (weight 0.05): Some reviewers noted that bugs sometimes do not reflect the actual results of actions, leading to frustration. Clusters 15 and 31 mention sinking into spiked knights and bugs causing incorrect outcomes.
- Speedrun pressure reduces enjoyment (weight 0.05): The game hurries the player to speedrun instead of allowing them to enjoy finding solutions, and die-to-progress stops being fun quickly. Clusters 16 and 17 reflect this dissatisfaction with the forced pace.
- Credits scene caused sadness (weight 0.02): One player felt sadness during the credits because they thought the game had not ended yet, indicating an abrupt conclusion. Cluster 39 highlights this emotional reaction.

Gameplay feedback:
- Puzzle platformer with death mechanics (weight 0.95): The game is a puzzle-platformer where death is a core mechanic. Players must sacrifice knights and use their corpses as tools to solve puzzles and progress.
- Death as a required mechanic (weight 0.34): The game relies on dying as a resource to progress. Players must strategically kill themselves or their knights to use their bodies as tools for puzzle solving.
- Sacrifice knights to solve puzzles (weight 0.29): Players must sacrifice knights, who have unique names, to use their bodies as platforms, tools, or to activate mechanisms. This is essential for progressing through levels.
- Corpses used as resources (weight 0.28): Dead knights remain in the world and are used as platforms, levers, trampolines, or bridges. Their corpses are integral to solving puzzles and overcoming obstacles.
- Optional completionist challenges (weight 0.11): The game includes optional challenges for completionists, such as extra puzzles and medal tiers (yellow and purple), rewarding players for achieving goals with minimal sacrifices.
- Unique knight identification (weight 0.08): Each knight has a displayed name and title, adding a layer of individuality to the sacrificial gameplay, though this does not affect mechanics.
- Hidden feeding puzzle (weight 0.08): Some levels require feeding a creature named Jeff, adding a hidden objective for players to discover and solve.
- Lemmings comparison (weight 0.05): The puzzle-platformer gameplay is compared to Lemmings, with kamikaze-like mechanics where players must guide characters to die for progress.
- Time and death limits (weight 0.05): Some levels impose fixed time limits or death counts, adding pressure to solve puzzles efficiently with minimal sacrifices.

Performance notes:
- Good general performance (weight 0.08): Users report the game runs very well, with smooth performance and absent loading screens. This suggests an optimized experience on capable hardware.
- Linux support is solid (weight 0.06): Feedback indicates the game runs great on Linux, with a separate positive test on a Mac Mini M4 running macOS Sequoia. This suggests good cross-platform stability outside Windows.
- Black screen bug on Linux/Mac (weight 0.03): One user experienced a black screen bug when starting the game in full-screen mode on Linux and Mac. This is a notable issue for those platforms, though it appears to be rare.
- High system requirements are needed (weight 0.02): A single mention of high system requirements suggests some users find the game demanding. This is a minor concern compared to the numerous positive performance reports.

