NeverDead’s story won’t win any awards, but it’s a nice, compact narrative, even near the end when Hell literally breaks loose on Earth. The banter between Bryce and his human partner Arcadia can be quite amusing; he sure takes her barbs in stride. We also learn bits and pieces of Bryce’s backstory, mostly involving his goofily-named wife Cypher, as the game goes on. The FMV looks great and the voice actors (especially Bryce) turn in fine performances, with the exception of the guy playing Bryce’s boss, who sounds like Donald Sutherland on valium.
A few more notes about Story mode: the visually fantastic and grotesque boss demons are a ton of fun to fight - the last boss perhaps less so, due to an annoying (but dodgeable) attack that separates all of your limbs at once. Escorting Arcadia can be a chore due to her brain-dead AI. The subway section is especially bothersome, as the hapless idiot stands right in the path of trains, necessitating constant revivals. The levels exhibit a ton of variety, and best of all, are extremely destructible. I loved running around hacking everything to bits with Bryce’s sword.
Since Bryce usually has an AI partner, Story mode would have worked perfectly in co-op. Alas, co-op is restricted to a separate multiplayer mode for up to four online players. Before hopping into a lobby, you can select from four characters (more coming via DLC), each with two different skins. Two of them, Alex, and Arcadia, play significantly differently from Bryce. Alex is a fellow immortal demon hunter who keeps throwing knifes jabbed all over his body and spouts inanities while fighting. Arcadia fights with guns and keeps her body together in one piece when hit. But when she gets knocked down, another player has to revive her or she’ll be out for the count.
Multiplayer consists of 13 on-disc missions, each with a Normal and Hardcore version to boost playtime. Five of the 13 missions are competitive. They can be fun in theory, but a game with a small online community like this is really only suited for co-op. Thankfully the remaining 8 co-op missions are actually pretty awesome. They encompass three mission types: Arena Onslaught (defeat waves of enemies in an enclosed arena), Search and Rescue (escort civilians to safety), and Onslaught (clear enemies out of a large level). Even on Normal these missions can be quite challenging, so proper teammwork can mean the difference between victory and becoming a demon's stew.
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Experience earned online transfers over to single-player and vice versa. Each mode has separate ability loadouts, so you don’t have to toggle them constantly when switching back and forth. My only complaint with the online experience system is the XP payouts are so low. You’ll probably earn XP 10 times faster in single-player, which just isn’t right. Developer Rebellion should really boost the XP payouts to encourage people to grind online rather than offline.
That’s the real problem with NeverDead’s multiplayer: so few people are playing it only two weeks after launch. As a result, it can take a while to find a game or get someone to join your lobby. Had Rebellion only included split-screen play, this would have been a perfect couch co-op game. Hopefully future price drops and word of mouth will encourage more players to pick it up and hop online.
NeverDead can take some getting used to thanks to the aggravating nature of the protagonist exploding every time a bad guy sneezes on him… And Bryce may be immortal, but his time-worn, scarred visage won't likely entice random store-goers to pick up the game. Still, even if a few of the game’s ideas fizzle rather than sizzle, you have to admire the developers for their creativity. Rebellion has crafted a kick-ass action game with personality to spare. How many other games let you take your head off and clean it in a washing machine? Approach NeverDead with some patience and a sense of humor and you'll likely come out a-head.
Editor's Note: The Co-Optimus Co-Op Review of NeverDead was based on the Xbox 360 version of the game. The review copy was provided by the publisher.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Up to four players can take on Neverdead's online missions together. Of the 13 on-disc missions, 8 are co-op and 5 are competitive. Co-op mission types include Arena Onslaught (defeat waves of enemies in an enclosed arena), Search and Rescue (escort civilians to safety), and Onslaught (clear enemies out of a large level). Experience earned in multiplayer carries over to the main game.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.