Developer: Brain Jar Games, Inc.

Publisher: Brain Jar Games, Inc.

Platforms: PC

Genre: Action | Rhythm | Beat’em Up | Singleplayer and Co-op

Played on: Steam Deck OLED | PC

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head that plays on repeat? That’s what Dead as Disco has done to me. I’ve listened to Rhythm Divine probably 100 times and fought Arora more times than I can count just to listen to the song. Every track is good. The gameplay is fast, fluid, and fantastic. It’s a game that will pull you in with its catchy tunes and have you humming along while you beat bosses and try for a new high score in levels.

Dead as Disco is a beat ‘em up rhythm game that has you fighting former bandmates and their lackeys to the beat of songs. You play as Charlie Disco, a former drummer who was killed ten years ago and is now working to get the band back together.

It’s like if the Batman Arkham series and Beat Saber formed together to create a game about a bat fighting to beats. (Bat Saber?) The way Charlie moves and fights to the beat is very similar to how the Dark Knight flows around the battlefield beating up minions, though it is way more colorful than a Batman game.

Fighting is all about punching, kicking, and using special abilities you unlock by defeating bosses. Bring down one of the four bosses featured in Early Access and you can use the skill tree to bind one of their moves to Charlie. The skill tree can be reset before you enter a level, which makes for a unique combinations of moves.

The combat is fluid and responsive, like a dance. You’ll often fight multiple enemies at once who advance towards Charlie with melee attacks that can be countered or dodged, depending on their prompts. Dodge perfectly, and you can follow up with a hard hitting counter or rush them with a strong attack, knocking them off their feet. It’s chaotic and when a boss is introduced into the mix, there are multiple things to keep an eye on. From dodging huge boss swings to avoiding lackies, it’s like playing every instrument in a band all at once.

Boss arenas play out like a music video. The set design will change as the song transitions to a new beat or verse. One moment you’ll be fighting in a parking lot with car lights illuminating the arena, and the next you’re on a stage with seating stretching far behind. The style of game shifts as well. You can be fighting on a train as a side-scroller, before the scene changes to an open arena where you can fully run around without the camera being locked. It’s a fun way to showcase the set, backgrounds, and overall design of Dead as Disco.

Dead as Disco is currently in Early Access but it feels like a complete game, though with a few missed beats. Some animations, especially faces, aren’t finished with the character Arora not emoting during cutscenes. Brain Jar Games has released a road map for the rest of the year with the full launch planned for 2027 which should polish some details out.

As a game with music as the core theme, 2026 is shaping up to be the year of musical games. Not as in Broadway musicals, but games with music as a key component. The industry is definitely alive with the sound of musical games and Dead as Disco is one to shout from the mountaintops about.

A code for Dead as Disco was provided by Brain Jar Games and Pirate PR.

Developer: Legacy Forge

Publisher: Numskull Games

Platforms: Steam

Price: $18.99

Genre: Tactical RPG, Roguelite

Played on: Steam

Valor of Man brings the tabletop adventuring party together in a repayable roguelite fantasy world. In a month where Slay the Spire 2 hit Early Access, comparisons could be made between the two, but they play rather differently. Instead of deckbuilding, Valor uses upgradable skills for each class. It’s a fun journey with a focus on resource management and movement that delivers a rewarding experience especially when you scrape by an encounter with barely any health remaining.

Controlling a party of characters, you begin each run by choosing a route to take on a map. Choices range from fighting monsters and bosses, resting, unlocking new weapons or abilities, and events. Plot your course carefully to ensure you unlock new items to boost your characters for the journey.

Paths with events or merchants allow you to get new items such as a magic weapon or holy hammer that deals additional damage. This makes future fights a little easier. You’ll face monstrous behemoths, undead hordes, and dragons in fast turn-based combat. Each character has a finite number of Action Points to be spent on skills in combat. AP is a valuable resource for both movement and attacking and more powerful skills use more AP.

Focusing on what you want to spend the points on makes each encounter engaging. Alistair the Captain relies on melee attacks to bring down enemies. He’s got the highest hit points, so moving him close is important so he can deal damage and take it. Octavia is the Archmage who has powerful ranged spell attacks, but lower health. She’ll get stronger AOE attacks to hit multiple enemies as she levels up. The other ten classes all have specialties in dealing damage and buffing the party. There’s even a healer, so everyone can stay in the fight.

It’s all very Dungeons & Dragons coded and plays out like reading through a stat block or campaign module. While you control the party, you also get to see what the enemies will do next. Everything from attack to how they’ll react if they are hit. Knowing what the dragon will do if attacked allows you to plan out future moves. If one character is low on health, have another stronger character hit them to avoid a reactive strike.

As it does feel D&D, there also comes a bit of keeping track of things. The HUD does a great job at giving you a glance at what is happening. You can see everything from what enemies are planning to do, which enemies are on the field, and how much health they have. However, all of that does feel a bit overwhelming. Many times, I just wanted to attack but wouldn’t understand what the enemy reaction was implying. Learning is part of the game, but again, it can be a bit much to take in.

The story is intriguing and plays out like a campaign. It begins with a mysterious run in with death for one character that feels plucked out of the backstory of a player at a table.

Valor of Man is a cool take on the roguelite genre. If tabletop RPGs are something you’ve been interested in checking out it’s a great look at how they play out, without dice. Encounters are full of tension and strategy and plotting your course provides a sense of exploration full of wonder and mystery. Win or lose, each run is a chance to try again with new knowledge and insight into discovering new ways to take down a challenge.