Deathspank: A Tale of Swords and Satire

Sometimes it takes a person to step back and really observe a subject before true humor can be derived from it. This is an old principle and not one shy to the video games market. An example of this would be the Grand Theft Auto series, the developer of which, Rockstar North, is based in Scotland. The intrinsic wit throughout the game, most notably on the radio stations, parodies US culture, politics and multimedia. It is because of this outward view that the British based developer can see the funny side of American life. Furthermore it is also, in the author’s opinion, why Ron Gilbert has been able to so craftily weave his humor into his latest release, Deathspank, which comments not just on the genre of action-RPG’s , but on the entire games industry and its design principles.




Gilbert hasn’t taken the helm of a game since 1997 with the release of Monkey Island 2. It is clear from the outset however ,that the designer has had his pulse on the industry for the duration of the last decade. Deathspank, at its heart, is an open world action-rpg with a stylized look and feel. However the game is done a great injustice by thinking of it in these terms, Deathspank’s success owes as much to humor as it does to the core gameplay mechanics. Now whilst humor alone cannot carry a game, the way in which Deathspank openly pokes fun at games industry standards is nothing short of stellar and is what alleviates it from other games in the genre. This point is illustrated by Deathspank’s very first quest – he has to go out into a field and kill 10 ‘Vicious Chickens’ to collect their lips, an obvious parody of the World of Warcraft style early collection quests that have been used in just about every action-rpg since someone switched on the sun. It doesn’t cease there however and Gilbert has his say ridiculing the stupidity of fetch-quests, colour coding (i.e. the red keycard opens the red door) and the banality of enemy design to name but a few. To go on would be to spoil but these aspects of the game are reason enough to pick it up.

Deathspank is a funny game, there is no question about that. Every character, location and enemy has clearly been well thought out, and it comes together to form a beautifully whimsical world that the player will lose themselves in for the 8-12 hours it will take to power through. Much of this is down to the dialogue which is both superbly written and performed. Vocal talent is outstanding with voice actors that reflect their character counterparts better than any in recent memory. Deathspank himself is a particular highlight. Actor Michael Dobson delivers a larger-than-life hero, sounding like a more booming version of Captain Quark from the Ratchet and Clank series. Combine this with Deathspank’s egotistical, self obsessed and slightly stupid character and it makes for a winning performance.


Of course the characters themselves would be stale and one-dimensional if it wasn’t for the dialogue. Gilbert is no stranger to humor writing as anyone who has played any of his previous outings will know. Deathspank’s own brand of wit combines stereotypes, slapstick and satire to great effect. The fourth wall is broken sparingly and the game is partially self aware – thankfully not in the overdone sense of The Simpsons Game or Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Things that would be strange or out place in a game about questing with swords and shields are taken at face value – so when a little orphan girl demands Deathspank buy her a cell phone before she will allow him to rescue her Deathspank merely quips back “A cell phone, I can’t afford one of those!” without missing a beat. The surreal nature of the writing plays entirely into the absurdity of the game itself and the pleasure of hearing everything will ensure players stop to talk to every character and use every dialogue branch they can – if only to hear what will come next.

The visual style of Deathspank has a distinct charm, whilst characters and the landscape are rendered in three dimensions most of the scenery is in mock 2D. The trees and buildings in the game look like they’re made out of cardboard to be used in a Rob Schrab animation. Combine this with the rolling landscape effect, similar to that seen in Animal Crossing on the DS, and it creates a really striking pop-up book effect.

The game itself takes the action-rpg to consoles with success, controls are solid and the game streamlines a lot of what makes the formula stale and dated. Last year the PC release Torchlight introduced a pet that would return to town and sell your loot for you, Deathspank takes this up a notch by offering a ‘Grinder’ built into the inventory which literally crunches your item instantly into coin. This eliminates a lot of backtracking synonymous with the genre. Additionally, because this isn’t played with a mouse and keyboard, a clever weapons system mapped to the face buttons has been implemented which allows Deathspank to be extremely versatile in combat without having to jump into the menu system every 5 minutes. It keeps the pace moving nicely and the diversity of new loot and enemy types will provide more than enough incentive to keep hungry players moving through the game.

Deathspank is a game that is definitely more than the sum of its parts, solid controls and fun combat form the basis of a game that uses its style and wit to stand out from others in the field. Like any game Deathspank has its shortcomings – perhaps there could be an easier way to compare two pieces of loot in the inventory, or maybe the game could do with being another couple of hours long. But these are small bumps on the road of an otherwise excellent journey. The game has been described as ‘Monkey Island meets Diablo’ and, in a nutshell, that’s basically what it is. However that really only scratches the surface of what Deathspank is. Ron Gilbert is back with a bang and has brought his brand of gaming to a new generation and a new genre. It’s hilarious, self aware and stylish, it’s also something anyone with $15 and a pulse should probably check out.