Recommendations:
- Great for puzzle enthusiasts (weight 0.13): The game is recommended for puzzle lovers, thinking game fans, and those seeking a fresh take on puzzles without monotonous themes.
- Appeals to platformer fans (weight 0.12): It is a must-buy for platformer fans and puzzle-platformer enthusiasts, with strong recommendations for fans of silly platforming puzzles and puzzle-platformers.
- Best purchased on sale (weight 0.12): Multiple reviews advise buying it on sale or at a discount, especially for casual puzzle fans, with recommendations to wait for a summer sale due to low price and good quality.
- Good for puzzle beginners (weight 0.11): The game is recommended as an entry-level puzzle game for beginners and newcomers, and is strongly recommended for action puzzle beginners.
- Unique and interesting (weight 0.1): The game is considered highly recommended and interesting, with encouragement to experience the ending and strong enthusiasm like 'Play this!!!!'.
- Casual and short sessions (weight 0.08): It is great for casual play in short sessions, suitable for light-hearted play after heavy games, and can be enjoyed by both casual and completionist players.
- Value for money (weight 0.08): The price is acceptable, and it is well worth the price for a single sitting experience, offering good value with emotional payoff.
- Must-buy for genre fans (weight 0.06): Strongly recommended for puzzle and turn-based strategy enthusiasts, as well as fans of indie games and puzzle thinkers.
- Best casual game (weight 0.06): Highly recommended as the best casual game, with moderate difficulty and humor that appeal to many.
- Dark humor appeals (weight 0.05): The game is recommended for players who enjoy dark humor and have a morbid sense of humor, as well as those with patience for such themes.
- Avoid full price (weight 0.05): Not recommended at full price if you are unsure, but recommended at 75% off or more for good value.
- Avoid for sensitive players (weight 0.05): Not recommended for players sensitive to bad music or who want a good OST, and not for those disturbed by sacrificing lives due to dark themes.
- Best for achievement hunters (weight 0.05): Recommended for achievement hunters seeking a challenge, but not ideal for deep achievement hunting if you prefer simpler goals.
- Single playthrough only (weight 0.05): Good for a single playthrough, but not for deep achievement hunting or long-term replay.
- Everyone should try (weight 0.03): The review suggests everyone should try the game, indicating broad appeal for most players.
- Deaf player friendly (weight 0.03): Recommended for deaf players who like puzzles, indicating accessibility in visual design.
- Not for deep mechanics (weight 0.03): Not recommended for those who hate games without deep mechanics, suggesting it is straightforward.
- Watch walkthroughs (weight 0.02): Some suggest watching a walkthrough for puzzle games, likely for those who get stuck easily.
- Steam Deck compatible (weight 0.02): Worth picking up if commuting with Steam Deck, making it portable and convenient.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Amusement (weight 0.2): The game's dark humor, sarcastic subtitles, and absurd names for knights, along with the contrast between cute graphics and violent deaths, consistently generate amusement. The hilarious credit sequence and comical deaths of toy knights are also frequently cited as sources of fun.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.18): Players derive enjoyment from the clever puzzle design, balanced difficulty, and the unique mechanic of using corpses to solve puzzles. The game's humor and addictive gameplay loop, where dying is part of the fun, contribute to an overall positive experience.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.17): Satisfaction comes from solving well-designed puzzles and completing challenges, with many players finding the difficulty fair and rewarding. The game's performance on Steam Deck and good value for money also contribute to a sense of fulfillment.
- Frustration (weight 0.09): Frustration is primarily caused by imprecise physics and slippery controls, especially in later stages with demanding death quotas. Some puzzles requiring strict timing or repeated attempts, along with a bug causing a black screen on Linux/Mac for years, also frustrate players.
- Disappointment (weight 0.06): Disappointment stems from the initial novelty of the die-to-progress mechanic wearing off quickly, coupled with weak visuals, forgettable music, and lackluster world-building. Some players felt the game did not meet expectations set by trailers and found the rewards pointless.
- Annoyance (weight 0.05): Annoyance is generated by repetitive music with only three tracks and ice physics that work against player intention. Some puzzles requiring long action chains or tight timing, along with certain achievements, are also sources of annoyance.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): Excitement arises from the innovative death-as-a-mechanic concept and the satisfying loop of unlocking new silly hats and weapons. Players also express excitement about speedrunning and achieving high completion percentages.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Admiration is directed at the game's unique death puzzle setting and good level design, often compared to classics like Lemmings. The novel idea of using death as a core mechanic is appreciated for standing out.
- Interest (weight 0.02): Interest is sparked by the core mechanic of using death to progress, along with clever puzzles that draw comparisons to Braid and Fez. Some players note that the story should be read carefully to appreciate it fully.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Appreciation is expressed for the variety in level design and the introduction of new mechanics throughout the game. The excellent music and sound effects are also highlighted as strengths.
- Curiosity (weight 0.02): Curiosity is raised by the philosophical question of whether the toy knights already have life, and by the introduction of new mechanics. Some players also suspect the game is designed to troll teammates in co-op.
- Surprise (weight 0.02): Surprise comes from discovering the game despite its 2014 release date, and from the final boss being puzzle-based rather than action-oriented. The unexpectedness of these elements stands out.
- Sadness (weight 0.02): Sadness is felt because the credits scene made the player think the game was not over, leading to a sense of loss. Similarly, the belief that the game is underrated contributes to a melancholic feeling.}