We Who Are About to Die for Windows PC is a roguelike melee combat game, set in a Roman gladiatorial time, created by Belgian developer Jordy Lakiere. It launched in early access on Steam on Nov. 14, 2022.
It’s one month into an early access release, and its development, largely handled by one guy, is still being refined. But if I got to name a Most Inspired Labor of Love Game for 2022, it’d have to be We Who Are About to Die, by Jordy Lakiere.
What Lakiere calls a “criminally underused” setting and theme — ancient Rome! gladiator combat! — finds a perfect toehold in a very popular genre, the roguelike or roguelite, which has really caught on with independent developers. What really makes it go here is the Belgian developer’s tight focus on gameplay systems, with the game’s scenery and other aesthetics serving those systems, not the other way around. This required Lakiere, who is trained primarily as an artist and animator, to extend himself and grow as a games developer over the seven years that We Who Are About to Die has been in the making.
“Roguelikes are known for their difficulty,” Lakiere said in an email interview. “I think an ‘unforgiving gladiator game’ sounds like a good hook, too. The title summarizes the sentiment perfectly — morituri, we who are about to die. When you’re sent into the pits, you can try your best, but you’re basically already dead.”
Launched in early access on Nov. 14, Steam user reviews are strongly positive, for good reason. Instead of a linear tale of a single hero swashbuckling through lush scenery, We Who Are About to Die plays for stakes from the first match.
Actual gladiators played with permadeath switched on, of course, and that’s what you face in We Who Are About to Die, too. Players must think tactically, break down their opponent’s stances, keep moving and keep their defense up. Lose a match, and you lose your character, no matter how long your run may have lasted. That’s a roguelite, after all.
