$24.99DEAD OR SCHOOL Hack and slash for a school dream
Fight through zombie-ruled Tokyo as Hisako, an underground girl chasing the school she was told about.
Is DEAD OR SCHOOL worth it?
DEAD OR SCHOOL is worth it if…
- you want a fast, difficult side-scrolling action game with real depth behind the loot
- you like anime heroines and a story that stays cheerful while the world falls apart
- you enjoy tinkering: disassembling weapons, mixing parts and reshaping your build mid-game
- you can laugh when a fight goes badly, because it will, especially the bosses
Screenshots
Three weapons, one very determined girl
Hisako carries a melee weapon, a main gun and a launcher, and switching between them is the heart of the combat. Swords and axes for close work, rifles for range, launchers when something big needs to stop existing. You grab onto steel frames to get in and out of an enemy's range, dodge incoming fire and clear platforming stretches between fights. The aiming works like a twin-stick shooter, so you can retreat right while shooting left, a quirk that takes a few fights to click and then feels great. It is difficult, honestly so, and dying sends you back to try again with everything you learned.
Build the arsenal you want
Enemies drop weapons and gear, and shops sell more, so the loot piles up fast. Disassemble what you don't need, collect the parts and mix them into the weapon you actually use: attack, weight, rare effects, whatever fits your plan. One rifle might trade critical hits for reload speed or health regen; a heavy blade can be rebuilt into something faster. On top of that sits a skill tree, and levelling unlocks dynamic action moves when weapon skills combine, so two players can end up with very different Hisakos. There is a collection layer too: souvenirs scattered around Tokyo and people who need rescuing, and finding them raises your parameters for good. The catch is weight. Hisako can't carry everything, so you decide what is worth hauling and what gets sold or stripped for parts.
What should you know before playing?
How hard is it really?
Hard. The combat asks for quick reflexes, weapon durability and stamina all run out at the worst times, and boss fights spike sharply in difficulty. The good news: you respawn on death, keep your experience, and can change the difficulty at any time with no penalty, so a rough stretch never locks you out of the story.
Is it a metroidvania like the tags suggest?
Not quite. Levels are wide and inviting to explore, with hidden souvenirs and people to rescue, but the game is built as a series of stages you clear in order rather than one interconnected map that opens up as you gain abilities. Expect side exploration and heavy combat along a mostly linear path.
What is the story about?
Hisako grew up underground in a Tokyo conquered by zombies, raised on her grandmother's tales of school as a paradise where children play and learn. She rides an underground train to the surface to find it, and the story follows her through Shinjuku, Asakusa, Akihabara and Roppongi. It leans bright and earnest rather than grim, told through short animated scenes that never stall the action for long.
