Worse Than Death is launching to mobile exclusively on iOS with pre-orders being accepted starting Wednesday, May 22.
Developed by Benjamin Rivers Inc., Worse Than Death follows a character named Holly as she returns home to face a threat that is all too real, her high school reunion. When the party is suddenly thrown to chaos, she finds that she needs to save Flynn, her best friend. To do so she must solve brain-teasing puzzles while running for her life and evading unseen enemies that seem to be tracking her.
Main features of the game include:
- Smoothly animated 2D visuals fused with original, high-resolution art drawn entirely by hand on an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil by none other than Rivers himself.
- Action-adventure gameplay that sees you crawling under objects, vaulting over obstacles, and racing for the nearest hiding spot to stay safe
- Rich, 3D positional audio that will get under your skin
- Two extra unlockable difficulty modes
In developing the game, Benjamin Rivers shared in a press statement that he used the Procreate art app available on the iPad Pro. This allowed him to create a game that has a richer and better look. He explained that the studio was able to make the most of decades of art experience in a manner that was natural, and at the same time fast. This also ensured that the team could work on the game whether they were in the office or any other part of the world. Despite being a mom-and-pop shop, Rivers added that he continues to "use innovations like this to compete."
Rivers shared in the statement that from day one, the game was designed to work great on mobile devices. This is not his first foray into games and he worked on the horror game Home with his wife Nancy.
According to Rivers, the gameplay of Worse Than Death is pretty much similar to Home. Players will use intuitive touch controls to make their way through the dreaded reunion. Combined with minimal aesthetic, players are able to focus on the story. The game also makes use of what is called 3D positional audio, so that regardless of whether players use headphones or speakers, they can experience the full effect of the game.
Worse Than Death can be pre-ordered on the iOS App Store for $3.99. The game is scheduled for release in late June.
Worse Than Death arrives to Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation later this summer with prices to be released at a later date.
