Berserk or Die: A Button Mashing, Enemy Bashing Brawler

My second hand keyboard has been on its last legs for a while; it’s a patchwork of mismatched keycaps, all hurriedly gathered and stuck in each time one of the original caps shatters or flies off. You can imagine, then, my trepidation when presented with a game where combat relies on relentless keyboard bashing. Surprisingly, though, my trusty Corsair withstood the abuse (just about) and lives to type another day. 

Berserk or Die is a venture from solo developer Nao Games, presented by poncle of Vampire Survivors fame. You play as a lone soldier, fending off hordes of enemies flanking you from the left and right. To attack, players need to press buttons on each side of the keyboard, corresponding to the direction from which the enemies approach. Soldier coming at you from the left? Hit the left side of your keyboard to attack. Javelin being thrown from the right? Hit the right side buttons to attack in his direction. The more keys you press, the bigger the attack, meaning that you’re likely to be open-palm slapping that keyboard by the time your run is through. The exact buttons aren’t particularly defined, you just press a bunch in the general regions of left and right.

If you’ve got a bit of anger to work through, and a spare keyboard on-hand, then this game will work a treat. Enemies approach continuously, but only during the day. A typical run will feature a short day/night cycle where enemies attack during the day, and a merchant appears at night. All the coins you’ve collected thus far can then be spent on a selection of temporary upgrades or health items. All things to make your run that much more successful, such as the ability to throw a javelin in front of you with each attack. The longer you survive, the more coins you’ll collect. Useful for when the price increases with each passing day, but then, so does the quality of items. 

Berserk or Die is very roguelike in nature. After a run, you’ll have accumulated experience which you can spend in the ‘Training Grounds,’ allowing you to permanently upgrade some of your stats. These include stats such as HP, Special Attack duration, and the amount of coins that drop in a run. Like any good roguelike, it’s the allure of being ever so slightly more equipped on the next run that keeps you coming back. This, coupled with the satisfying and tactile feel of attacking using a messy button mash, makes for a fun beat ‘em up that doesn’t demand too much of your time. Runs are pretty speedy, with each full day/night cycle only lasting a few minutes. Though, the more upgraded you are, the more likely it is that you’ll survive multiple days. 

At some point during a level, players may be faced with a boss boasting more elaborate attacks and a significantly larger health pool than your standard enemies. Here, you may have to adapt your tactics somewhat and ensure you have enough health points to withstand some seemingly inevitable blows. There are some mechanics that are tricky to master with the keyboard controls, such as guarding, which seems to rely on players using a vertical-ish line of specific keys. Maybe I just don’t have that kind of muscle memory, but finding that particular row of keys isn’t very foolproof. At least not when I’ve been used to slamming a bunch of random keys in a general area. Luckily, a keyboard isn’t the only way to play Berserk or Die as the game also supports controllers, or mouse-only support. Perfect if your keyboard is as flimsy as mine. 

Berserk or Die is a very pick-up and play title, and is perfect if you’ve only got an hour or so to spare. Its mechanics are simple, even if the execution feels a bit strange, but it quickly captures your interest in just a few runs. There’s plenty of unlocks and achievements to earn to keep you coming back over and over again. So, if you’re missing that ‘just one more go’ feeling of Vampire Survivors, poncle has you covered yet again with Berserk or Die.