A Brutal, Stylish, Chaotic Return to the Tower of Barbs
When LET IT DIE first launched back in 2016, it carved out a niche as one of the strangest, most brutal, most darkly comedic action games of its era. With its punk-anime aesthetic, roguelike structure, and barked encouragements from the indomitable Uncle Death, it became a cult classic — messy, loud, and oddly charismatic. LET IT DIE: INFERNO, the long-awaited follow-up, keeps that anarchic spirit alive but expands the formula into something sharper, hotter, and far more ambitious. On PC and PS5, it’s a stylish, sweat-inducing return to the madness of survival climbing — but this time, the fires burn much hotter.
Inferno Reborn: A Stronger, Meaner Identity
While the original game wrapped its roguelike systems inside a free-to-play structure, INFERNO arrives as a full-fat premium sequel with clearer intentions. The focus is still a brutal tower climb, still a parade of bizarre enemies and deathtrap floors, still a hard-hitting third-person melee combat system with all the finesse of a brick to the jaw. But the sequel tightens everything: structure, progression, tone, and pacing.
The narrative is more present now, even if the story remains secondary to the chaos. You once again fight your way up a living tower full of demented killers, mutated beasts, and flamboyant minibosses — all under the ever-watchful eye of Uncle Death, whose commentary is as delightfully unhinged as ever. There’s an energy here that makes every ascent feel like a televised bloodsport crossed with a fever dream.
Combat: Crunchier, Deeper, Hugely Satisfying
Combat is where INFERNO truly shines. The original game’s fighting system always had weight, but it was equally clumsy; this sequel takes that satisfying impact and combines it with smoother movement, better attack variety, and a clearer risk-reward rhythm.
Weapons — now divided into Infernal, Industrial, and Organic categories — each come with distinct movesets and synergistic abilities that encourage experimenting rather than hoarding. Infernal weapons, in particular, offer devastating elemental attacks at the cost of durability, pushing you to decide whether to unleash power now or save it for the next impossible encounter.
Dodging feels tighter, parries more viable, and combos more deliberate. You can play aggressively, but recklessness is still punished with immediate, painful humiliation. This remains a game where a poorly timed shove or ill-judged roll can undo 20 minutes of careful progress — and that’s part of the thrill.
Boss fights, especially, hit a new level of creativity. Each one feels handcrafted, manic, and thematically sharp, blending spectacle with pure brutality. INFERNO refuses to let you coast.
The Roguelike Loop Is Still Punishing — Sometimes Too Punishing
While the premium structure means fewer free-to-play frustrations, LET IT DIE: INFERNO retains its identity as a roguelike that hates you almost as much as it loves you. Death remains the game’s core currency, experience, and punchline. Losing your gear, retrieving your corpse, or facing your own resurrected fighter as an enemy — these systems return with more nuance but also more cruelty.
Some floors feel brilliantly constructed, others aggressively unfair, especially during late-game difficulty spikes where enemy density and environmental hazards create chaotic difficulty rather than purposeful challenge. It’s exciting… until it isn’t.
The PC version allows for higher framerates and sharper presentation, but both platforms share the same occasional difficulty imbalances. Players who crave predictability may find the volatility exhausting.
Presentation: A Bolder, Weirder, Grotesquely Beautiful Vision
Visually, INFERNO is a leap forward. It maintains the grimy punk-metal aesthetic, but adds a fiery, mythological layer that helps it stand apart from its predecessor. The Infernal theme infuses enemy design, weapons, and environments with molten reds, cracked textures, and smouldering lighting that give everything a sense of constant heat and pressure.
On PS5, performance is largely excellent — responsive, sharp, and smooth — though the busiest floors can still dip momentarily. The PC version scales well, especially with ray-tracing enabled, turning the tower into a hellish industrial cathedral.
The soundtrack continues the series tradition of eclectic genre-jumping — punk, metal, some electronic griminess, and the occasional musical curveball that shouldn’t work but somehow does. It fits the madness perfectly.
Quality of Life & Progression Improvements
Crafting and inventory management — two of the roughest parts of the original — have been noticeably streamlined. You still gather materials, still upgrade your gear at the Waiting Room, but the menus are faster, clearer, and less punishing. The base-building elements are minimal but satisfying, offering small advantages without becoming chores.
The new “Infernal Traits,” unlockable perks tied to your character’s survival history, also help personalise each run. They encourage long-term strategies without overwhelming new players.
Pros
- Tightened, more satisfying combat
- Gorgeous Inferno-themed visual redesign
- No more free-to-play baggage
- Brilliant boss encounters
- Uncle Death remains iconic
Cons
- Difficulty can spike into chaos
- Some floors still feel artificially punishing
- Late-game grind may frustrate newcomers
Verdict
LET IT DIE: INFERNO is a brutal, stylish, wickedly entertaining sequel that builds on everything fans loved while cleaning up many of the first game’s rough edges. Its combat is exciting and crunchy, its world more vivid than ever, and its sense of humour remains unmatched in the action-roguelike space.
But it also stays true to its roots — which means it’s still chaotic, still punishing, and occasionally still unfair in ways that only the most masochistic players will appreciate. You don’t play LET IT DIE because it’s comfortable. You play it because it’s wild.
