Dying is not a good sign in almost any video game. It is not a pleasant feeling because it usually means that we have lost or that someone has beaten us, it depends on the perspective you choose. I have seen many people destroy keyboards, mice, controllers and screens for dying in video games. And let’s not talk about the atrocities I have heard over voice chats.
It was quite a surprise to come across Life Goes On: Done to Death just over 10 years ago. Not only because it encourages you to kill yourself as many times as possible and more, but because it took a completely negative mechanic and turned it into something fun. All of its puzzles are based on immolating the protagonist, although not in any way.
Advance, die, advance again and die again
Life Goes On: Done to Death became one of my favorite platform video games 10 years ago. Not because it revolutionized anything, far from it, but because it made dying in a video game fun. The key here is not to avoid death, but to die correctly… because moving forward depends on it.
I remember my experience as especially fun because those responsible, Infinite Monkeys, added touches of humor to the formula. If the mechanic of dying to advance was already fun in itself, combining it with funny things was the icing on the cake that was very enjoyable, at least for me.
The puzzles of Life Goes On They’re not overly complicated, but I do remember getting stuck in several sections. There are some that were created through bad luck, but my general problem was always that I overthought each play. I made the mistake of trying to die as few times as possible, when the game screamed for the opposite.
My favorite drama was when there was a pit with stakes. Instinct and tradition tell us that it is better to get to the other side without falling, but Life Goes On has another, much more fun philosophy: impale two, three or four knights to use their bodies as a bridge with a third, fourth or fifth knight.
Another fun section was the pits to climb. Most platforms allow you to use walls to propel yourself while zigzagging upwards and avoiding possible traps. What do you do in Life Goes On? You impale two or three knights in the traps and use their corpses to grab onto and ascend. The carnage increases as you advance: fire, cannons, blades of all kinds, magic… You have to use knight corpses to complete electrical circuits!
You can take Life Goes On: Done to Death as an experience that hides a great philosophical reflection. He has it, I don’t deny it. However, I have never been able to delve deeper into that. For me it has always been about fun, specifically enjoying a mechanic that has totally negative implications in most video games.
I really enjoyed the experience, so much so that I remember giving the game to two friends as a gift. I don’t know if they ever played it. However, I have it on good authority that several people who received my recommendation ended up playing it. And since it has turned ten years old in 2024, I think it is time to take it out of the trunk of memories and recommend it once again. It is available on Nintendo Switch, PC and PlayStation at a ridiculously low price, and completing it usually takes between 5-9 hours. One or two afternoons of very fun vice.
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