Stay Dead Evolution

I love the concept but the execution is terrible

FMV fighting game where combat takes place primarily through rhythmic QTE sequences ✅Use of live-action footage ✅Nice graphics ✅Feels like watching an interactive movie (It's a shame it's only the QTE type, which I like, but that's not enough for me) ❌Low content. Only 3 main enemies, plus a possible bonus fight and one unlockable enemy ❌The entire fight is based on a single QTE type ❌No scenes explaining the story or the meaning of the events. ❌The price should be definitely lower ❌❌Verdict: [strike] Terrible [/strike] , [strike] Bad [/strike] , [b] Mediocre [/b] , [strike] Decent [/strike] , [strike] Good [/strike] , [strike] Very Good [/strike] (Rating scale for short games, retro indie simulator games and similar) [quote]If you'd like to see more of my reviews, you can find them on my curator page: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45994324/admin/reviews_manage/]CuratorKingViking[/url] and he we group: [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/CuratorKingViking]GroupKingViking[/url] If you have any questions about my reviews, feel free to ask. I'm happy to answer them. All reviews are my own!! Best regards, King Viking Bezimienny, Polish Game Reviewer. [/quote]

In the style of an FMV game you might find in the 90's on Sega CD, but also it's a 1 on 1 fighting game. The combo doesn't really work, you see the same video clips again and again, and it just doesn't feel good to control, or satisfying when you win.

[b]KAMGUSTA'S MINI REVIEW[/b] It's a "FVM" game with quicktime events. The idea seems good, but: - it's an amateurish single man work - a fighting game it's not what I'd do in FVM - it's short and boring [b]Best played with keyboard Recommended buy price: 1$ Score: 3/10[/b]

Stay Dead Evolution is an eccentric and experimental title that stands apart from most modern action games by embracing a deliberately retro design philosophy rooted in full-motion video and cinematic presentation. Developed by Brucefilm and published by Plug In Digital, the game feels less like a conventional beat ’em up and more like an interactive B-movie where the player’s inputs guide the flow of live-action scenes. From the outset, it makes no attempt to hide its unusual identity, instead leaning fully into the novelty of filmed actors, choreographed fights, and a structure that recalls the experimental FMV games of the 1990s. Rather than offering free movement or complex control schemes, Stay Dead Evolution builds its gameplay around timing, rhythm, and quick reactions. Combat encounters play out through pre-recorded video sequences in which enemies attack in set patterns, prompting the player to respond with specific directional or button inputs. Successful timing results in counters, strikes, or evasive maneuvers, while missed inputs lead to punishment and lost momentum. This creates a gameplay loop that feels closer to a rhythm game or extended quick-time event sequence …

This FMV QTE fighting game is such an interesting concept. Too bad it wasn't developed more, probably cause of tight budget. You can add Story/Campaign that's cliche/predictable but decent, add a bit of props and CGI for realism/immersion, more stages, more enemies, more mechanics (you can set it up as QTE too but different), losing/defeated animation for more immersion, and you actually have a decent fighting game. The characters are already fine, the protagonist already looks like a badass main character, it perhaps would be asking too much to have voiced dialogues pre and post fight but you can do it just like Street Fighter does, with speech bubble. I will tag this as "recommended" hoping there will be another developers who will pick this up for a remake or a sequel, or just create a whole new game with the same QTE mechanic with FMV quality. Good luck.