Death by Scrolling is a functional game. It controls well, is feature complete, and is mostly bug-free, but it lacks the spark needed to make it truly compelling. Recent updates have added new content and breathed some life into the experience, but the core remaining so bare still makes it a difficult game to recommend, unless you’re specifically looking for a stripped-down, low-commitment take on the genre.

Death by Scrolling is a top-down roguelite by Ron Gilbert that combines instant action with ongoing progression: each run makes your character a little stronger, pushing you toward the classic "last playthrough." The simple yet tactical gameplay offers automatic combat and limited equipment options, with procedurally generated environments and a constant wall of flames hounding you. However, it suffers from a lack of variety, a sometimes unclear level design, and an often unfair difficulty. It's fun for short sessions, but far from the brilliance of the best casual roguelites.

Putting a very nice twist on the auto-attacking roguelike genre, Death by Scrolling tasks you with outrunning the apocalypse on a vertically-scrolling screen. It's an absolute delight, but with little variety from one run to the next, repetition can quickly set in.