The protagonist is an immortal and will be able to survive severe injuries. Over time, the player will lose body parts and will have to collect the removed limbs by rolling into them. Players can cause large objects to crush nearby enemies, harming them but not the player. Gameplay will also feature puzzle elements. A female partner will assist the player, however she will not be immortal and the player will have to take damage to protect her.
Voiced by : David Lodge Voiced by : Hiroshi Shirokuma A wisecracking demon hunter who was cursed with immortality five centuries ago by Astaroth after he witnessed the brutal murder of his wife at the hands of the aforementioned demon king. Since then, he has become a disheveled, bitter alcoholic who hunts demons for money and revenge, often using his ability to remove and reattach his limbs to his own advantage. Now in modern times, he is accompanied by a female private investigator, Arcadia.
Voiced by : Joe Romersa Voiced by : Kiyoyuki Yanada The main antagonist of the game. Astaroth is the demon king who murdered Bryce's wife. While Bryce was horrified by the murder, Astaroth gouged out one of his eyes and cursed Bryce with immortality. Astaroth is the demon king responsible for the demon invasion in the city.
The main soundtrack to the game was composed by Megadeth, while the credits song "Pharaoh★Love" is composed by Osamu Migitera with vocals by Megumi Nakajima or Brittney Snyder depending if the player has set the game language in Japanese or English. Also, the song was made playable in REFLEC BEAT limelight and Pop'n Music Portable 2.
Reception
NeverDead received "mixed" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of all four eights for a total of 32 out of 40. The Digital Fix gave the PlayStation 3 version a score of seven out of ten and said that "its successes far outweigh its failings and for every frustration such as the pitch black sequence there are multiple moments of humour backed up by a solid combat system. It's not going to change the shape of gaming or be remembered forever but it far exceeds any claims that the body destruction element is a gimmick and nothing more. NeverDead deserves to be played but a sequel only deserves to happen if Konami and Rebellion give Bryce the world and freedom you will want to see him in." Digital Spy gave the Xbox 360 version a score of three stars out of five and called it "a prime example of a game that conjures an excellent premise, but then destroys it with poor design choices. We don't play games to be exhausted, we play them to have fun, and there are just too many moments in this game that feel like a chore." The Escapist similarly gave it a score of three stars out of five and said, "NeverDead does try something new and original, but its mechanics are unpolished and poorly implemented." However, 411Mania gave it a score of 4.5 out of 10 and said it was "very predictable and uninspired." GameZone gave the PS3 version 3.5 out of 10 and said, "We had high hopes for NeverDead, especially after seeing it at E3, but the end result falls apart as quickly as Bryce does. The gameplay never really develops a structure that leads to any fun, and the presentation's flaws are hard to overlook. You should easily brush this zombie killer aside in favor of Dante, even if that means reverting back to Devil May Cry 4."
