Дата публикации: 09-07-2026 14:00:00

The dynamics within the band from the outset are reminiscent of a dysfunctional Metallica, and perhaps above all of what unfolded in the documentary Some Kind of Monster. The gruff and cocky skeletal character, Ian, wearing what looks like a military helmet, keeps harping on about "the show must go on" (typical Lars). The band's low-key negotiator and diplomat, Briff (Kirk), tries to get the frontwoman, Faye (James), to remember where she last put her guitar ahead of the upcoming concert, whilst they're already behind the curtain. The audience is starting to get restless and the boos are growing louder... so it's just as well that it was all a dream? After the opening sequence, it's clear that the band are set to reunite, pull themselves together, and take the stage by storm in the music competition of the century, orchestrated by demons in... The Battle of the Bands.
<bild>Rock'n'roll m#therf*ckers!</bild>
{Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands} has me doubled up with laughter after just 10 minutes. It's spot-on slapstick comedy interwoven with the same spirit that characterised "Insult sword fighting" from Ron Gilbert's acclaimed point-and-click series {The Secret of Monkey Island}. The fact is, I haven't laughed this much at a game in many years, which in itself makes the price of admission well worth it. It was originally released on PC back in 2023 but is now making its debut on all consoles. This isn't a title that's ever been on my radar - I didn't even know it existed - but blimey, it's constantly fun. You can't even interact with the environment without chuckling; it's brilliantly written from start to finish, and you want to explore everything, mainly just to take in the wealth of detail. Not a single millimetre of the game has been overlooked when it comes to sprinkling in comedy, and it hits the mark spot on in virtually every hand-drawn frame.
<bild>The dialogue in the game is absolutely brilliant.</bild>
The game has been praised for its humour, and I can see exactly why. One example is when I kick in the door to a neighbour's house (that's how you open doors and chests in the game), whereupon the door gets nailed to the wall inside, with varying results. Here I'm met by an old, bearded bloke on his sofa, and the man fancies some cheese, whereupon a "side gig" is initiated. The task is to fetch the cheese from the fridge three metres away, which is on the middle shelf, a shelf that doesn't exist. I'm therefore forced to choose one of the many expensive cheeses from either the top or bottom shelf, which of course doesn't do justice to the old man's craving for cheese. The man adds a twist to the mission by mentioning that the cheese comes in blue packaging, and I return to the same fridge, where I can choose between red or gold-coloured ones... The quest then culminates in the possibility that the cheese might actually be in the neighbour's fridge instead. That's how it goes, right through to the end, with varying degrees of absurdity. There's no room for frustration when everything is so insanely unpredictable, as instead, the focus is on making the player smile.
<bild>The banter, the references, and the antics know no bounds.</bild>
I'd swear that no one can play this without laughing, and that in itself makes it more than easy to recommend. Added to this are turn-based battles drawn from old-school JRPGs, though naturally with a distinctive twist too. Balancing your characters through attacks, abilities, and equipment is a feature most players of the genre will be familiar with. New "riffs" (attacks), class mods, and "patches" that act as passive modifications. It takes a while to get to grips with the terminology the game uses (which, of course, is entirely self-aware in its own right). Forget "Mana" as here, it's all about "Hype".
<bild>The side missions include, amongst other things, evicting landlords with the help of dogs wearing trombones.</bild>
The battles themselves are also unique despite the fundamental formula, where it's your turn to act once your gauge is full. The same gauge is also divided into four sections ("Measures") that can be affected by various status changes, both positive and negative. Being subjected to "Pain", for example, means that whilst the needle moves through the gauge and the affected section of it, the player takes damage. Similarly, "Speed" (for obvious reasons) causes the needle to move faster towards the next section, eventually bringing your turn to act. This is all quite straightforward to get to grips with, and the game does a good job of explaining all the mechanics.
<bild>I hope it's clear that I found it difficult to choose screenshots for this review.</bild>
Likewise, the game uses a somewhat unique system for managing your "Merch" (Items). An energy drink restores health once you've found it, and a signal horn can deal damage to the enemy, which so far, is nothing particularly remarkable. But the items themselves aren't used based on how many you're carrying, which has traditionally been the case in, for example, {Final Fantasy}. Instead, they're registered as fixed entries in what could be compared to a database of items. It's then up to you to use whatever you like as many times as your "Stock" level allows, this being a global resource shared by and covering all your items. Each time an item is used, your "Stock" decreases, with some items costing more to use than others. This can be both upgraded for more uses and replenished for free along the way by talking to defeated postmen.
<bild>The battles are classic turn-based, but the game adds its own twist to the formula.</bild>
There is therefore no need to buy 30 revives and 60 potions from a shop, but rather to buy and add a better version of the same item. Similarly, you can restore health and Hype via what Link would most likely have called a "Fairy Fountain", recreated here as pools with singing fish, which is a recurring theme in the game. So, singing fish... it's so silly, but at the same time extremely funny.
<bild></bild>
{Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands} is an underdog that strikes just the right chord if you're into rock themes, a good laugh, and turn-based battles with a unique twist. As well as its quirky design, where you never know what's round the corner, you're just as pleasantly surprised every time when you also find a fantastic soundtrack with lovely rhythms across all genres and a boss theme that borrows notes from the classic Master of Puppets. The fact that I hadn't heard of this game before is something of a failure because it's not only very good and well thought-out, it's just as much fun to play even before you start it up. I mean, have you seen the game's title and the trio's band name?
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Основное содержимое страницы с новостью.

