Just Die Already

Just Die Already was reviewed on a PS4

Just Die Already is made by the same designers behind goat simulator, and it captures its same wacky spirit. Playing as a mischievous senior citizen, you start out the game locked in a retirement home full of boarded doors and windows, deadly traps and the usual evil nurse. It’s not long though before you escape and venture out into the city that does everything in its power to kill boomers.

What is Just Die Already?

Just Die Already is an open world sandbox game set in a city that’s hell bent on making your life as an old person a living hell. The game presents you with a bucket list of things to cross off one by one. How you complete your bucket list is up to you. Similarly to Goat Simulator, you create your own fun in Just Die Already.

Outside of the opening section, the game doesn’t have any linearity whatsoever. You escape from the retirement home by causing chaos at another old guy’s birthday. There’s quite a few ways of desecrating his birthday from destroying his cake and the decorations to taunting others. The taunt makes your character do a ton of hilariously wacky moves that for some reason, scares other people in the game.

Once you’re unleashed on the city, you’re on your own as you explore and discover its secrets. However, Just Die Already suffers from janky physics and awkward controls. Precision is thrown out the window as shooting and swinging your weapons is an absolute crapshoot. While this is a deliberate design choice, it can cause the game to be more frustrating than funny. Even the way that your characters hold the items looks and feels weird.

Boomers Must Die

There’s a giant city to explore and it’s filled with black and dark humor, such as a billboard for a product called the bucket with the catchphrase “never leave your computer again!”. It’s fitting that Just Die Already is just the sort of games that would piss off the boomers.

The running gag that all boomers must die and the constant references to memes and pop culture add a lot to the game’s humor. Unfortunately, though, once you discover all of them, you won’t be getting any more laughs out of this one. While the taunts are the highlight of the game for me, the ragdoll physics and the buggy gameplay quickly lose their comedic effect.

Losing limbs is super easy that even having a simple scuffle with a bunch of goons can leave you a rolling head, with no torso, no arms and no legs. Losing all of your health only results in you respawning in the nearest dumpster.

A True Sandbox

The city is well designed and features several distinct areas, each with their own aesthetic and appeal. The city center, the docks, the park and the sports center are some of the game’s many locations and they’re all ripe with secrets to find. The game doesn’t have an in game map, but since each of the locations are unique and distinct, navigation is intuitive and simple.

Just Die Already’s graphics are vibrant and colorful, boasting a palette of bright colors. It also runs pretty well at 60 FPS and I haven’t encountered any major frame drops during my playthrough.

Your objectives are listed in the form of a bucket list and completing each of them grants a new unlock, such as a clothing item or a new weapon. These unlocks can be bought at any one of the game’s numerous vending machines.

The bucket list items range from losing all of your limbs, getting naked, being eaten by a shark to simpler objectives like being hit by a car and eating or drinking something. The bucket list gives you a general idea on what to do next. However, it robs you of the chance to discover some of the game’s secrets on your own. In my opinion, the game would’ve benefited from a bit of structure, or at least an overarching goal to work towards besides the bucket list.

Overall,

If you’ve played games like Goat Simulator before, then you’ll feel right at home in Just die already. It shares the same janky physics and its vibrant aesthetic is charming. The city is also a treat to explore and contains so many hidden secrets to discover.

The clunky gameplay and the imprecise controls can be a source of annoyance, but discovering the wide variety of items and outfits that you can equip keeps the game from feeling stale. Just Die Already won’t appeal to everyone, but if you love goofy sandbox games, then you’ll sink plenty of hours into it.

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Special thanks go to DoubleMoose Games for providing us with a review code.

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You should play Just Die Already if you

• Love an open sandbox world
• Enjoy pop-culture references
• Don’t mind the lack of structure
• Love the hilarious premise
• Don’t mind the clunky controls and physics

Just Die Already Score

7.5/10