The dynamics within the band from the outset are reminiscent of a dysfunctional Metallica, and perhaps above all of what unfolded in the documentary Some Kind of Monster. The gruff and cocky skeletal character, Ian, wearing what looks like a military helmet, keeps harping on about "the show must go on" (typical Lars). The band's low-key negotiator and diplomat, Briff (Kirk), tries to get the frontwoman, Faye (James), to remember where she last put her guitar ahead of the upcoming concert, whilst they're already behind the curtain. The audience is starting to get restless and the boos are growing louder... so it's just as well that it was all a dream? After the opening sequence, it's clear that the band are set to reunite, pull themselves together, and take the stage by storm in the music competition of the century, orchestrated by demons in... The Battle of the Bands.

Rock'n'roll m#therf*ckers!

Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands has me doubled up with laughter after just 10 minutes. It's spot-on slapstick comedy interwoven with the same spirit that characterised "Insult sword fighting" from Ron Gilbert's acclaimed point-and-click series The Secret of Monkey Island. The fact is, I haven't laughed this much at a game in many years, which in itself makes the price of admission well worth it. It was originally released on PC back in 2023 but is now making its debut on all consoles. This isn't a title that's ever been on my radar - I didn't even know it existed - but blimey, it's constantly fun. You can't even interact with the environment without chuckling; it's brilliantly written from start to finish, and you want to explore everything, mainly just to take in the wealth of detail. Not a single millimetre of the game has been overlooked when it comes to sprinkling in comedy, and it hits the mark spot on in virtually every hand-drawn frame.

The dialogue in the game is absolutely brilliant.

The game has been praised for its humour, and I can see exactly why. One example is when I kick in the door to a neighbour's house (that's how you open doors and chests in the game), whereupon the door gets nailed to the wall inside, with varying results. Here I'm met by an old, bearded bloke on his sofa, and the man fancies some cheese, whereupon a "side gig" is initiated. The task is to fetch the cheese from the fridge three metres away, which is on the middle shelf, a shelf that doesn't exist. I'm therefore forced to choose one of the many expensive cheeses from either the top or bottom shelf, which of course doesn't do justice to the old man's craving for cheese. The man adds a twist to the mission by mentioning that the cheese comes in blue packaging, and I return to the same fridge, where I can choose between red or gold-coloured ones... The quest then culminates in the possibility that the cheese might actually be in the neighbour's fridge instead. That's how it goes, right through to the end, with varying degrees of absurdity. There's no room for frustration when everything is so insanely unpredictable, as instead, the focus is on making the player smile.

This is an ad:

The banter, the references, and the antics know no bounds.

I'd swear that no one can play this without laughing, and that in itself makes it more than easy to recommend. Added to this are turn-based battles drawn from old-school JRPGs, though naturally with a distinctive twist too. Balancing your characters through attacks, abilities, and equipment is a feature most players of the genre will be familiar with. New "riffs" (attacks), class mods, and "patches" that act as passive modifications. It takes a while to get to grips with the terminology the game uses (which, of course, is entirely self-aware in its own right). Forget "Mana" as here, it's all about "Hype".

The side missions include, amongst other things, evicting landlords with the help of dogs wearing trombones.

The battles themselves are also unique despite the fundamental formula, where it's your turn to act once your gauge is full. The same gauge is also divided into four sections ("Measures") that can be affected by various status changes, both positive and negative. Being subjected to "Pain", for example, means that whilst the needle moves through the gauge and the affected section of it, the player takes damage. Similarly, "Speed" (for obvious reasons) causes the needle to move faster towards the next section, eventually bringing your turn to act. This is all quite straightforward to get to grips with, and the game does a good job of explaining all the mechanics.

This is an ad:

I hope it's clear that I found it difficult to choose screenshots for this review.

Likewise, the game uses a somewhat unique system for managing your "Merch" (Items). An energy drink restores health once you've found it, and a signal horn can deal damage to the enemy, which so far, is nothing particularly remarkable. But the items themselves aren't used based on how many you're carrying, which has traditionally been the case in, for example, Final Fantasy. Instead, they're registered as fixed entries in what could be compared to a database of items. It's then up to you to use whatever you like as many times as your "Stock" level allows, this being a global resource shared by and covering all your items. Each time an item is used, your "Stock" decreases, with some items costing more to use than others. This can be both upgraded for more uses and replenished for free along the way by talking to defeated postmen.

The battles are classic turn-based, but the game adds its own twist to the formula.

There is therefore no need to buy 30 revives and 60 potions from a shop, but rather to buy and add a better version of the same item. Similarly, you can restore health and Hype via what Link would most likely have called a "Fairy Fountain", recreated here as pools with singing fish, which is a recurring theme in the game. So, singing fish... it's so silly, but at the same time extremely funny.

Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands is an underdog that strikes just the right chord if you're into rock themes, a good laugh, and turn-based battles with a unique twist. As well as its quirky design, where you never know what's round the corner, you're just as pleasantly surprised every time when you also find a fantastic soundtrack with lovely rhythms across all genres and a boss theme that borrows notes from the classic Master of Puppets. The fact that I hadn't heard of this game before is something of a failure because it's not only very good and well thought-out, it's just as much fun to play even before you start it up. I mean, have you seen the game's title and the trio's band name?

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